You’ve Got an Improvement Project?  First, Listen!

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Sometimes we are so sure we know what other people need and want that we don’t talk with them about it. We just go ahead and give them our solution, then wonder why they don’t appreciate it.

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The New World of Management

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We used to think people should “just do their jobs”. That day is pretty much gone. Now that we need to reinvent the job – often, and sometimes every day – we’d better get really good at productive communication.

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Communication – One Way to Get Unstuck

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Sometimes people get resigned about where they find themselves in their work or their life. (Been there!) It’s good to find a way to have some new conversations with people who can offer a new perspective, or a new access to another approach, another path. Communication is the key.

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The Missing Piece in Managing for Results: Know Your CRABs (no, not that kind!)

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We specify our work goals, and our intended results, and (sometimes) remember to give solid deadlines. But we often forget an important piece of our work specifications: the collaborators, resource-providers, authorities, and beneficiaries of our productive work.

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Create Certainty for Yourself and Others – Start Saying “By When”

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Specifying “by when” you’ll get back to someone is an easy way to give people confidence in you. You may have to check your calendar to do that, but it’s a small task that benefits you as well as the people around you.

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How to Handle Lateness – It’s Everywhere!

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People, assignments, resources – lots of things show up late. We can do something to turn it around, or, if not, lateness will become a cultural fixture.

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Preventing Change Fatigue: Burnout is Expensive – Communication is Not

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People stop paying attention to an overload of changes at work – unless you take the time to debrief the progress of the change now and then. It begins to look like a swirl of pointless activity until someone says, “Hey! We cut our backlog in half!” Or, “We just saved X dollars on transportation and distribution!” Closure conversations are worth mastering.

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Why Do Some Managers Ignore Poor Performance?

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The work of managing performance is simple and specific. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to make time for that work, or that it is the most fun part of a Manager’s job. But it IS part of the job.

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Stop Managing People, Step 2. Reconsider Those 1:1 Meetings

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Private conversations are useful in the workplace for some things, like hiring or re-positioning someone. But performance conversations – agreements for what people will deliver – are best done by the group. It builds teams, increases integrity, and improves “delivery performance”.

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