From Unfinished To-Do Lists To Making Better Hires: This Week’s Top Leadership Stories

This week we learned why our unfinished to-do lists might not be such a bad thing, how bad apples slip through the interview process undetected, and which digital career slip-ups to avoid.

These are the stories you loved in Leadership for the week of September 5:

1. How Writing To-Do Lists Helps Your Brain (Whether Or Not You Finish Them)

The very act of planning can be a productivity booster all by itself. This week we took a crash course in the psychology that makes writing (if not actually completing) to-do lists so powerful.

2. Why Your Hiring Process Keeps Missing Candidates’ Character Flaws

According to one moral psychologist, the standard methods recruiters and hiring managers use to screen candidates aren’t the best at judging character. Here’s a look at why and some tips on how to better test someone’s ethical mettle.

3. Three Digital Decisions You’ll Regret Someday

Big-time career blunders are usually the stuff of office lore: loud arguments with a boss, a happy hour that got out of hand. But there are just as perilous missteps you can make in the digital sphere, and many of them are harder to avoid. These are three of the most common.

4. 7 Questions For Spotting Employers’ Hidden Flaws On A Job Interview

Job interviews are typically pretty short, scripted experiences that don’t often give candidates the clearest window onto what it’s like to work at a company day-to-day. But you can use the wrap-up portion, when it’s your turn to ask the questions and probe under the surface. Here’s what to ask and the types of responses to listen for.

5. Three Warning Signs That Your Personal Branding Has Gone Too Far

Like it or not, personal branding—at least to a certain extent—is useful for most professionals. For people who work for themselves, though, it’s absolutely crucial. That increases the risk that the typical branding methods can become onerous, disingenuous, or worse. This week writer and independent worker Suzan Bond explains how to prevent personal branding from becoming a form of “identity labor.”