Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #123
Adam Grant says there are 19 words you can say to help create trust when giving feedback
The podcast clip is on Instagram but in reply to a question from Jennifer Garner about mentoring younger teammates. He claims that starting the feedback with these words will create the proper relationship moving forward.
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. Each week, I’ll share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and important information about privacy, security, and legal tech.
You can find out all about me here - Mike McBride Online.
“I’m giving you these comments cause I have very high expectations, and I’m confident you can reach them.”
Of course, as others pointed out in the comments, this statement is full of jargon in many places and is not likely to create the relationships Adam claims it will. That’s a fair critique. I think the idea is solid, however. I’m here to help you get where you want and push you to get there. In my experience, this conversation has been a little less formal, sounding more like, “You’re good at this now, but I think you could be great.” for example.
The key is understanding that your role as a leader is to help those following you reach their goals. Sadly, too many people in leadership roles don’t see that or fail to establish that in their relationships. If you don’t have trust, this is going to fall flat.
The person you are trying to mentor needs to know that you have their interests at heart, not just the bottom line. The goals need to be aligned. (i.e., don’t push them toward expectations that don’t interest or benefit them.) Most importantly, they need to know that learning and growing into new skills will not be held against them later.
Let’s face it: in the tech world, who trusts their employers?
Why would we? We can all be laid off any day now to satisfy some shareholders. This is our world, so if you want to mentor someone, you’d better prove you deserve their trust.
Careers and the Workplace
It's Almost As If Remote Work Keeps Getting Better While Office Work Keeps Getting Worse
Now, I'm not going to even argue that remote work is better and helps people be more productive and innovative because you already know where I stand on that issue. Let me just throw this out there instead. When your workforce is remote, you widen the pool of people who can work for you and want to work for you. That wider candidate pool invites more talented people to come to work for you, and talented people will find their own ways to be productive and innovative.
Everyone Wants to Quit, but They Can't
Mice quit when you make it too difficult to get sugar. The fix for their lack of motivation isn't positive thinking, it's to make it possible for them to get the sugar.
Some reading in the new year? - Career Books
Training and Development
We know this by now, right? - Employee Learning Improves the Bottom Line
Some interesting things to consider as you approach 2024:
L&D Year-End Review: What Worked, What Didn't, And Other Key Lessons From 2023
Mental Health in the Workplace
I Need You To Go Read This Collection of Research about Teens and Social Media
In our panicked efforts to protect children from the potential downfalls of social media, and there are plenty, we might actually be blocking them from the one place that also offers them information and support that they aren't getting anywhere else and the one place where they can develop the skills to navigate people, information, and relationships that haven't already been navigated for them.
More importantly, for those of us trying to advocate for mental health, we need to realize that there is no simple answer. Turning off all of social media is not going to cure the mental health crisis. It won't change everything that is going on in all of our lives and across the world. Pretending that we'd all have much better mental health if we just killed off Instagram or TikTok isn't going to make the county's mental health problems go away.
Good - Mental health in the workplace continues to gain momentum
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
Law firm that handles data breaches was hit by data breach - Everyone will get breached, eventually.
Like most technology, you need a plan. - Executing Zero Trust in the Cloud Takes Strategy
It’s been a few years since I was in the “hot seat,” but it is an often overlooked part of the EDRM. (Look for the third part later on Friday.)
Trial Presentation Tips from an Experienced DOJ Litigation Support Professional
Trial Presentation Tips from an Experienced DOJ Litigation Support Professional, Part Two
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put in each week to share this with you.