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.
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.
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.
Here’s a nice little article on management communication in times of organization change – an important skill to develop, whether the change is small or large, simple or complex. Put this to work!
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.
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”.
Completing all aspects of a workplace problem or upset, especially when it involves several people or workplace activity, can be immediately important. Forgiveness can save the day, but not without closing out the original trigger for the issue. Fix it, then forgive it.
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”.
Feedback comes in different flavors – appreciation is one of them. But all feedback, if it is respectful and useful, can be valuable.
Awarded "Best Management Book" by 800-CEO-READ.
Rated #5 "Best Business Book" by The Toronto Globe and Mail.