The people at work who definitely know you have arugula in your teeth are also probably the least likely to tell you about it: your direct reports.

• As a manager, your main job is to drive team performance. But that fact, coupled with a clear power dynamic, sometimes means your reports are reluctant to give honest, unfiltered feedback.
• And yet, how do you become a better leader without knowing what needs fixing?

Enter: reverse performance reviews. If you want radical candor, flip the script and have your direct reports give you a performance review every once in a while. After all, if you dish it out, you’ve got to know how to take it too.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you set up a reverse performance review:

Establish goals up front. This isn’t meant to be an employee vent session or feedback just for feedback’s sake. Like in any performance review, everyone should be working toward actionable next steps because of this feedback.

Create guardrails. A framework for a review goes a long way. When in doubt, there’s nothing wrong with the classic “meets/does not meet/exceeds expectations,” as long as you qualify what each looks like in practice.

• And in terms of subjective questions to include, remember that you’re trying to get your direct report to reflect on how you can improve for their benefit.
• Try out phrasing like “As a manager what should I keep doing, stop doing, and start doing?” and “How can I better support you in your role?”

Review the data and talk it out. There’s plenty of advice out there saying this process should be anonymous, but our hot take is that if you have a good working relationship with this direct, you should have a follow-up convo face-to-face.

• That way, you minimize the risk that things get lost in translation, plus there’s space to ask follow-up questions and collaborate on the best ways to keep working together successfully.

Set up progress reports. There’s nothing more frustrating than putting in time and effort providing thoughtful feedback only for it to end up lost in a sea of someone’s Chrome tabs. So when it’s your turn to receive feedback, show how valuable it is to you by responding appropriately and, where relevant, putting it in action.

• Then hold yourself accountable by sharing progress with your direct at least once a quarter.

Self-awareness creates team awareness, so make sure you’re getting actionable feedback from your team.

And don’t worry, for all our direct reports out there, this is a two-way street—suggesting a reverse performance review during your own review is a great way to keep the dialogue going without it seeming like you want to yell at your boss.—CS

Earlier this month, the Excel World Championship took place on ESPN. Yes, that sentence has been fact-checked. Competitive Excel is a thing, and the spreadsheet esport is pulling in more viewers than those glass bottles getting pushed down the stairs.

• Last year’s competition has since racked up more than 800,000 views on YouTube, and this year’s finals event will take place live in Las Vegas, with a $15k prize fund to boot.

But you don’t need to be a professional Exceler (or a very tired financial analyst) to master the world of spreadsheets. Here are a few Excel tricks to impress your coworkers the next time you have to share your screen.

Navigate quickly. There’s nothing more embarrassing than the silence on a call while you’re scrolling through a large dataset. These shortcuts will get you out of awkward situations faster than you can say “you’re on mute.”

• Ctrl + : Skip to the last cell in a row [switch Ctrl to Command if you’re on a Mac]
• Ctrl + : Skip to the last cell in a column
• Page Down: Move one page down in your Excel sheet
• Page Up: Move one page up in your Excel sheet

Delete blank cells. If you’ve ever copy/pasted a large dataset, you know the pain of selecting and deleting all the blank rows. Here’s how to get rid of ’em.

• Highlight your dataset. Then select all blank rows by pressing Ctrl + G, pressing “Special,” and selecting “Blanks.”
• Once all your blank rows are highlighted, right-click, select “Delete,” and then press “Shift cells up.”

Create new shortcuts personalized to your needs. Why go chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry when you could have Phish Food? Same goes for your Excel toolbar. Spice up the regular ole “Save” and “Undo Typing” by creating a new shortcut menu for quick access.

• Go to “File” → “Options” → “Quick Access Toolbar.”
• From there, add options like “Cut” from the left-hand column over to the right and then save.
• PS: This only works on a PC. If you have a Mac, check out how to do it here.

Dive deeper: When you’re ready to Rocky your way into the Excel World Championship finals, check out this free, live Excel class on pivot tables and data cleaning on September 13.

Help us help you by taking our survey.

You’ll ensure we’re giving you exactly the content you want and need out of Raise. And you’ll be entered to win a $250 Amex gift card in the process.

Fill out our survey now—it’ll take five minutes

When you’re traveling to New York for a work trip, you’re either bracing yourself for unstable Amtrak wi-fi or mayhem at Newark Airport. But for all our Bostonian readers, there’s a secret shortcut: taking a seaplane.

• We love a good “quiet luxury” story as much as anyone, especially if it involves intentionally landing in the East River.
• That’s just another day at the office for Tailwind Air, which takes commuters between Boston, NYC, DC (soon), and of course, the Hamptons.

Ready to finally have the perfect small talk topic at your company’s NYC on-site? Here are a few details to know about flying via seaplane before you use the company card to book your flight:

• Last I checked, Logan International’s runways are tarmac. So where does the seaplane take off? We hope you like caviar and martinis. You check in for your flight at an oyster bar on the Boston waterfront. Less than 90 minutes later, you’ll find yourself rubbing shoulders with real-life Shiv and Roman Roys, a few blocks from Madison Square Park.
• My company gives us a travel stipend—how much does this cost? OK don’t get mad at us; we’re just the messenger. Round trip by seaplane is about double what a commercial flight lands you (and triple the Acela fare), BUT you don’t have to languish in a middle seat or hoist your suitcase into an overhead compartment.
• I love telling all my coworkers how great TSA PreCheck is. Will I need to scamper around in my socks during security here? As far as we can tell, all you need to do is bring your ID and show up to the waterfront 20 minutes before takeoff. Oh, and your dog can come too.

And for those of us who are headed to a big company party at NYC headquarters (oddly specific why do you ask) and couldn’t convince Accounting to pay for the seaplane route, console yourself with the fact that there’s no Café Car up in the clouds.

Got other commutes worth shelling out the big bucks for? Reply to this email with your tips, and we may include them in a future Water Cooler piece.

Read: When you’re the boss but your employee makes more money.

Listen: Tune in for a Planet Money Summer School episode on the “innovator’s dilemma” and why it took so long for dishwashers to go mainstream.

Clear your head: You’ve got competition for your midday brain break around the block—David Sedaris hits 21,000 steps every day.

Shop: The Brew’s Relaxxxxx Candle is 75% off, and there are only a few left—get them while they’re hot.