Patience has never been my virtue. I tap my feet waiting in line, traffic is a nightmare and “take the long way home” never made sense to me.

In business, I never thought this was an issue. Getting the task done as quickly as possible was always something I was praised for, when I was someone else’s employee.

Now that I’m managing people, this lack of patience may be my downfall.

Without even realizing it, most leaders do and say things that create ineffective employees. Christine Comaford, author of SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together says even good leaders unconsciously strike fear in the hearts of their work force.

“From time to time, we all say or do things that spark unconscious fears in our employees,” says Comaford. “The primitive ‘fight, flight or freeze’ part of the brain takes control. When that happens, when people are stuck in what I call the Critter State, all they can focus on is their own survival.”

Just like the garden, no one wants critters. But, I get the feeling my lack of patience is creating this mental state.

Continue to reading to learn how to practice patience and put people first.

The problem people find with emails is that it is difficult to communicate the tone of your voice. 

Depending on the mood the person on the receiving end is in will determine how it is read.

The thing you were trying to joke about? It might be read as being snooty. The friendly email sent to cover up the annoyance you feel? It will sound immature.

When you send a professional email that may sound rude, you can feel compelled to add a smiley face or put a “LOL” next to it. You need to stop doing that now – you will start to see a difference on how you are treated in the workplace.

Learn how to eliminate useless words from your emails and start getting to the point.

Think of that one friend, coworker or client who knows just the right thing to do to get under your skin. You have probably found yourself complaining about this person once or twice.

It’s easy to complain about negative habits, especially when you are repeatedly exposed to them on a weekly or daily basis in the workplace. 

Next time a negative trait in the workplace presents itself, challenge yourself to spin it into something positive. We are PR pros after all. With that kind of attitude, you’ll definitely be more successful and also find yourself feeling happier.

Continue reading to learn how to transform negative habits into positive thoughts.

We get it. Phone interviews are tricky, but they’re also an unavoidable reality when it comes to finding a job or internship.

At Garden Media, we screen every intern candidate with a phone interview first. This ensures we’re bringing in the right people for the job and, most importantly, not wasting anyone’s time.

As the intern supervisor, I’ve conducted a fair share of phone interviews. I am here to tell you there are specific things that make one candidate stand out from the others.  

Continue reading for tips on how to nail a phone interview.