know-it-all

How to Deal With an Obnoxious Know-It-All

How to manage an obnoxious employee or vendor? Glad you asked—and I know you’re “asking for a friend” because no one wants to admit they’ve...

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ramble

Bring the Rambling Show-Off to a Stop

You run into ramblers everywhere: On a Zoom webinar. In the board room. In your training class. The reasons vary: They have extensive experience....

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hypothetical question

How to Keep Hypotheticals From Burying You

Suppose you’re in a staff meeting or rolling out a new policy in an all-hands meeting, and Rani, an employee, poses this question to you: “You...

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advisory board

Do You Need a Personal “Advisory Board” as a Leader?

Not a board of directors. Not a mentor. But do you need a team of trusted advisors as a sounding board to help you grow your leadership skills?...

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literary agent

Why Do Literary Agents Take So Long to Respond?

“The agent requested my proposal right away after I sent my pitch. But it’s been two weeks, and I haven’t heard a word. Is that good or bad?...

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merger chaos

How Not to Manage Merger Chaos

Big Bank acquired our Small Bank mid-month (real names removed to protect the guilty). Small Bank notified customers a month prior to the merger...

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