BusinessDay 19 Dec 2017

28 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 Tuesday 19 December 2017
Harvard
Business
Review
Tips
&
Talking Points
TALKING POINTS
Self-Employed in the US
40%: According to the U.S. General
Accounting Office, about 40% of
American workers are “contingent
workers,” or nonsalaried employees
who work part time, as independent
contractors, freelancers or are selfemployed.
+
Destructive Fire in California
4,658: The October fire that devastated
the region near Santa Rosa,
California, in October destroyed
4,658 homes and displaced thousands
of residents.
+
Harassment in the Workplace
80%: According to a paper released
earlier this year, sociologists posit
that about 80% of women who have
been harassed at work leave within
two years.
+
Hundreds of Millions Have Diabetes
437 million: According to recent statistics,
437 million people around the
world have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
+
Mobile Apps Targeted
$1.5 billion: The cost of hacks into
mobile apps is predicted to reach $1.5
billion by 2021, according to research
from the firm Intertrust.
Train your brain to focus on something you find boring
We all have a few subjects that we find boring
or dull. Fortunately, it’s possible to learn to like
— maybe even love — topics that make your
eyes glaze over. First, you have to overcome
the pain. When we think about something we
don’t like or want, it can activate a portion of
the brain that’s connected to our experience
of pain. This means, for example, that thinking
about statistics (if you don’t like statistics)
can cause you actual physical pain. As a result,
you brain may divert your attention away from
whatever sparked the pain — in other words,
you procrastinate. So the next time you need to
study statistics, force yourself to focus.
— Turn off all distractions.
— Set a timer for 25 minutes.
— Focus intently for those 25 minutes.
— And then reward yourself for at least five minutes
by listening to your favorite song, talking
with a friend, or getting coffee.
Taking little breaks helps the brain consolidate
what you’re learning, which builds understanding
while minimizing frustration.
(Adapted from “How to Get Excited About Topics
That Bore You,” by Barbara Oakley.)
Help your employees
feel less lonely at work
More and more people are feeling
tired and lonely at work.
No manager should want their
team members to be disconnected
and disengaged. You can
help counter these feelings by
encouraging your team to forge
bonds with their colleagues. Tell
them how important it is to have
a developmental network — a
small group of coworkers they
routinely turn to for advice or
emotional support. Connect
employees with coaches and
peers, and assign new employees
a mentor. Offer to introduce
employees who you think have
things in common, including
hobbies and interests outside
work. Make sure everyone knows
that you believe friendly relationships
are a worthwhile use of
time so that they don’t hesitate
to go out for coffee with a colleague
or block out time on their
calendars to chat and catch up.
(Adapted from “Burnout at Work
Isn’t Just About Exhaustion. It’s
Also About Loneliness,” by Emma
Seppala and Marissa King.)
Praise your star performer,
but not too much
When you have
star performers
on your team,
you may be
tempted to lavish
them with
praise. After
all, managing
a supremely
talented person
is a boss’s
dream, so why
not tell them how much you
appreciate them? But be careful
that you don’t feed their ego
too much, or they’ll constantly
be looking for that level of
adulation, which can be hard
to maintain. So give them an
appropriate amount of positive
feedback and acknowledge
their contributions. If they
executed a project beautifully
or made a stellar presentation,
say so — but leave it at that.
And be sure that high performers
recognize and acknowledge
the work of the other team
members who help them be
successful.
(Adapted from “How to Manage
Your Star Employee,” by
Rebecca Knight.)
Start a difficult conversation by focusing
on what you have in common
When you’re broaching
a tricky topic with
a colleague, your
first few sentences
can make or break
the discussion. It’s
normal to be defensive,
and even to put
blame on the other
person, but implying
that your counterpart
is wrong will
make the tough conversation
even worse. Set
yourself up for success
by establishing common
ground between you and
the other person. State
what you already agree
on — where your goals
overlap. You might say
“We both want to make
sure our patients get the
best care possible” or “We
agree that the new email
system should integrate
with our existing IT sys-
tems.” If you aren’t able to
pinpoint common ground,
or you’re not sure what your
counterpart’s goal is, the easiest
way to move forward is to
ask questions. Explain what’s
important to you and then ask,
“Is there any overlap with what
you care about? Or do you have
another goal?” Questions like
these set a collaborative tone.
(Adapted from the HBR Guide
to Dealing with Conflict, by
Amy Gallo.)
Always negotiate your salary
(even if it’s your first job)
When you get your first job
offer, you might think you
shouldn’t negotiate. After
all, you don’t want to ruffle
any feathers, right? Wrong.
Negotiating your salary
is extremely important,
especially early in your career.
Your starting salary is
a kind of anchor — your
future raises, bonuses, and
even retirement savings will be
influenced by that initial amount.
Prepare for the negotiation by doing
some legwork using your educational
and professional networks.
Collect information about salaries
from your educational institution
and from friends and colleagues.
Find people whose jobs are similar
to the one you’re applying for and
ask them what a reasonable salary
range is. Then practice the negotiation
with a friend. If all goes well, you’ll get
a higher number than what you were
offered. But if you don’t, that doesn’t
mean it was a mistake to try. You’ve
shown your employer that you are willing
to be assertive and that you know
how to negotiate — a valuable skill.
(Adapted from “10 Myths About Negotiating
Your First Salary,” by Linda
Babcock and Julia Bear.)
c
2017 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate