Being helpful can show you're a flexible team player, but when it becomes a people-pleasing habit, it can undermine your effectiveness, creativity and ability to make sound judgments and decisions, writes Katia Vlachos, a reinvention coach and author. Vlachos offers five remedies, including getting clear about your core values, being strategic about what you say yes or no to and asking trusted colleagues to give you a nudge when you fall back into accommodating habits, Vlachos writes.

Put it into practice: Instead of using your free moments to help others, schedule time for focused work and mental health breaks -- and don't allow anyone to compromise them, Vlachos writes. "The idea is not to become less collaborative or supportive of your organization but to engage in ways that maximize your contribution while maintaining your effectiveness."

Generative AI can be a transformative force for organizations, and leaders must tailor training to specific roles, balancing theory with hands-on practice, writes Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts. By creating role-specific modules, employees across various departments can learn specific skills and ensure that what they know is relevant and directly applicable to their jobs, Tsipursky notes.

Put it into practice: Use games, quizzes and progress trackers to keep your team engaged as they learn to use Gen AI and make sure programs have sufficient human and financial resources, writes Tsipursky. "Designing an effective Gen AI learning program is a strategic imperative for organizational leaders in the era of AI."

Whether you love or hate making small talk, experts say it can improve mental health, create a feeling of connection and reduce loneliness. The good news is that you can get better at small talk by asking others general questions about themselves or researching people ahead of time if you're going to a networking or business-related event, says Cornell University Professor Sunita Sah.

Put it into practice: If small talk makes you anxious, Stanford Graduate School of Business Lecturer Matt Abrahams recommends pausing before answering instead of feeling like you need to respond quickly. "Or you can ask a clarifying question that gives yourself time to think," Abrahams added.

Companies should consider diversity, equity and inclusion as separate but interconnected concepts, says Anne Chow, former CEO of AT&T Business and current board member at Franklin Covey, 3M and CSX. Chow stresses that diversity is an inevitable demographic change, equity is about fairness and outcomes, and inclusion is a strategic imperative, warning that companies that abandon DEI risk long-term damage. "If you cannot lead inclusively, then you will eventually lose to somebody who can," Chow says.

Hasbro is set to release a new version of Monopoly that replaces the traditional banker role with an app, aiming to modernize the game for tech-savvy children. The updated version, which will be available in August, eliminates paper currency in favor of digital transactions, reflecting children's familiarity with mobile devices and tap-to-pay systems.

The term resilience is replacing ESG and emerging as a new focus in sustainability investing. Companies such as Standard Chartered and DP World are prioritizing resilience to mitigate climate change impacts, with investments in technologies that withstand extreme weather. Despite political challenges and opposition to climate initiatives in the US, the demand for such investments continues to grow, and the shift is seen as crucial for futureproofing businesses against increasing climate-related risks.

I have the people-pleaser tendency that Katia Vlachos writes about. I think many women, no matter their field, find it difficult to say no or to protect their time. Most women are collaborative by nature, and we want others to see us as team players.

It's easy to become too nice, too accommodating. Make a habit of it, and you may find your productivity, creativity and work suffer. It's also easy to begin to compromise our core values when we're asked to do things that take us away from our goals.

That's why Vlachos' first step is to get clear on your values. What do you want to accomplish? Don't let other commitments get in the way of that goal.

Then, get strategic with your help. Are you using your strengths by helping? Are you moving the company's goals forward? If not, let the other person know why you must use your energy differently and suggest others who may have the skills they need and who can help them.

As Vlachos notes: "Declining requests effectively requires skill and nuance. Create a framework for evaluating and responding to requests that maintain relationships while protecting your boundaries."

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