Cat Among Pixies

Apologizing is a way to acknowledge that our actions had unintended or hurtful consequences. Understanding whether we have actually acted in a way that deserves an apology, however, is highly contested. Some people belong to the school of “Never apologize or you’ll be seen as weak!” and others of us belong to the school that teaches apology as a reflex. Finding a balance between over-apologizing and never apologizing is key to maintaining credibility at work. Never apologizing hurts your credibility and relationships. “Admissions of wrongdoing are incredibly threatening for non-apologists because they have trouble separating their actions from their character.” ( Psychology Today ) These individuals may have been taught that apologizing will only show people their weaknesses. If they admit that they did something bad, then they must be bad too, and people will associate their admission with their personality. This is untrue. People are much more likely to associate a lack

Conflict resolution is one of those topics that is widely taught in seminars around the world. The art of resolving conflict in a productive and lasting manner is not one that most people come by naturally. It is, however, an essential skill for almost every employee in any type of workplace. For those of us not naturally gifted with this talent, practicing positive conflict resolution regularly is key to establishing and maintaining healthy conflict resolution habits. Personally, I’ve been extremely lucky in my current position. There has been little that could be described as conflict, and even less that needed to be addressed. This makes for a fabulous working environment, but it means that I’ve gotten out of practice resolving conflicts. Recently, a minor situation arose at work between me (Party A) an outside firm we employ (Party B), and a potential business partner (Party C). Here’s a TLDR version of the situation: Party A proposed a deal to Party C Party B to

Let’s face it, lots of us hate talking on the phone. Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, the common consensus is that emailing (or messaging of any kind really) is preferable for us millennials. There are lots of opinions as to why. Some of us just don’t have as much practice as previous generations. Phone calls don’t give you time to think about how to respond. And emailing is faster, not to mention trackable. At work, email has become a standard part of the day-to-day. But emails have one severe drawback – miscommunication. Why is miscommunication over email so common? Humans are wired to understand each other through visual and audible cues. Albert Mehrabian's 7-38-55 Rule of Personal Communication states that words, tone of voice, and body language respectively account for 7%, 38%, and 55% of personal communication. In other words, we are missing out on 93% of communication effectiveness by circumnavigating the brains emotional circuitry when we choose to ema

Culture shock on the first day at a new job is inevitable. It doesn't matter if you're used to pulling 14-hour shifts, your first day will undoubtedly feel like it's dragging on for eternity. This is due to a number of factors including endless hand-shaking, name remembering, smiling, nodding and generally being very, very agreeable. Culture shock is something that is often overlooked by endeavoring new hires hoping to make a great impression day one at their new company. Moving between any company is difficult, even moving from one corporate cubicle farm to another can be a challenge. Even more strenuous is a move from a corporate office to a start-up environment. Here are some tips to avoid culture shock on day one: Do your research - You probably researched the company's history, maybe you even went as far as to look at a few hiring managers' LinkedIn profiles. But did you do any investigating about workplace norms? Find out when most people take lunch, w