When meetings veer off track, everyone’s time gets wasted. But what if you’re not in charge and the meeting leader is the source of inefficiency? It can be daunting to question a superior, but you can do it without challenging their authority. First, think about the standard procedures for planning a meeting: inviting the right people, sending out pre-work, and developing an agenda. Start your feedback there, since focusing on procedures won’t feel like a personal attack. If you do need to address the way someone runs a meeting, tread with caution. You certainly can’t say, “This was a lousy meeting, and here’s how to make it better.” But you can offer some quick assessment mechanisms to help the meeting leader reach their own conclusions: a meeting process checklist that people fill out anonymously, a survey that participants complete online, or quick questions that everyone discusses at the end of every meeting. We all are accountable for keeping meetings effective, whether we are leading them or simply participating. Adapted from “Keeping Meetings on Track When You’re Not in Charge,” by Ron Ashkenas

A driven employee is every manager’s dream. But when you have a direct report whose ambition and desire are overmatched by their ability or experience, managing expectations isn’t easy. If the employee asks for a promotion they just aren’t ready for, here’s how to handle the situation. One of the most powerful things you can say in response is, “I believe in you.” (If you genuinely mean it.) After acknowledging their contributions, say, “You’re not yet ready for that promotion. Let’s talk about how you can get there.” Help your employee understand what they need to learn before a promotion is possible — and that you’re there to help. If, for example, they lack cross-functional skills, suggest they do a stint in another division or join a company-wide committee. Dig deeper. Learn what motivates your employee by asking open-ended questions like, “What does success look like for you?” If they want recognition or more autonomy, think about ways you can provide those things. Adapted from: “What to Do When Your Employee Asks for a Raise Too Soon,” by Rebecca Knight

If you’re a hiring manager, you’re probably happiest getting a sense of a candidate through unstructured interviews, which allows you to explore details you think are interesting and relevant. This method of interviewing makes it easy to tailor the direction of the interview and may help you understand your applicant’s personality, but it’s fraught with unreliability. Individual biases end up creeping in; for example, research shows that hiring managers tend to look for someone like themselves in interviews. To make the best decision — one that’s impartial — standardize your interviewing process and ask the same questions of each applicant. Then score and compare all candidates’ responses horizontally. That is, if you interview five candidates, compare each of their answers on question one, then each answer on question two, and so on. Doing so will help eliminate subjectivity. The flow of conversation during the interview may be slightly more awkward, but the payoff is worth it. Adapted from “How to Take the Bias Out of Interviews,” by Iris Bohnet

As more and more employees work offsite, virtual meetings are becoming a necessity. Since it’s harder to “read the room” when you’re not actually in the same room as your team, these meetings can be tricky to navigate. The key is to focus on building relationships. Allow 10 minutes at the start of each meeting for people to connect and catch up with each other. Think of this as your virtual watercooler time, when you can engage in informal conversations. Ask questions about personal lives and families to get to know each other outside the context of work. Once you officially start the meeting, be sure to refer to each contributor by name so that everyone feels recognized and part of the community. When you can, meet face to face with team members. These techniques help lay the foundation for authentic conversation and connection, which ultimately lead to more-effective virtual meetings. Adapted from “What Everyone Should Know About Running Virtual Meetings,” by Paul Axtell

Delivering consistently stellar results should be enough to get ahead at work. Keeping your head down and focusing on getting your work done should help you move up the ranks of a company. But, unfortunately, doing good work is only part of the success equation. If you want to prove your worth, you must embrace office politics. You have to “play the game” and navigate all of the tricky interpersonal relationships and sticky situations that go well beyond your actual job description. Observe how those who are rising through the ranks at your company communicate, network, and strategically manage their own careers, and try to replicate their techniques. Look for chances to talk to influential executives, and make sure your contributions are noticed by those above you. If it feels unnatural or uncomfortable at first, that’s okay. Professional growth often requires getting outside of your comfort zone. Adapted from “Great Leaders Embrace Office Politics,” by Michael Chang Wenderoth

When you give a presentation, you’re trying to change your audience’s beliefs about something. So it’s crucial to consider what assumptions your audience holds about your topic — and how you want those to change. For example, let’s say you’re delivering a presentation to potential university donors. You want to move them from being skeptical that the school will make good use of the money to feeling excited about the innovative research they could help support. This shift will encourage them to donate, so keep it in mind when planning your presentation. Ask yourself, “How do I want them to behave differently? How must their attitudes or emotions change before their behavior can change?” Acknowledge the difficulty of what you’re asking them to do in order to accept your idea. If you want to make it clear that you understand their point of view, explicitly acknowledge their concerns and outline a concrete idea to address them. Focusing on what people care about will make them much more open to change. Adapted from the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, by Nancy Duarte

360-degree feedback synthesizes many people’s perspectives about an employee and his performance, giving you a much more complete view of the person than you’d get otherwise. But gathering and putting together these reports can be time-consuming, and people may be uncomfortable formally criticizing their colleagues. So if you choose to implement a 360-degree feedback process, you should first explain to people that it’s meant to be constructive, not punitive. When gathering opinions, ask for specific examples about what the employee is doing well and what they should work on. Make sure to diversify your pool of respondents by asking several peers, direct reports, and internal and external customers for input. Once you’ve collected their feedback, select what would be relevant to your performance review and use this data to supplement your observations. Adapted from Performance Reviews (20-Minute Manager).

Negotiating your salary can reap huge long-term benefits. But most of us are reluctant to try. Here are some common excuses and how to overcome them: “What if they get upset with me for asking?” To avoid potential backlash, invest extra effort in how you ask. Let the other person know in advance that you wish to negotiate. Give them time to prepare, and meet in person, if possible. “What if they say no?” Stop thinking about how bad you’ll feel if you hear a no. Think instead about how good you’ll feel when you’ve initiated the conversation. That way you’ll be saving face if you have the conversation and losing face if you continue to avoid it. “It’s not like me to ask.” This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Throw out this mental picture and replace it with an image of a person you can view as a negotiation role model. Adapted from “Overcome Your Reluctance and Start Negotiating Your Salary,” by Judith White

You’re in the middle of a heated negotiation with your colleague. You want to come across as confident, but inside you feel timid. During these difficult situations, there are actually two conversations happening at the same time. One is obvious: It’s the conversation you’re having with someone else. The other is the conversation you’re having within yourself about how willing and able you are to stretch outside your comfort zone. To negotiate successfully, you need to question your position in both conversations. When you’re negotiating with someone else, look beyond your stated position to find commonalities. And when you’re negotiating with yourself, your “position” might be that you’re unwilling to be more assertive. Dig a little deeper and ask yourself why. Is it an emotional challenge? Are you afraid of being assertive? Or is it a skill-based challenge? Getting to the bottom of why you’re unwilling to step outside your comfort zone is the first step in becoming a better negotiator. Adapted from “The Two Conversations You’re Having When You Negotiate,” by Andy Molinsky

There it is in your inbox: an invite to a meeting you really don’t want to attend. Maybe it’s shoehorned into one of the few remaining open spaces in your calendar. Or maybe it’s for a time that’s already booked, and now you’re left to decide whom to turn down. How do you decline an invite without burning bridges? Ask yourself: Can I recommend someone else? Invest some effort in finding the right person to attend the meeting so you don’t appear to be shirking the responsibility. Can I contribute in advance? Take a few minutes to pull together some notes and brief the chair or a suitable participant ahead of time. Can I attend for part of the meeting? If one or more agenda items don’t apply to you, ask if you can attend only the parts of the meeting that do. Adapted from “Polite Ways to Decline a Meeting Invitation,” by Liane Davey