Management for Accomplishment, 1-2-3: Here is Step Three

All three steps – Alignment OF the people, Production BY the people, and Accomplishment FOR the people – are needed for effective management. Drop out one step and you are likely to diminish or prevent the alignment, the productivity, and the accomplishment. Management isn’t difficult when you break it down to what you want: the people engaged in their work, the job done well, and the real-world satisfaction for all in its accomplishment.

Management for Accomplishment, 1-2-3: Here is Step Two

Step Two in “Managing for Accomplishment” is Managing for Production: setting up the structures and agreements that establish (a) success metrics, (b) a workable performance network (you’ll learn what that is if you don’t already know) and (c) agreements for coordination and communication in that network. Without this, production is delayed due to missteps – the reason so many projects exceed their timelines.

Management for Accomplishment, 1-2-3: Here is Step One 

Step One on a group task or project: Get people aligned on (a) What needs to happen, (b) Who’s who, and (c) How it relates to its external environment’s rules and requirements.

This Middle Manager is Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When your Boss is not paying attention to what you need, and you are managing a group of people who want to become a team, what do you do? Claire paved the way.

No Closure, No Accomplishment

A normally upbeat and productive guy was suddenly downcast and discouraged yesterday morning. I went in to see Chuck and talk about progress on his most important project – implementing an employee development program – and he wasn’t even interested anymore. Wow. “This project doesn’t matter,” he said. “I thought it would make a huge […]

A Tip for Smarter Staff Meetings

  A manager I know came up with the best idea I ever saw for having her staff meetings be short and smart. Her name is Sharon, and she has a staff of 14 direct reports. I borrowed her idea myself when I managed a conference, and I have recommended it to every manager I […]

The Myth of Silos, Fences, and Boundaries

A great teacher once asked me to take 15 minutes and make a list of all the things I am ignoring in my life. I did it: the list included a basket of mending, a rude neighbor, and the funny noise my car made when I went over 50 mph. Then I read the list […]

The Teamwork Thing

The biggest problem I’ve seen with teamwork in my years of consulting is that two conversations are missing. First, the team might have been launched with a good statement of “What we’re here for + When we want to see results + Why these results matter to us and to others”. But usually that’s said […]

New Initiative – Identify my Performance Circle

I led a program recently for project managers and saw their biggest challenge is that most people don’t see the “bigger picture” when they are at work on a project – or any work assignment, for that matter. Most of us tend to focus on what’s in front of us (the desktop, both computer and […]

Missing Communication Skills Doom Projects

Why is there such a high failure rate among projects?  One reason is that there is a gap in the soft skills of project managers.  Although project managers are well trained in the technical “hard” skills of risk assessment, project planning, etc., little attention is given to interpersonal or people skills – the so called […]