Most Clicked SmartBrief Insights Stories
1. 5 reasons being a mentor is good for you
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Mentoring programs don't just benefit the people on the receiving end, writes Kerrie Main. Being a mentor is a good way to improve your skill set, reflect on your career and to rekindle your love of the job. "Here's the thing about enthusiasm -- it's contagious," Main writes. "And there's no better person to give you the 'bug' than a motivated, enthusiastic mentee." ThoughtLeaders blog (04/24)
2. Top .org tweets: Meetings and the sequester, new association leaders
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
News for and about .org professionals and organizations:
- Military-linked associations grapple with sequester, some canceling/scaling back shows
- Considering an association office move? The considerations of buying and leasing
- SmartBrief partner American College of Cardiology names industry leader as new CEO
- Study: No budge in the association CEO salary gender gap
- Report: Exhibition industry showed 1.5% growth last year, led by Financial, Legal and Real Estate and Transportation
- Automotive Body Parts Association names new executive director
- Why you should never call a group an "advisory board"
- ASAE releases Diversity + Inclusion benchmarking tool for associations
- LinkedIn promotions and building spreadsheet expertise
- Events, venue associations team up on benefits
3. 4 social media tips from a teenage girl
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Teenagers are natural social media pros, writes Mike Figliuolo, who notes that his daughter is racking up a sizable following on YouTube through a combination of ambition, skill and an intuitive understanding of principles such as search engine optimization and user-engagement. It pays to be willing to ask your network for help promoting your work and to analyze traffic patterns to determine what kinds of content resonate best with your audience, Figliuolo writes. ThoughtLeaders blog (04/22)
4. 3 ways bosses can help women to achieve their potential
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Companies do better when women are able to fulfill their potential, so bosses have an incentive to help women, writes Dana Theus. Often, that means leaders working on their own sensitivity and self-awareness. "You can't get rid of your biases, but you can understand and own them in ways that can help you be biased in more useful ways," Theus writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (04/22)
5. Bosses, biases and bad decisions
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Everyone has an array of cognitive biases that make it harder for them to make well-reasoned decisions, says McKinsey's Olivier Sibony. New decision-making techniques can help offset those biases, but bosses tend to be unwilling to accept the need. "[T]he further up the hierarchy you go, the harder it becomes to say, 'My judgment is fallible,' " Sibony says. "... Recognizing uncertainty and doubt -- it's not the style many executives have when they get to the top." McKinsey Quarterly (free registration) (April 2013)
6. How to be a just leader
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Good leaders should be champions of justice, writes Deborah Mills-Scofield. That means treating people fairly and putting the group before oneself. "Being a leader requires taking the right road, not the easy road," Mills-Scofield writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (04/18)
7. Goodbye, cruel workplace
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Too many workplaces are unnecessarily cruel and mean-spirited, often focusing on a single unfortunate employee, says author Maureen Duffy. To prevent that kind of "mobbing," bosses need to accept their complicity in workplace cruelty, Duffy argues, and start cultivating a kinder and more civil work environment. "Workplaces should be emotionally safe places," she says. "It's a basic worker's right." CNNMoney/Fortune (04/23)
8. Leaders should take time to polish their personal brand
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Smart leaders make a point of thinking about how they're perceived by others, writes Joel Garfinkle. That means being visible and consciously cultivating a memorable, meaningful public image. "You are the CEO of You, Inc.," Garfinkle writes. "You are responsible for creating your personal brand, for getting your name known, for being memorable." ThoughtLeaders blog (04/17)
9. Want better workers? Don't show them the money
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
Offering financial bonuses to workers might seem like a no-brainer, but cash incentives often backfire, argues S. Chris Edmonds. "People can easily see that the incentives reward the result, not the 'right ways to get there.' So, they take shortcuts and take the money," he writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (04/23)
10. What we do
SmartBrief Insights | May 01, 2013
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