Social media etiquette

Etiquette in social media is as important as it is in other aspects of life. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for quite a few people which act as if the keyboard absolves and separates them from reality, courtesy, professionalism and kindness. Speaking to people on social media shouldn’t differ from how you speak with people in person. Having this digital …

Beware of self-proclaimed experts

Beware of self-proclaimed experts as they are rarely what they claim to be. Expertise can at times be subjective and skin deep which is why you should accept expertise cautiously (especially the one where it is self-proclaimed). I have experienced numerous examples where so called experts were miles away from what they have claimed to be and as such our …

Leaders think and speak clearly

Leaders listen to ideas, consider them, and then make their own decisions based on collective experience, knowledge and available information. While you should always be considerate, professional and respectful to your colleagues you should not agree with ideas and courses of action that you don’t believe in. If your experience, education and knowledge advise you against a particular idea then …

LinkedIn endorsements

Endorsements should be honest and sincere. Please only endorse people and their skills which you have witnessed first hand and can attest to. This video is prompted by a trend where people are endorsing skills on LinkedIn (among other social networks) of people they have never worked with. While everyone enjoys and appreciates recognition and support, I don’t understand the …

Be a humble leader and accept criticism

Environment must be safe for dissent and as a leader you must be accepting, even welcoming of criticism and different ideas. As long as these ideas are presented professionally and courteously, you need to accept them with humbleness and give them serious thought and consideration. After all, be mindful that people on your team and other teams may know a …

No bad apples allowed

One bad apple can spoil the rest so please remove them from the basket. As a leader you must establish, promote and support an inviting, comfortable and respectful working environment and as such you can’t allow any single individual to jeopardize your workplace. No matter how good and valuable they may be from a functional perspective if they can’t cooperate …

Why avoiding conflict can hurt you and others

Avoiding conflicts is generally a solid advice to follow. However, at times, disagreements (perhaps a better term) are unavoidable. By this I refer to those moments when someone needs to speak up in support of others and with collaboration and progress in mind. However, even during these disagreements one needs to remain professional, respectful and polite, but the points of …