Welcome to Misti's Insights

Managing your team? Piece of cake. Managing up? Slightly more complicated. Managing sideways? Diplomatic tightrope act. But you can make an impact with your peers – if your intentions are good and your execution includes understanding and compassion. ...

Washington Post Q: We all need advice as we seek success in our careers and lives. What are your five favorite business books, and why? What advice wasn`t so helpful? A month after quitting my job in Bethesda, Md., and several attempts at finding a new, more...

Six months prior to graduating with my master`s degree, I walked into the career counseling center at my university. There was a woman, Jackie, behind the desk next to the door, who greeted me immediately. "Do you have a meeting?" she asked. "A meeting? With who?" I...

“He’s fresh out of college and has been with the company for less than six months, and I’m supposed to listen to him,” Kris muttered as she shared with me about her struggles and grievances with her new – much younger – boss....

When my best efforts fail, I ask myself if my goal is still important. If it is, I get out of my head, share my challenge and ask for help. While I have never had to personally deal with a failure of such all-encompassing significance as the BP oil spill, I can...

“You`ve got this. You can do this. You know what you`re doing,” I told myself as I prepared for a full day of meetings at a Fortune 100 telecommunications company that had just hired me to improve its dismal retention rate. Me!? I was a 25-year-old speaker...

Q: The South Korean government has a problem: Employees are working too much. The average government worker there takes only six of 23 alloted vacation days a year. How important is time off? Does productivity suffer or rise when workers forego time off? Should those...

Q: Will Pope Benedict be so damaged by the clergy abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church in Europe that his papacy never recovers? Or does the crisis offer him an opportunity to distinguish his leadership from John Paul II`s wildly successful years as Pope? The...

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat; boredom did. And that’s an important lesson for those of us who wonder about the new and exciting opportunities that await us but, fearing the “worst that could happen,” never take the plunge. I met Roman, an...

Wash Post Q: NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas was sentenced to two years of probation for his gun-fueled locker room confrontation with a teammate. Why do so many hugely talented stars -- athletes, actors, politicians -- work hard to achieve success and then behave in...

Wash Post Q: Women calling the plays? Natalie Randolph has just been hired as the varsity football coach at Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., which may make her the only female head coach in the country. What will be the obstacles to her success and how should...

Nobody likes to be micromanaged, right? Yet, so many of us expect to be trusted without proving we deserve the reigns. Traditional leadership training preaches that good managers should set clear expectations for employees. Many experts even suggest creating detailed...

Wash Post Q: Was Desiree Rogers too interested in the spotlight to be successful as White House social secretary? Do some jobs require more discretion and less acclaim? Will Julianna Smoot be more suitable for the job -- or just less flashy in it? Change is difficult....

Wash Post Q: Jay Leno is back in his 11:30 p.m. "Tonight Show" slot, after a disappointing run in prime time and a messy showdown with Conan O`Brien, who briefly replaced him. Can Leno win back his status as king of late night and all-around nice guy? As viewers turn...

Wash Post Q: The Washington Post and other media outlets are keeping careful count of the number of medals the United States and other countries are winning at the Winter Olympics. Should so much attention be focused on the medal count? Is winning gold, silver or...

Washington Post Question: Speedskater Simon Cho: Single-minded or misguided? Is it wise when athletes pursue success at the expense of their educations? Simon Cho dropped out of high school to train as a short-track speed skater, and his father sold his business...

I love connecting people! I recently arranged a lunch to introduce Laura, an investor, and Jan, an incredibly successful woman who has served as CEO for several start-up technologies companies. I was just happy to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. I listened...

Washington Post Question: Last week, Caressa Cameron, a 22-year-old student from Virginia, was crowned Miss America, a pageant that once epitomized a certain kind of beauty, talent and promise. Is this kind of contest completely outdated, or does it offer a legitimate...