Careers
fromHarvard Business Review
1 day agoWhen Feedback Crosses the Line
Negative feedback improves performance only when delivered thoughtfully; belittling or humiliating feedback backfires and impairs performance.
When expectations are unclear, trust in leadership and collaboration begins to drop. When this happens, the frustration that follows is real. But the deeper cost is often invisible-trust begins to erode. This dynamic is increasingly common. Roles evolve, priorities shift, and teams are asked to move faster with less certainty.
Like it or not, business language is a reality. And today we're going to talk about where these buzzwords come from, what purpose they serve, and their unintended consequences. Here to talk about this and also about how English is evolving as the global business language is Anne Curzan. She's a professor of English at the University of Michigan and the author of several books on language. Her latest is Fixing English.
Being a CEO isn't just about leading meetings or setting strategy. It's about being the living, breathing example of what your company stands for. That role includes telling your story in a way that genuinely connects with people, both inside and outside the business. Leadership today demands more than numbers and goals. It calls for authenticity. A strong CEO brand isn't just a PR exercise; it's a chance to reflect the deeper purpose behind your company.
In a company's early days, culture is forged through proximity-shared desks, late nights, and the push-and-pull of turning ideas into reality. Decisions happen on the fly, and everyone knows each other by name. But as you scale-especially as a remote-first organization-that sense of connection can quietly fade. Suddenly, you realize you can't attend every onboarding, celebrate every milestone, or even recognize every face on a Zoom call.
Many organizations are prioritizing the integration of AI tools into the workplace. Early studies show AI can boost employee performance, improve communication, and help expand customer bases.