Recently I was trying to replace the batteries in my wireless mouse and couldn’t get the cover off—again. I had struggled with this same task previously (trying paper clips, pens, X-ACTO knives, scissors, brute force, etc.), but this time it was different. I stopped trying to fight it and sat back, relaxing the frustration.

“Certainly,” I said to myself, “a massively successful company such as Apple would not make replacing batteries in a mouse for a Mac difficult. Everything Steve Jobs designed was about elegance.” That shifted my focus. If taking this cover off is super easy, what is the [...]

Often we hold back from giving feedback to others, even when it’s important to us and to the health of our relationship. Maybe we’re afraid we’ll hurt their feelings even if it's constructive, or we’re afraid of their reaction. Or maybe we think they’ll feel we’re criticizing them. But if we don’t give others feedback, we may hold on to resentment or anger toward them, which can spill over into later communications and even cause distance in our relationship.

I write regularly for a women’s business website, and I often have the opportunity to interview career women who are really making a difference in their workplaces and their communities. In these interviews, we often discuss how they got where they are, what kinds of things factored into their success, and how they find work-life balance. One factor that almost always comes up is mentors, and the importance of women helping other women. How do you find a mentor? And what is the difference between coaching and mentoring?