EDITION 785
30 SEPTEMBER 2019

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How to improve the behaviour in your next meeting. It’s helpful to start a meeting by agreeing on procedural rules, like “start on time and end on time” and “put phones on silent.” But ground rules that focus on behaviour, not just logistics, can help your meeting be even more successful. These rules describe specific actions that team members should take to act effectively. Here are a few to consider: [MORE]
    
2. Ask for advice, not feedback. Asking others for feedback often leads to vague, less useful input. But when we ask others for advice based on our previous performance, we are more likely to receive guidance that we can act on. Why the difference between two seemingly similar requests? The word “feedback” encourages people to think about the past, not the future. Asking for “advice” instead triggers others to think specifically about what might help someone improve in the future. Harvard Business Review
    
3. Alison Rose’s elevation to the top job at RBS is cause for celebration. Never before has the UK had a woman running one of its big four banks. Her elevation comes after a series of high-profile campaigns that have failed to improve women’s lamentably slow climb up the corporate ladder. Research has shown that companies with the greatest gender diversity in the boardroom are 21% more likely to be more profitable than their peers and 27% more likely to create superior value. The Guardian
    
4. Brits spend more than five months in interview processes over their lifetime. New research claims that, when jobseekers apply for a role, they spend an average of 27 days in the interview process. Given that people currently move jobs around six times in their life, this equates to 162 days – or 5.3 months – in total. Consultancy jobs have the longest interview process, the research claims, with interviews at KPMG, EY, Deloitte and PwC spanning an average of 55 days. Yahoo
    
5. Britain needs billions a year to meet climate goals. The UK needs billions of pounds every year to meet its 2050 climate targets, according to a report commissioned by the government. The study calculated that the UK would need as much as £20bn a year to remove up to 130m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: This report presents a variety of different options. The Independent
    
6. It’s alright to cry at work. Crying is not only common at work; it actually can be beneficial for the entire workplace. Some 8 out of 10 employees say they have cried at the office. Sobbing on the job is subject to unjustified stigma, with research suggesting that some view it as a sign of diminished competence. But managers and co-workers who show compassion have a key opportunity to understand key issues that have been simmering in the office. That understanding can lead to lasting, positive change at work. CNN
    
7. Thousands of state schoolteachers giving private tuition. Around 80,000 state schoolteachers in England are teaching private lessons in a bid to boost exam results, according to new research by education charity The Sutton Trust. The study shows that almost a quarter of state secondary teachers and one in seven primary school teachers have taken on private tuition in the last two years in order to give students extra help. Some head teachers are actively promoting their staff as tutors, despite complaints from teaching unions that their members are overworked. The Times
    
8. Obesity not caused by lack of willpower. Obesity levels increased by 18% in England between 2005 and 2017, and the story was similar in the rest of the UK. So, what's causing this change? It's not simply a "lack of willpower", according to the British Psychological Society. Genetic risk of obesity, work and social environments and lack of opportunity for physical activity also play a part, it adds. BBC
    
9. My book of the week. For the Record, by David Cameron, is just like many other political memoirs in that it is full of self-justification. But is unusual in that it doesn’t hold back when it comes to recriminations and the former prime minister has particular venom for both his predecessor and the current occupant of Downing Street. This is not the most compelling political memoir I have read and the depth of your enjoyment of it will probably come down to whether you think Cameron’s time in office was good for Britain or not. But whatever your view, the former PM’s voice comes through clearly, and his book is worth a read. Editor
    
10. The bottom line. The OECD downgraded its forecasts for global growth and warned of recession in the UK. It said a no-deal Brexit would slice 3% off UK economic growth over the next three years, and 0.6% in the rest of the EU. Meanwhile, The Children’s Commissioner revealed that one in five children in England leave school without having achieved five GCSEs with grades A* to C, or the equivalent. The Times