It surprises me that I have not turned to this subject sooner in this series of articles, since it is such an important topic. So much of value happens in a manager’s first year — both good and bad — that most of us who have managed for many years, still maintain quite vivid memories [...]
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Tag Archives: advice for managers from managers
MEETINGS: THOSE THAT SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BE HELD
February 7, 2012
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It is almost impossible to imagine modern business, non-profit, or government work getting accomplished, without people gathering in a seemingly endless round of meetings every day. Meetings are so much a part of our everyday work life that we rarely ever question their necessity, although we complain about their number incessantly. The only thing that [...]
Read moreCOMMUNICATING DECISIONS
February 2, 2012
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A common criticism I hear about management, is that they often announce important decisions with little or no explanation, rationale, or indication of the precise results they hope to achieve. Moreover, these complaints often come from line managers who say they are often required to explain senior management decisions to their workforce, with only the [...]
Read moreARE YOU ABOUT TO LOSE YOUR JOB?
January 19, 2012
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Right-sized, down-sized, cut lose, laid off , let go, declared excess, victimized by a company’s collapse, or fired, losing one’s job — for whatever reason — is just plain AWFUL and very painful in most cases. I was involuntarily let go once. I was 19 years old and a busboy at a resort hotel in Florida. [...]
Read moreWHEN SUBORDINATES ARE DOING THE BOSS’S WORK
January 11, 2012
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Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! It is almost impossible to take a management course or read a management book that does not drive home the importance of delegation, if a manager is to do her or his job properly and succeed. And when the discussion turns to managers who have delegation difficulties, these discussions tend to focus [...]
Read moreLITTLE THINGS MATTER: # 10
December 20, 2011
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MINIMIZE THOSE SYMBOLS OF POWER —– When one becomes a manager in many organizations, there are numerous symbols of power and authority that often accompany this newly acquired status. An office, for example, is generally construed as quite a status improvement over a cubicle in the bullpen. Perhaps the office comes with a window to [...]
Read moreLITTLE THINGS MATTER: # 9
December 15, 2011
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NOT PRESUMING YOU KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR OTHERS —– Back in the 1950′s, one of America’s most popular television shows was a program called “Father Knows Best”. Once I became a father myself and gained a little experience at the demanding fatherly task, I began to seriously doubt that was always the case. And [...]
Read moreLITTLE THINGS MATTER: # 7
December 8, 2011
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CLEAR POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS —– In a previous blog I entitled “Being Smart”, I referred to Stanford Professor Carol Dweck’s remarkable study of over 400 New York City fifth graders in which she demonstrated that simply by creating the mind-set and expectation that one group of the study’s participants were hard workers, she was able to encourage [...]
Read moreLITTLE THINGS MATTER: # 6
November 30, 2011
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SENSE OF HUMOR —– Freud considered humor one of the most sophisticated forms of psychological defense mechanisms. I have long considered it an indispensable asset for succeeding as a manager. To understand why, let’s look at the nature of work. Some time ago, I took an evening walk with a colleague of mine after [...]
Read moreLITTLE THINGS MATTER: # 5
November 25, 2011
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BEING IN THE PRESENT —– Ask any subordinate if he or she wants to work for a manager who really doesn’t want their job and the answer will usually be a resounding NO! From a subordinate’s point of view, their immediate manager serves several vital functions they must depend upon for their own success. Subordinates [...]
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