Writing
Mailbag: Dealing With Misalignment While Hiring May 23rd, 2022
Answering a question from a reader: how do you deal with misalignment – arguments about skills, pay, etc. – when hiring?
Professionalism: Honesty is a professional behavior May 19th, 2022
Dishonesty at work is wrong except when it isn’t.
Professionalism: What is “professionalism” and why am I writing about it? April 12th, 2022
I’m starting a new series on professionalism: the set of workplace behaviors that are generally expected at work. These behaviors are largely unspoken, but they do exist: there are consequences for violating them. In this series, I aim to write down some of these rules and explore their implications. Eventually, I hope to have a solid list of what “professional behavior” really means.
Is my advice too mercenary? April 11th, 2022
A criticism of some of my writing is that it’s too mercenary. Some see my advice as coldly calculating, too focused on individual outcomes over collective ones, and implicitly distrustful of others. I think this is fair criticism! It’s not exactly what I’m going for, but it’s a fair reading. However, there’s more to it than that, I want to address it (and defend myself, just a little bit).
Your last one-on-one: what to do instead of an exit interview April 7th, 2022
Say you agree with me that exit interviews are dangerous for employees, but you’re a kind, empathetic manager who’s built a team with high trust. You’d never dream of retaliation, are open to feedback – even if it’s harsh. You don’t want to put your departing direct in an uncomfortable or threatening position, but you’d like to know what they have to say! What then?