Your HR Career

8 steps to being an effective witness in court, depositions

01/01/2006

Many HR professionals (and most supervisors) aren’t prepared when called to serve as witnesses. One simple mistake can hurt your organization’s chances and damage your professional image. Use these eight tips to create practice sessions for yourself and other employees who serve as witnesses.

Candor: Apply with extreme caution

12/01/2005

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying— a bit defensively—“I was just being honest,” rest assured that you’re not the only person to have offended a colleague, customer or staff member with your candor. But effective leaders smooth out the rough edges of their candor, with these techniques.

How to nail down a flaky boss

04/01/2005

Q. Our CEO changes his mind constantly. After we agree on a project, he’ll come back to me a day or two later with a different plan. How can I pin him down? —L.G., South Carolina

How to disagree with your boss–productively

05/01/2004

Disagree with the boss? Some managers say they can’t do it. Some won’t. Some wish they could. And some say it’s not necessary. But in our experience, the boss isn’t always right—and sometimes needs feedback to tell him so.

Hear ‘Great idea, but …’ for the final time

10/01/2003

The biggest mistake you can make in trying to sell your ideas is to pitch them to the management team as a group. It’s much more effective to influence their thinking one person at a time. Here’s how: