No, really, stop using public Wi-Fi

Using free, public Wi-Fi networks comes with a number of serious security risks, yet many of us do it anyway. To minimise the chance of having your money or financial information stolen, follow these steps. First, if you’re on public Wi-Fi, don’t shop online, log in to your financial institution, or access other sensitive sites. Use a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, to create a network-within-a-network, keeping everything you do encrypted. For sensitive sites, set up two-factor authentication, so even if hackers steal the passwords to your bank, social media, or email, they won’t be able to log in. And turn off the automatic Wi-Fi connectivity feature on your phone so that it won’t automatically seek out hotspots.

(Adapted from “Why You Really Need to Stop Using Public Wi-Fi,” by Luke Bencie.)

Managers, give more praise

It’s one of the toughest jobs of a manager: giving feedback. Many bosses find it stressful and difficult — but that may be because they are focused on offering criticism and correcting mistakes when they should be providing positive feedback. In fact, recent research shows that people see leaders as more effective when they give praise. Whatever is holding you back from offering compliments, get over it. Proactively develop your skills in giving praise. It’s OK if the praise is brief — it just needs to be specific, rather than a general remark of ‘good job,’ and ideally it should occur soon after whatever you’re praising the person for. And, of course, it’s best when the compliment is sincere and heartfelt.

(Adapted from “Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman.)

Activating your ‘inner lookout’

You can’t understand what’s going wrong around you if you don’t understand what’s going on inside you. The first step is tapping into what I call your ‘inner lookout,’ an internal function designed to keep watch over you. Specifically, your lookout pays the surprise when your proposal isn’t chosen; the joy of making your mentor proud. Here are some ways to activate your inner lookout:

1. Once a day, pause what you’re doing and turn your attention to yourself. Ask yourself: What’s on my mind? What do I feel?

2. Once a day, tune in closely to your thoughts or emotions. Detach a bit from having the thoughts or feelings, and label them.

3. Once a day, pause for a few minutes and prepare to take some notes. Ask your lookout: What do you notice right now about me? Then write down observations from the lookout’s point of view. For example, your Lookout might say: “You seem bored” or “You’re excited about the new client.”

(Adapted from “Manage Your Stress by Monitoring Your Body’s Reactions to It” at HBR.org.)

Prepare before a difficult conversation

When you need to have a tense conversation, don’t try to wing it. You can’t know how the discussion will go, so think through a few possible scenarios ahead of time. What if your counterpart gets upset and cries? What if they get angry? What if you get interrupted, or need to finish the conversation quickly? Of course, you can’t write a script for every eventuality, but considering as many of them as possible will help make sure you don’t get blindsided and lose your cool. You might also want to find a trusted colleague with whom you can role-play some scenarios. Try different approaches, and test out phrases you might use for various possibilities. Then ask your role-play partner to give you feedback.

(Adapted from the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, by Amy Gallo.)

Why do you rush your decisions?

Making decisions too quickly makes you more likely to end up with short-sighted or superficial solutions. But if you take too long to decide, you might miss opportunities. How do you strike a balance? Try to retain a sense of urgency while also taking time to reflect. Think about what’s trapping you in your too-quick mode of decision making. Perhaps you rush to end an important meeting just to make it to the next one. Maybe you’re multitasking and not giving questions your full attention. Traps like these keep you stuck in triage mode, which makes taking time to reflect on your intentions and actions feels like a luxury you can’t afford. Then you can introduce moments of reflection so that you’re making thoughtful decisions.

(Adapted from “How to Act Quickly Without Sacrificing Critical Thinking,” by Jesse Sostrin.)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 16th, 2017