The Ambiguous Sounds of Silence: Why You Should Ask for InputSilence may not be golden when members of a team are trying to reach agreement, resolve an issue, or make a decision. In this setting, silence is often taken to mean that those who haven’t voiced an opinion approve of the matter under discussion—yet they may very well not. You should make sure.
Signs of an Ineffective Project ManagerIneffective project managers take many forms. Sometimes the PM simply lacks the knowledge or training to do what the job calls for. Sometimes he is eager to please, so he gives ambitious timelines or says yes to every client request. But then, some PMs are just bad. Learn to recognize some signs.
What to Do When You Really Want to Encourage People to Ask QuestionsIt’s simple, really. The thing to do when you encourage people to ask questions is give them a chance to ask their questions. But sometimes when people are eager to share information, they unintentionally stifle communication. If you truly welcome questions, make your behavior support your intent.
Tips for Improving Your Geographically Distributed Agile TeamMany people on agile teams have at least one person who is not collocated. Those on collocated teams indicate that more of their projects are successful; those on far-located teams have the highest number of challenged projects. What can you do if you're part of a geographically distributed team?
Don’t Misuse These Words If You Want to Sound IntelligentWarning: If you routinely misuse words such as "accept" and "except," "affect" and "effect," or even "their," "there," and "they're," people you want to impress may start to see you as careless, if not uneducated or ignorant. If you hope to advance your career, you’d be wise to review this article.
Praise—and How to Give It RightGenuine praise can do many positive things for the workplace, such as rewarding work well done, raising self-esteem, boosting morale, and increasing productivity. Even so, it's possible to overdo it or even give praise the wrong way. Read on for tips on the best ways to give praise in the workplace.
Dysfunctional DevOpsDevOps is a set of principles and practices that help teams, including development and operations, to communicate and collaborate more effectively. But DevOps also has a dark side, and some dysfunctional behaviors and misunderstandings can keep organizations from implementing these best practices.
Three Things Managers Should Not Say to Their EmployeesBeing the boss means getting your employees to work well, and that involves communication. There are some ways of saying things that are better than others—and there are some things that are just better left unsaid. If you're a manager, here's a reminder of three phrases you should do without.
