Category: Professional Growth - Page 6

The Best Way to Give Effective Praise at Work, According to Simon

Posted on May 22, 2024May 22, 2024 by Emily Priddy

We all love praise, but delivering it effectively is a learned skill.
The Optimism Company recently conducted a poll with 13,790 participants, revealing that most workers prefer to be praised in private rather than in public.
Simon reveals his go-to method for giving effective praise.

Fact: We all love praise. Be it a little compliment on an outfit, a thank-you for some help with a task, or even just a thumbs-up after a presentation, praise is a ray of sunshine that can clear up a cloudy day. And yet we often forget that giving praise effectively is actually a skill.

It’s not just about saying “good job” and moving on; it’s about making your team members feel valued and appreciated in a meaningful way. Also, how you choose to deliver your praise—whether it’s in public, in private, in person, over Slack—can make all the difference.

For perspective, we recently conducted a poll to learn more about how people prefer to be acknowledged for their good work, and 13,790 people participated. The results were fascinating:

Turns out, most of the respondents indicated a preference for private conversations. This suggests that personalized, one-on-one praise goes a long way for many workers.

Others, however, felt differently. Some enjoy being acknowledged in front of their peers. Others value tangible rewards or gestures of appreciation, such as a handwritten note or a small gift.

Equally as interesting were the variety of detailed responses we received in the comments to our poll. People shared their unique and creative ideas for how they like to be praised. Here are just some of the comments from our poll participants (ed note: some have been lightly edited for clarity):

From Tonya B.:

I personally don’t need public accolades. However, I have learned that when it comes to work, praising in public can open doors. People are impressed by this sort of thing, so it can lead to new opportunities. So tell the world. Otherwise, an email for my ‘kudos’ folder and a cash bonus would be great!

From Sarah M.:

I love when my manager takes the time to give me specific feedback on my work. It shows that they’ve really paid attention and appreciate my efforts.

From Emily S.:

“I appreciate when praise is tied to the bigger picture. Knowing how my contributions contribute to the team’s success motivates me to keep up the good work.”

From Cole T.:

“If promotion, raise, or bonus are not an option, then my preferred recognition would be a personal meeting with my leadership team where I was thanked for the stellar work and given the opportunity to share my key learnings from the experience. I could also provide feedback on where I encountered hurdles and inefficiencies. This would really make me feel truly appreciated as it demonstrates to me that they actually care about the work I put in along with any ways the process can improve for next time.”

From Chuck D.:

“It’s not about how. It’s about intentions. Authenticity is powerful and memorable.”

As you see, giving praise effectively isn’t necessarily one-size-fits-all.

Simon’s Tips for Giving Effective Praise

When choosing the setting for your praise—whether in a team meeting, a company town hall, or one-on-one—use your best judgment based on your knowledge of the employee and their preferences. When in doubt, Simon advises making it a one-on-one conversation.

“In-person is always the best,” he says. “Over-the-phone is second best. Giving praise over email and text are weak substitutes. As a general rule, if you can email someone, you can call them.”

For the praise itself, Simon suggests structuring it in a specific way:

Start with, “Here’s the thing you did.”
Then, say, “Here’s how I feel about what you did.”
Follow with, “Here’s the impact of what you did.”

He provides this example:

“Jennifer, when I was in your meeting the other day, I saw the way you talked to your team. It made me so proud and showed that you are the best example of our values. I am confident that if you keep doing that, your team and group will thrive beyond any of our expectations.”

Feels good, doesn’t it?

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How to Master the Art of Working Less and Achieving More

Posted on May 10, 2024May 16, 2024 by Emily Priddy

Learn the art of practicing “strategic laziness,” a productivity mindset that teaches you to minimize your efforts while maximizing your results.
Research shows that productivity declines significantly after working for 55 hours per week. Your objective should be to optimize your working hours and your off-work hours.
Continue reading for valuable tips from Denise Green, an Optimist Instructor and an expert in achieving work-life balance.

One of the worst things about being overwhelmed at work is that it creates a vicious cycle. The more you stress about your workload, the more time you spend actively trying to manage that stress. Consequently, you end up spending more time stressing and less time actually working.

But how do you fix it? Well, Optimist Instructor and work-life balance specialist Denise Green suggests a counterintuitive trick that can help break this cycle: learning the art of strategic laziness.

No, really. Embracing laziness will indeed make you more productive. (We weren’t kidding when we said it would seem counterintuitive.)

So We Don’t Have to Work Very Hard Anymore?

Not exactly. Strategic laziness is a productivity strategy that teaches you to minimize your efforts while maximizing your results.

Denise swears by it, and teaches the core tenets of strategic laziness in her class, Conquer Overwhelm and Boost Productivity, which you can access in our Optimism Library.

“Strategic laziness may feel lazy, but it’s not,” she says. “It’s like saying animals are lazy for taking a nap. Animals understand that without rest, they won’t be able to hunt and survive. However, we often believe we can keep going endlessly, which is not the case.”

The Truth About Laziness

We all know that laziness has always been viewed as something of character flaw. But despite what “rise and grind” influencers may tell you, laziness is a genetic trait shared by all humans, hardcoded into our DNA to aid in survival. Energy is a limited resource, after all, and humans have evolved to be mindful of how they expend it.

“Athletes and musicians understand this,” says Denise “They know that without proper rest, their performance suffers. Understanding this concept will not only help you overcome burnout and excessive work but also increase your productivity and enhance your reputation.”

With that in mind, here are a few tips for putting strategic laziness into practice and accomplishing more by embracing your inner couch potato:

1. Rethink Your Definition of Success

Instead of measuring success by the number of hours worked or tasks completed, focus on the value you produce. Embrace the concept of the “minimum viable product” in your daily tasks. Ask yourself, “What is the least I can do to be productive and create value?” This doesn’t mean compromising quality; it means finding the most effective way to achieve results without burning out.

2. Understand Your Limits

A study by Stanford University found that productivity per hour declines sharply after working more than 50 hours a week. Beyond 55 hours, productivity drops so much that putting in more hours becomes pointless. Embracing strategic laziness, which includes periods of rest, can offset this decline in productivity.

3. Leave Your Desk Several Times Per Day

If you’re finding yourself staring at a blinking cursor on your computer or doomscrolling, take a walk with your pet, meditate, grab a coffee down the street, or even take a shower. Do something to get a change of pace and reset your stress. After all, a lot of times your best ideas come to you when you’re not working.

4. Try the Pomodoro Timer Method.

Select a single task to focus on and set a timer for 25 minutes. Use that 25 minutes to do some deep work on the task until the timer goes off. Then you take a 5 minute break to walk around, get a snack, relax, etc. Set your timer again, repeat cycling your bursts of working and breaks for three of four rounds, and then take a longer break of about 30 minutes.

According to Denise, you’ll be amazed to discover how much work you’ll get done when you formalize a short burst of time in which you allow yourself to hyper-focus on your work.

5. Get to Know Your Optimal Routine.

Sometimes working against your nature isn’t the way to go. Take the time to check in on your brain and body throughout the day. Are you more productive in the morning or the afternoon? Do you work better after a meal? Does tea help your focus? Find what conditions work best for you and schedule your workday to be complementary to them.

For example, you may find that your mornings are best suited to creative work and your afternoons are best suited to meetings and admin. Recognize your moments of peak performance, and arrange your day around those moments.

6. Enjoy Lower Stress Levels

In addition to improving productivity, strategic laziness also helps preserve your mental and physical health by reducing stress and anxiety associated with overworking.

Continuous work without adequate breaks can lead to chronic stress, which can contribute to serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and mental health disorders like depression or anxiety. Incorporating strategic laziness into your routine, such as taking short naps, engaging in light physical activities throughout the workday, or setting boundaries on work hours, can significantly mitigate these risks.

“Remember, strategic laziness isn’t just about finding time to relax—it’s about making relaxation a strategic part of your success,” says Denise. “Embrace it, and watch how it transforms not just your work life but your entire well-being. You deserve it.”

For more, check out The Optimism Library.

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Where Does Vision Come From?

Posted on May 3, 2024November 15, 2024 by Simon Sinek

Only after years of abuse and demand for change did American revolutionaries embrace the idea of starting their own nation. In other words, the vision came second.

The drive to build a business from scratch is the same. The desire to solve a problem or build a better mousetrap comes first. The vision comes later.

So people feel they need to have a vision before they can do their life’s work or “find their passion” will likely die searching.

Think of it like going to space—the goal may be clear, and the problems to solve may be in front of us, but the view of the planet from space is unknown until the spacecraft gets into orbit. It is that view that creates the vision for something more profound. As almost every astronaut reports when they return to earth—it was the view, a planet of infinite beauty and without borders—that inspired them to become more idealistic and care more about world peace.

So, put the need to find a vision aside…for now…and find a problem to solve, a suffering to relieve, a person or people to help. And from that passionate drive to do good, the vision will emerge. It is at that point that the vision will serve as a beacon for something even bigger than the original problem we set out to solve.

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3 Game-Changing Tips for More Effective Meetings

Posted on May 3, 2024May 16, 2024 by Emily Priddy

Statistics reveal that 47% of workers consider meetings the top “time waster” at work, while 45% of all working professionals feel overwhelmed by their meeting schedules.
The essentials for productive meetings include assigning three specific roles within your team, establishing clear goals, and consistently concluding meetings on times ending in “5” (e.g., 1:55pm, not 2pm).
Communication expert and Optimist Instructor Lori Zukin explains these tips and more.

Meetings: love them or loathe them, they’re with us to stay. If you’re lucky enough to rise through the ranks, statistics suggest that a significant chunk of your work hours—up to 50% for upper management—could be spent in meetings. That’s a staggering 30,000 to 45,000 hours over an entire career, akin to watching the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy nearly 4,000 times from start to finish.

No wonder the refrain “this could’ve been an email” is so common.

But what if meetings didn’t have to be a drain on time and productivity? According to communication expert Lori Zukin—who teaches a popular course in The Optimism Library called “Make Meetings Efficient and Productive”—the key to great meetings lies in one word: structure. With the right framework, meetings can become more than just hum-drum gatherings—they can be opportunities for collaboration, clarity, and progress.

Here are three simple tips from Lori to get you started:

1. Assign Exactly Three Roles Among Your Team for Every Meeting

“Knowing who owns the meeting can drastically improve its effectiveness,” says Lori. “Having clarity on who is the owner, even if it’s a fast meeting, is helpful, especially if you want to keep it fast in the first place.”

Note: This ownership also means owning all follow-up actions.

Alongside a meeting owner, Lori recommends designated a notetaker and a timekeeper, as well.

“Assigning someone to take notes and another as a timekeeper ensures that A) important decisions and details are remembered and B) the meeting runs smoothly and respects everyone’s time,” she says.

2. Schedule Your Meetings to Conclude on Numbers That End in “5”

Instead of scheduling a meeting to run from 1:00pm to 2:00pm, Lori recommends a simple yet effective hack: Schedule it to run from 1:00pm to 1:55pm. Instead of hosting a meeting that runs from 2pm to 2:30, make it 2pm to 2:25pm.

This slight adjustment provides crucial buffer time between meetings, allowing participants to decompress, address urgent tasks, or simply take a breather. In a remote-work world filled with Zoom calls, this could simply mean giving your team the opportunity to use the bathroom.

These short breaks are vital for sustaining energy and concentration throughout the day, enhancing productivity and reducing the strain of consecutive meetings.

“Having 5 minutes in between meetings can significantly enhance productivity and reduce the stress associated with back-to-back scheduling,” says Lori.

3. Yes, Every Meeting Needs a Stated Goal Agreed Upon Beforehand

Every meeting should begin with a clear agenda that acts as a roadmap for the discussion, ensuring that all participants are aligned with the meeting’s objectives.

“Ideally you’ve done it before,” says Lori, highlighting the importance of preparation. “A well-planned agenda includes the meeting’s title, date, time, location, and participants, along with a detailed outline of what will be discussed.”

This transparency ensures that everyone understands the purpose of the meeting and is prepared to contribute effectively. This agenda can also be where the aforementioned notetaker can compile the takeaways from the meeting in a place everyone can see them.

Oh, and if you don’t have a clear goal you want to achieve for your meeting? According to Lori, that’s a surefire sign that the meeting could’ve been an email.

For more, check out The Optimism Library.

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3 Effective Ways to Turn Your Workplace into a Community

Posted on May 1, 2024May 16, 2024 by Emily Priddy

Research shows that a strong sense of community at work improves performance, reduces turnover risk, and results in fewer sick days.
We can all do our part to build a sense of community with small but effective gestures: asking the right questions regularly, prioritizing praise and recognition, and creating shared lists of interests.
In this article, entrepreneur, speaker, and Optimist Instructor Rachel Drunkenmiller, who specializes in assisting organizations find purpose and build strong cultures, provides expert tips.

Amid our daily tasks, back-to-back meetings, urgent emails, and ever-growing to-do lists, it’s all too tempting to believe there aren’t enough hours in the day to think about bigger things like fostering a sense of community at work. (After all, isn’t that HR’s job?)

But research suggests that prioritizing a sense of community at work is well worth our time.

A study by Deloitte found that those who experience a strong sense of belonging enjoy a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% reduction in turnover risk, and a 75% decrease in sick days. What’s more, research published in the Academy of Management Journal found that stronger work communities are hotbeds for the type of workplace connections that result in promotions and stronger emotional support, while fulfilling a very human desire to serve and give back to others.

While building a community is, of course, a group effort, there’s a lot we can do individually to help. According to Optimist Instructor Rachel Druckenmiller—an entrepreneur, speaker, and consultant who teaches a class in The Optimism Library called “The 3 Keys to Effective Employee Engagement”—you don’t have to go as far as asking your team to run a marathon together, join a book club, or perform trust falls.

You can try three simple things.

1. Create a Shared List of Interests

“Here’s a fun thing I advise all teams to do: Create a list called ‘Our Favorite Things,’ and invite people to fill it out,” says Druckenmiller.

The things can range from serious to silly—personal passions, exercise routines, comic-book movies, go-to snacks, coffee orders, television shows, and restaurants.

Once completed, everyone will have the opportunity to get to know their coworkers better. What’s more, it can inspire thoughtful gestures.

“It’s just this beautiful way to connect,” says Druckenmiller. “And it doesn’t have to just be peer-to-peer, either. It can be boss-to-direct reports, or from one department to another. Anybody in the organization can acknowledge and be inclusive towards somebody else.”

2. Ask These Two Golden Questions

Druckenmiller singles out exactly two questions that can significantly impact how supported and valued your team members feel:

“How can I best support you right now?”
“Is there anything you need to do your job better?”

While these may sound like questions best asked in a yearly review, she advises you to ask these questions regularly. They show a genuine interest in each employee’s well-being and professional needs. They also reflect a curiosity that, as Simon points out, “is core to empathy and all interpersonal interactions within the workplace.”

3. Repeat After Us: “Praise, Praise, Praise”

“It’s a fact: There are five-and-a-half times more praise and recognition than there is critiquing on high-performing teams,” says Druckenmiller. “On low performing teams, it’s inverted. There are three times as much criticism and critiquing as there is praise.”

Yes, recognizing people matters. “It’s about making sure that we’re focusing on appreciating what is good, and calling out what is good, and not waiting till someone’s on their way out the door to tell them why we value them,” says Druckenmiller.

At the end of the day, she says, it’s a preponderance of small stuff that can turn a mundane office into a thriving community.

For more, check out The Optimism Library

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Try This One-Minute Breathing Exercise to Instantly Calm Your Mind

Posted on April 29, 2024May 16, 2024 by Emily Priddy

Learn how your brain is hardwired to skew towards negative thoughts, and why practicing gratitude helps.
Gain insights from Omar Brownson, an Optimist Instructor, successful entrepreneur, civic leader, and expert in gratitude and mindfulness.
Omar reveals step-by-step instructions for his helpful, one-minute breathing exercise to calm your mind.

Are you stressed out these days? You’re hardly alone. In fact, if you believe the folks at Bloomberg, the single biggest unifying force in America right now is our collective stress level.

According to LA-based entrepreneur, civic leader, and Optimist Instructor Omar Brownson (who is also one of the most trusted authorities on the subject of gratitude and mindfulness), there are plenty of effective ways you can better cope with your stress on a day-to-day basis. He details them all in “The Gratitude Class,” which you can access in The Optimism Library. But we took the liberty of laying out his go-to one-minute breathing exercise for chilling out that you can try at work—or anywhere else—below.

The Importance of Gratitude

Omar categorizes gratitude as a critical lens through which we can view our experiences in a more positive light. He explains, “If meditation helps us notice each breath, and mindfulness helps us notice change, then gratitude helps us notice good.”

Our brains naturally skew towards negativity. For whatever reason, stress and negativity tend to stack up and store in our thoughts. Gratitude acts as an essential counterbalance. Omar describes it as “an antidote to that negative orientation,” which is vital for emotional well-being and resilience.

This mindset isn’t just about ignoring the negative but rather about recalibrating our focus to appreciate the positive, thereby “rewiring our brains and even rewilding our hearts.” Practicing gratitude should not only be recognizing good but also fostering an environment where positive emotions are triggered more readily than negative ones.

Step-by-Step Breathing Exercise to Cultivate Gratitude

Here’s Omar’s simple yet profound breathing exercise to help individuals anchor themselves in the present moment and foster gratitude. Below is a guided walkthrough from Omar’s class on how to conduct this practice. And the best part? It only needs to take a minute or two:

1. Get Comfortable

“I invite you to get comfortable in a way that works for you. Whether you want to close your eyes or just gently rest them away from the screen, find a position that allows you to feel at ease.”

2. Notice Your Breath

“We’re just going to take a few moments to notice our breath. Notice the seat that is holding us. Notice our feet on the ground.”

3. Focus on the Details of Breathing

“With each breath, maybe bring some attention to where you feel it entering. Maybe you feel it in your nostrils, your throat, your chest, or your belly. And maybe focus on the exhale. Do you feel the heat of the exhale in your nose?”

4. Awareness of Tension

“Bring some attention to your body. Notice your shoulders wherever there might be some tension. No need to do anything about it. Just bring some awareness to it.”

5. Heart Awareness

“The last place we’re going to bring some awareness to is just our hearts. Notice, is it beating fast? Beating slow? Does it have a feeling attached to it?”

6. Return to the Room

“As this last breath invites you to bring your attention back into the room, I came to this space. And open your eyes when you’re ready.”

This practice is designed to slow down the mind, allowing you to shift from a state of doing to a state of being. It’s not just about relaxation but about cultivating an acute awareness of the present, which is crucial for gratitude.

Omar’s perspective on gratitude goes beyond simple thankfulness. It’s a practice that can profoundly affect our emotional and psychological health, helping us to navigate the complexities of life with a more positive, resilient outlook on the days to come.

Use this quick breathing exercise at the point in your day when you feel the most stressed.

For more, check out The Optimism Library.

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Is Your Boss a Horrible Person?

Posted on April 23, 2024June 24, 2025 by Simon Sinek

A friend was struggling at work and wanted some advice. So we went for a walk.

“My boss is a horrible person,” she started to tell me.

“Oh my god!” I replied. “Does she kick her dog and abuse her children?”

“No,” my friend responded, confused by my question.

“Ah,” I said. “So we don’t know if she’s a horrible person. All we know is she’s a horrible leader.”

We very often confuse someone’s skillset with their character. Indeed, my friend’s boss may be a horrible human being, or perhaps she’s operating from a place of fear or crippling insecurity. Maybe she’s in over her head. Perhaps she had bad role models as she moved through her career. All we can say for sure is that she lacks the skills she needs to be a good leader.

This is an important lesson.

When we confuse someone’s skillset with their character, we will treat them that way. We will act defensively or aggressively to protect ourselves or our interests, which may only inflame the stress, fear, or insecurities someone has. If it’s coping skills they lack, we may be the ones pushing all their buttons and making a bad situation worse.

In contrast, if we can have empathy for the fact that our boss may simply be lost, afraid or clueless, our attitude, words, and actions will change dramatically. How we show up will relieve tension and actually give us more agency in the relationship.

Of course, we hope that our boss will see how we act as inspiration. But we can’t count on that. All we can control is ourselves. In so doing, we build our own skills and actually become the leader we wish he had. After all, as I firmly believe, taking action to become the leader we wish we had is among the most powerful ways we can thrive in a difficult job.

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The Best Way to Give Feedback without Damaging Morale

Posted on April 23, 2024May 16, 2024 by Emily Priddy

“Can I give you some feedback?”

If you’ve ever had to utter those words at work, you know that what follows can be a seriously stressful tightrope walk. Your colleague hangs on your every word while their heart rate spikes, and they brace themselves for impact. Meanwhile, you’re talking on eggshells, doing your best to be constructive without crushing morale. But the truth is, giving negative feedback doesn’t have to be so difficult. So, what’s the best way to do it?

Well, the short answer is that you should approach feedback with self-awareness and sensitivity, especially if you are in a leadership position. In fact, a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found that it is critically important for leaders to be sensitive when providing feedback to employees, with many participants feeling that the more harsh the feedback, the less of a feeling of psychological safety is fostered. This, of course, backfires: it creates a work environment with less communication, collaboration, and openness.

If you don’t know where to start in your journey to better communication, entrepreneur and leadership expert Kristen Hadeed is here to help. Kristen is the instructor of “Delivering and Accepting Feedback Effectively,” a class you’ll find in the “Leadership” section of The Optimism Library. For her part, Kristen swears by the FBI method, a classic technique she frequently employs within her company to cultivate an environment where constructive feedback can thrive. Here she explains how to do it.

Understanding the FBI Method

The “FBI” method stands for “Feelings, Behavior, and Impact.” One of the strengths of the FBI method is its versatility. “You can use it for both types of feedback. You can use it for growth feedback, which is what I call critical feedback, right? It’s the way to inspire someone to change their behavior. Or you can use it for recognition, which we also identified is a really important form of feedback,” says Hadeed.

According to Hadeed, this approach is tailored to articulate feedback in a manner that is both insightful and empathetic. “The F is the feeling. How does this person’s behavior make you feel?” Hadeed explains. This initiates the feedback by personally connecting with the emotional effect of the behavior.

As mentioned, the “B” in FBI stands for behavior. “What is the specific Behavior that led to the feeling?”

Hadeed explains: “When we address the actual behavior, it allows the feedback receiver to understand exactly what action is being discussed. It sounds obvious, but sometimes in our nerves to deliver feedback we cut out details that can be crucial to the point of the conversation. When that happens, the actual sentiment of what needs to be worked on can get muddy.”

“Impact” refers to the consequences or effects that the behavior has had on the team, project, or individual goals. “What was the greater impact of that person’s behavior?” says Hadeed.

So, as an example, let’s use this feedback:

“You interrupted me in that meeting and completely blindsided the conversation.”

In all honesty… Yikes! The language is abrasive and accusatory, and creates an immediate tension with the person you are giving that feedback to. Odds are, they will naturally feel the need to get defensive, and the conversation can turn unproductive very quickly.

If we recontextualize this feedback through the lens of the FBI method it might sound like this:

“I was really disappointed when you interrupted my pitch in that meeting to bring up your own immediate opinion, because I was unable to explain an idea that I was really passionate about and the idea got shut down because of the way the conversation was derailed.”

The feedback is now based on your personal experience. Your feelings cannot be invalidated or contested, because they’re your feelings. You mention the exact behavior that caused a problem, and the impact of what that behavior was for both your ability to move your work forward as well as your personal morale. Approaching feedback in this way sets a more disarming, cooperative tone from the get-go and is much more likely to usher in a more positive result.

Kristen also emphasizes that it’s also important how feedback is introduced. “I believe you have like 5 to 10 seconds to land the plane in order to have a productive conversation,” she says.

The Benefits of Effective Feedback

Being able to give constructive feedback is vital to a healthy work culture. Research shows that appropriate feedback can enhance employee engagement, with statistics from Gallup revealing that employees who receive regular feedback are 3.5 times more likely to be engaged at work. Furthermore, a study by Zenger and Folkman suggests that 92% of employees agree that when delivered appropriately, constructive feedback can effectively improve performance.

Effective feedback not only clarifies expectations but also motivates individuals, fosters professional growth, and strengthens relationships within teams by promoting transparency and trust.

Implementing the FBI method can significantly improve the quality of feedback within an organization. It encourages a respectful and empathetic communication style, ensuring that feedback leads to positive outcomes rather than conflict. As businesses and leaders continue to seek ways to foster growth and improvement, mastering such techniques becomes invaluable.

If you thought that Kristen’s lesson on the FBI was useful, try it out next time you’re in a tough spot and need to give some tricky feedback.

For more, check out The Optimism Library.

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Should You Give Two Weeks Notice When you Quit Your Job?

Posted on April 17, 2024June 24, 2025 by Simon Sinek

In a perfect world, decency, kindness, and courtesy will always prevail. But let’s get real.

A lot of people are starting to argue that giving your two weeks is unnecessary. “They wouldn’t offer the same courtesy to me if they didn’t want to employ me anymore—they would simply fire me on the spot and I would be out within an hour.”

It’s an understandable response. Often, by the time you’ve finally decided to leave your job, you have compounded a lot of negative emotions towards your employer. Those emotions need a release, and what better way than to stick it to your shitty boss than to simply go and leave them in the lurch?

It’s tempting to leave with bad blood, but it’s not as self-serving as it might immediately feel at that moment.

You really should give two weeks notice when you quit, but don’t think of it as courtesy to your company. Think of it as a favor to yourself. It’s an opportunity to set yourself up for success in the long run. Put in your two weeks and then use those two weeks to do some of the best work you have ever done. Make it so that when you leave, they realize that it was a tragedy that they ever let you go in the first place.

And if there’s just too much bitterness? If it’s just too tempting and you give in to all of that resentment towards your soon-to-be-ex job and leave in a blaze of glory? Just remember this:

The world is small. People know other people, and those people talk. And the truth of it is, when they talk about you, anything positive that you did for that company will never be acknowledged.

And that new job that you really wanted but didn’t get? Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, it’s because of how you left the last one?