Prevent a BIG Management Mistake

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What causes worry, stress and anxiety in employees? Unclear job requirements. Here are a few suggestions for improving employee job ownership and satisfaction by creating clear performance agreements.

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One Manager is Probably Enough. Two is Likely More than Enough.

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Matrix management is dead? Nope – some people are dealing with two managers, as if one wasn’t enough. There are problems with that, of course, outlined here with a few solution ideas too.

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What to Manage: Workers? Or the Links Between Them?

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Good management practices are a path to better organization performance. One important practice is getting feedback on the success of a team’s products, services and communications to others inside the organization and outside it too. Feedback is a valuable performance resource: how else will we know if our groups are performing well?

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A Close-Up Look at Micro-Management

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I didn’t know what a micro-manager really was until I got one of my own. My sympathies to the oppressed. Most work – whether producing products, serving customers and/or delivering communications – requires thought and attention, and is best with an occasional dose of creativity and innovation. A micro-manager can quash all that by dictating every move. If you think you might be suppressing your people this way, have a talk with them to find out what changes they would like to see.

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The Leadership Challenge… Again.

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Competent leadership: a personality trail or a practical communication skill? Perhaps a mix of both. It comes with a caution, though.

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Feeling and Thinking Happen Inside Us.  Communication Happens Between Us.

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There is some connection between the world of our feelings and thoughts and the world of our actions and communications, but we don’t know much about what it is. Still, if you practice acting and communicating, and listen openly others, you can discover “how you come across”.

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Communicate – Don’t Accumulate

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We often overestimate our own ability to put up with unspoken thoughts and underestimate the ability of others to deal with them. Fortunately, a new book hits the nail on the head about giving people “feedback”.

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The Manager-Staff Gap – And an Idea for Updating the Performance Review

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Managers see their world of work in a very different way than staff members do. What does this tell us about how to improve Manager-Staff communication? The performance review is a good tool that can support a more effective Staff-Manager relationship.

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Supervisors See Four Kinds of Personnel

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What makes a good worker? Here is a collection of criteria from seven different types of organization, where Supervisors – not Managers – defined four levels of employees.

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Accountability is a Manager’s Job – Not an Employee’s Mindset

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Don’t look for accountability in a person. Create the structures and agreements that support a shared understanding of Who is responsible for producing What results and When those results are due. Then establish regular meetings to update the status of those agreements and modify them as needed.

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