A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS — Freud considered humor one of the most sophisticated forms of psychological defense mechanisms. I have long considered it an indispensable asset for succeeding as a manager. To understand why, let’s look at the nature… Read More ›
Managing People
BEING IN THE PRESENT
A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS — Ask any subordinate if he or she wants to work for a manager who really doesn’t want their job and the answer will usually be a resounding NO! From a subordinate’s point of view,… Read More ›
LISTENING
A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS — One of the hardest things I needed to do when I first became a manager, was to learn how to listen. Yes, I realize we all learned the basics soon after birth but I… Read More ›
A SIMPLE YES OR NO
A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS —- In two other articles in this series on the little things that matter — and which can make a big difference for a manager — I addressed the importance of acknowledging accomplishments big and… Read More ›
TELLING THE TRUTH
A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS —- Truth telling, of course, seems an obvious recommendation for any manager and not exactly a little thing. But here I am not referring to the need to avoid the BIG lie. Only the most… Read More ›
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND AFFIRMATION
A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS —- There are plenty of marvelous books on management and leadership suggesting the golden rules of being a success. I provide a list of my personal favorites as part of my website at: http://www.terrybusch.com. They… Read More ›
GET MORE IDEAS OUT OF YOUR TEAM
Recently, I heard from a new subscriber who asked if I had any thoughts on “how to get more ideas out of a work team”. He also drew attention to a recent “BusinessWeek” article by Liz Ryan — Corporate Provocateur… Read More ›
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR SUBORDINATES
Imagine that out of compassion, you hire an unemployed friend into a position directly under your management supervision. In short order, you discover that your friend is having difficulty getting along with your other subordinates, that there are some serious… Read More ›
BAD MANAGEMENT REVISITED
Recently I posted an article entitled “The Price of Bad Management”. In it I focused on the impact bad management practices have on the productivity of an organization and on those who work for and must interact with a bad… Read More ›
EVALUATING SOMEBODY’S PERFORMANCE
I have touched on this subject at various times in this blog. But I continue to have rather serious discussions with both managers and non-managers about how to evaluate somebody effectively and how to avoid creating a victim of ham-handedness… Read More ›