First Thing Monday #2
Everything you need to know to kick off the new week
FTM is a hub for news, resources, and trends to help Millennial and Gen-Z leaders make better decisions and build lasting careers. I’m Jon Cochran, a consumer goods executive with 15 years of experience leading sales, marketing, and product development teams. I want to provide resources to help you maximize your satisfaction in the workplace.
⏰ Things to read before your first meeting:
How To Decode Your Boss And Get Ahead (Forbes): I used to think the key to getting ahead was doing more work. I was wrong!
How to Give (and Receive) Critical Feedback (Harvard Business Review): I legit Google this article (this phrase, this topic) every time I need to have a tough conversation.
Gen Z Is Seriously Misunderstood — Here are 3 Secrets Young CEOs Employ to Disrupt Industries (Entrepreneur): I still think having a job or three before becoming a CEO sets you up for longer-term success. But these young leaders can teach us a thing or two!
Coveo Research Finds A Growing Generational Gap That Could Affect Innovative Talent (GlobalNewsWire): Workers are spending up to three hours per day looking across six different resources in search of information they need for their job. Who hasn’t been there!? And also, make it stop.
The 5 Most Common Mistakes in One on One Meetings (And How to Avoid Them) (BambooHR): I am guilty of #2 and #5.
📖 Things to consider this week:
For yourself: If you are in the office this week, treat yourself to a fun lunch. Doesn’t have to be expensive. The point is to go somewhere you haven’t been before. And if you WFH, same story. Go out to lunch one day!
For your boss: How does your boss like to receive information? Some prefer a bulleted list shared during a one-on-one, others a series of Team notifications, others still love an email. Do you know the best way to share info with your boss?
For your direct report(s): Do you manage a weekly team meeting? If so, I bet you have at least one person who doesn’t talk much in those conversations. Ask them what they thought of your last team meeting, and if there’s anything they think could be improved. If they don’t have specific feedback, don’t worry too much. There’s only so much you can do to help others feel connected and engaged.
For your co-workers: Don’t respond to their non-work related pings immediately. If you are in the middle of something, that Michael Scott GIF doesn’t need an immediate action. Keep it moving! It’ll still be there later for a little LOL and an emoji later.
⚡️ And one last thing…
When was the last time you did something nice for your office manager? If they’re always there to support you, don’t forget to support them. And if they’re not always there for you, a gesture of appreciation might bring them around.
See you next week!
Jon
My last job had Dropbox, Google Docs, and several servers we had to mine for what we needed. I could save so much time if someone could choose a system and just use it.
Thanks for the follow, for curating my Monday reading list, and for the pithy insights.