Management By Objectives (MBO) was popular not long ago, and has been updated to include a different perspective. It’s not about managing people anymore. It’s about managing the agreements for “performance” in a network designed to achieve a goal. Find out more about “performance” right here.
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.
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?
I’ve been clearing out – very slowly – the client files from my career as a management consultant. I found some notes on what one workshop leader – I’ll call him Alex – said about “how to be a good manager”, and as you’ll see below, I didn’t agree with him on several of his […]
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.
Managers are expected to have other people “produce results” as well as to “develop” them and their performance. Here’s an easy way to get both at once.
We sometimes hear about “living up to expectations”, but it’s time to recognize that it’s impossible to do such a thing without a few prerequisite conditions. We would be better off insisting that people practice communication instead of expectation.
It’s time to stop the “leaders are special people” conversation and pay attention to what is actually happening throughout the hierarchy of organizations. Putting a halo on the people at the very top, or on people of certain “types” or “styles” is not useful. Management is necessary and valuable, and managers are worth hearing, honoring and supporting.
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.
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.
Awarded "Best Management Book" by 800-CEO-READ.
Rated #5 "Best Business Book" by The Toronto Globe and Mail.