If you work for an organization of some size, chances are you have an official personnel file housed in HR. Management reviews these files periodically and they may play an important role in some of your career decisions, especially when… Read More ›
Managing People
MANAGING AN END RUN
An END RUN, as referred to in management circles, constitutes the behavior of a subordinate who surreptitiously goes around his or her boss to raise an issue with the boss’s superior. Perhaps the issue is a complaint about the boss’s management style… Read More ›
PROCRASTINATION: A TRUE ORGANIZATION KILLER
Over a decade ago, authors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton published a splendid book about organizational procrastination entitled “The Knowing Doing Gap”. Although some of its corporate examples are a little dated, its central message about the difference between organizations who… Read More ›
MANAGING WITHOUT “MANAGING”
Recently a good friend and former boss of mine and I were exchanging emails. The subject of management came up and he suggested that I write a blog about managing without “managing”. As I read on in his email I… Read More ›
GOOD MANAGERS EXCELL IN ALL VENUES
Bruce Bochy is a good manager. His profession is baseball. He is not a household name even among true baseball fans and he does not win championships every season. But this year his team, the San Francisco Giants, won the… Read More ›
A MENTOR, MENTORING, BEING MENTORED
The concepts of mentoring, of being a mentor, of being in need of a mentor have been a common element of conversation in most organizations for some time. But what exactly is a mentor, how does one behave as a… Read More ›
PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS AT WORK
In a recent article, I addressed the challenge a manager faces coping with a subordinate whose workplace behavior hinders his or her own performance, or is disruptive to the work environment itself. Although it can be a difficult challenge, dealing… Read More ›
BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS AT WORK
For a manager, employee problems generally come in two varieties: behavior problems and performance problems. Often they present themselves as a package deal. Knowing and recognizing the difference and being clear from the start which one you are addressing, is… Read More ›
WE CAN’T FIX OTHER PEOPLE
There are a series of dramatic and powerful scenes in the movie “When a Man Loves a Woman” in which a wife played by Meg Ryan, having just returned from an alcoholic rehab program, is struggling to work through the… Read More ›
IS ANYTHING EVER GOOD ENOUGH?
We all know a version of the tale where a child brings home a report card filled with As and one lone B. Beaming with pride he of she hands the card to a parent and receives the following response:… Read More ›