The Four Levels of Ownership and Accountability

managers resource handbook

        Everyday, our employees make commitments and take actions to complete various job-related tasks.  Sometimes this is in response to the responsibilities that we, their managers, assign.  However, in many cases the actions they take are simply the result of their own duties: talking with customers, meeting with colleagues, or in support of a given project.  Regardless of the

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Presentation Slides: They’re Just a Message Delivery System!

Example of a Busy Presentation Slide

Create Slides That Manage Your Message Every organization holds periodic management reviews of current programs, projects and initiatives.  We have all experienced them: we share the current financial outlook of a project compared to the initial plan, we identify any changes in strategic direction, and we highlight to the executives any new challenges that have emerged.  Of course, the overall intent of such internal reviews

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10 Secrets for New Managers

How to be a better manager

Settling In as a First-Time Boss For some new managers, the idea of giving performance reviews and being responsible for others can be intimidating.  For others, there are questions concerning how they manage people older than them, or fears of being accepted by their new team.  Though I’ve been managing teams for nearly two decades, I too, had these fears.  Bottom

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Why Making Your Employees Fail Makes You A Better Manager

managers resource handbook

How to Manage Arrogant Employees There is a reason why employee development is a constant topic among management teams.  After all, in addition to being responsible for getting a job done, we as managers are also tasked with the growth and development of our employees.  This part of the job, though, is especially hard when we have an arrogant employee who doesn’t

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Managers vs. Leaders, Authority vs. Influence

What is the Difference Between Management and Leadership? Much has been written about the difference between managers and leaders.  It’s an important discussion because they are in fact, not the same thing.  Further, a conversation explaining the difference between management and leadership to our employees can greatly benefit an up-and-coming staffer, who is considering future positions in your organization.  Let’s take

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BLUFing Your Communication at Work

managers resource handbook

How to Present Information to Your Target Audience We’ve all experienced it.  We ask for an update and our employee who sits just three offices down writes you an email that takes them an hour to write, and you 20 minutes to read.  Or, we get 4 attachments full of data and numbers that clog our inbox.  The concept of audience is taught

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Management Success Series Tip #3: Common Sense or Common Knowledge?

The previous tips in this series discussed the importance of influence (Tip #1) and visibility (Tip #2) as a manager.  Both of these may seem pretty obvious, which leads us to Tip #3.  On a flight not too long ago, I had a typical business traveler conversation with the passenger sitting next to me.  You know, it was that “What do you do?”,

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Management Success Series Tip #1 – Your First Day as Manager

  The Transition to Management   It’s a common experience.  You left work on Friday afternoon thinking about your weekend plans.  On Friday you were just a team member and part of the “crew.”  On Friday, you were given your tasks and were not responsible for what others did.  Sure, you were part of a team, but you were pretty much responsible for yourself.  Then, on Monday you start

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