How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life pdfdrive com

Manage your own baggage.
Identify your hot-button patterns—
triggers that you particularly respond to—and your early warning signs.
Decide on a quick “step back and reset” routine, including a question to
fully engage your deliberate system (e.g., “What really matters here?”).
Raise difficult issues with skill.
Set your collaborative intention. Then,
in the conversation: ask permission, make your factual observation,
share your feelings (and why the issue matters to you), invite the other
person’s perspective, and jointly discuss a solution.
Side note:
if you find yourself repeatedly putting off a difficult
conversation, revisit 
Chapter 7
, on 
procrastination,
for techniques that
will help you take action.

---

TEN
Bringing the Best Out of Others
Whether you’re a manager with hundreds of direct reports, an entrepreneurial
one-man band, or part of a team of equals, it helps to know how to bring out the
best in other people. Life is generally far more fun when our colleagues are in
good form. Just think about how wonderful it feels when someone steps up and
takes responsibility for his or her work. What a thrill it is when someone you’re
counting on comes through with some great ideas. How refreshing it is when
someone accepts our comments in the entirely helpful spirit in which they’re
meant.
It might seem that our chances of experiencing this kind of healthy
collaboration depend squarely on the character and capabilities of our
colleagues. But, as always, our own behavior plays a major role. There’s a lot we
can do to help other people fully inhabit the smartest, most resourceful and
flexible version of themselves. Obviously, the advice in the previous two
chapters will help you build rapport and manage tensions. But this chapter
covers another four techniques for bringing the best out of the people you work
with, whether you’re the boss or not. In fact, these tools can help you see the
sunniest side of your family and friends, too. Planning a vacation together will
never feel quite as challenging again.