How to help employees prioritize what matters

How to help employees prioritize what matters | Today's leaders need to embrace uncertainty | What makes your company unique? Focus on that Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( October 19, 2018 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Google+]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [FORWARD]( [] Leading Edge [] [How to help employees prioritize what matters]( Employees who are eager to please often take on too much work, which is all the more reason for CEOs and other leaders to establish clear goals for their teams, writes Joel Trammell, CEO of Black Box Network Services. "Once an employee truly understands the mission and strategy, he or she has a powerful sorting tool for incoming requests," he writes. [Khorus blog]( (10/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [Today's leaders need to embrace uncertainty]( Leaders can't eliminate uncertainty, so they must learn to navigate it by instilling a team-first approach rather than the traditional hierarchical, one-man-knows-best approach, Chris Lewis argues. [Great Leadership]( (10/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( 5 Strategies for Working in Cross-Cultural Virtual Teams Despite investing in technologies that make cross-cultural virtual teams easier than ever before, most organizations still underinvest in the intercultural skills necessary to get the most out of that technology. [Learn 5 key strategies for managing virtual teams](. ADVERTISEMENT [] Strategic Management [] [What makes your company unique? Focus on that]( Digital transformation isn't much different from overall strategy -- it should zero in on what sets a company apart and helps customers access that service or product, writes Nigel Fenwick of Forrester. "Ninety percent of your business is simply not that unique -- stop pretending that it is," he writes. [Forrester]( (10/17) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( Earn a free subscription to The New York Times Enjoying your SmartBrief? Why not share it with your network? Simply copy and share your personal referral link below. Once you refer five new subscribers, we'll send you a redemption code for your complimentary one-year access to The Times. Your Referral Link: smartbrief.com/leadership/?referrerId=japnABMSAp ADVERTISEMENT [] Smarter Communication [] [Question your way to positive influence]( Conversations are conduits of influence, so we should use them to build up others and spark positive solutions to project or interpersonal work problems, writes Cheri Torres. Instead of getting frustrated, try asking open-ended questions when you see a colleague is frustrated or when a problem is complex and seems intractable. [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (10/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [Learn to understand body language, and your conversations will improve]( Watch for other people's body language to detect how they are feeling toward you, and use that knowledge to adjust your own body language toward them, say authors James Pyle and Maryann Karinch. "Your body language is a response to them that is designed to get them into the state of mind you desire," they say. [Skip Prichard Leadership Insights]( (10/17) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Smarter Living Get your mind and body right each Friday [] [Try doing something fun to fix your low energy]( Sometimes an impromptu break can give us energy even as we're being active, writes Laura Vanderkam, who describes the benefits of a trip to the zoo with her children. "In other words, in the strange calculus of the energy equation, doing something can be more recharging than trying to do nothing," she writes. [Laura Vanderkam]( (10/15) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] In Their Own Words [] [Why we should root for Elon Musk]( Why we should root for Elon Musk Musk (David Mcnew/AFP/Getty Images) Elon Musk's ambition and revolutionary projects have captured imaginations and excited people about the future like none other in recent years, so many people are hoping he overcomes his recent setbacks, argue writers surveyed by Popular Mechanics. "Humanity's access to space appears to have been changed forever, filling people with hope and revitalizing our sense of exploration that had been so dulled," writes Ashlee Vance. [Popular Mechanics online]( (10/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [How much can you make filling out online surveys?]( There's money to be made taking surveys online, but not much, writes Diane Shipley, who spent parts of 30 days filling out such forms. She only earned $34.77, failing to meet her goal of covering her phone bill. [The Billfold]( (10/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [] [] Clarity is the antidote to anxiety, and therefore clarity is the preoccupation of the effective leader. If you do nothing else as a leader, be clear. Marcus Buckingham, business consultant and author [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google+]( [Email]( [Sign Up]( [SmartBrief offers 200+ newsletters]( [Advertise]( [Learn more about the SmartBrief audience]( Subscriber Tools: [Manage Subscriptions]( [Update Your Profile]( [Unsubscribe]( [Send Feedback]( [Archive]( [Search]( Contact Us: Jobs Contact - jobhelp@smartbrief.com Advertising - [Laura Engel](mailto:lengel@smartbrief.com) Editor - [James daSilva](mailto:leadership@smartbrief.com) Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2018 SmartBrief, Inc.® [Privacy Policy (updated May 25, 2018)]( | [Legal Information]( Â