NEWS YOU CAN USE
How Leaders Can Get the Flexible Workplace Right
Even if they haven’t joined the backlash against WFH, many leaders are rightfully concerned about how flexible work impacts the business. Sure, they support hybrid and remote, but what does it mean for culture, collaboration and performance? McKinsey offers some suggestions for balancing employer and employee needs. Among them: Instead of obsessing over days spent at the office, make your hybrid workplace “magnetic” for staff.
Flying High With Oscar Munoz
Not even a heart transplant stopped Oscar Munoz from leading the turnaround of United Airlines. As CEO from 2015 to 2020, Munoz piloted the iconic carrier to calmer skies, bringing management and its union staff together. He tells this remarkable story in his new memoir Turnaround Time, billed as a love letter to aviation workers. In an interview with my colleague Jayne Rosefield, Munoz explains why leadership starts with listening, champions an employee-first culture and shares his advice on being a better communicator.
Tips for Leading in Uncertain Times
Worried that their job is next as layoffs mount, workers are turning to their managers for reassurance. Rallying the troops and bracing them for bad news is no easy task, especially if you don’t know what’s coming. How can bosses lead during uncertain times? The Wall Street Journal shares some best practices from three managers who have been there and done it.
Breakfast of Champions?
You can learn a lot about someone over a meal together. Just ask Walt Bettinger, CEO of financial services giant Charles Schwab. When Bettinger interviews a job candidate, he takes them for breakfast—and tells the restaurant manager to screw up their order. The would-be team member’s response—frustration, understanding or otherwise—helps him gauge how they cope with adversity.
4 Communication Secrets of Great Leaders
Next time someone tells you they’re a great communicator, forward them Carmine Gallo’s piece in the Harvard Business Review. Anyone who aspires to that title should be working hard to improve their writing, speaking and presentation skills. Author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Great Salesman, Gallo shares four tactics favored by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other top leaders. For example, Warren Buffett might not be a poet, but he knows that the right metaphor can convey a complex investment idea.
