For many years, I have heard the phrase “TOUCHY FEELY” used by managers of both genders, to describe a variety of things and behaviors in the workplace. “Oh, you mean that touchy feely stuff’” or “I don’t do that touchy… Read More ›
exercising authority
WHY A MANAGER’S DEMEANOR MATTERS
You are on an airplane, 35,000 feet above the ground, flying from the East Coast to the West. Summer thunder storms have stirred up the atmosphere and the ride has been choppy for some time. The Pilot’s first “seat belts… Read More ›
A MANAGER’S FIRST YEAR
It surprises me that I have not turned to this subject sooner in this series of articles, since it is such an important topic. So much of value happens in a manager’s first year — both good and bad —… Read More ›
MEETINGS: THOSE THAT SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BE HELD
It is almost impossible to imagine modern business, non-profit, or government work getting accomplished, without people gathering in a seemingly endless round of meetings. Meetings are so much a part of our everyday work life that we rarely question their… Read More ›
THE POWER OF CLEAR POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS
A LITTLE THING THAT MATTERS — In a previous blog I entitled “Being Smart”, I referred to Stanford Professor Carol Dweck’s remarkable study of over 400 New York City fifth graders in which she demonstrated that simply by creating the mind-set… Read More ›
SOLVE DON’T PASS ON YOUR PROBLEMS
I still vividly recall an early managerial faux pax of mine. I had reviewed a paper written by an esteemed colleague that I found flawed in several ways, yet I feared confronting him with my assessment because of the difference in… Read More ›
CAN ALL OF US BE RIGHT?
In a discussion where the parties have strongly held views, can everybody be right? Of course not, many of you will quickly respond. There is only one right view on the matter at hand some will say, and if you… 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 ›
A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Yesterday morning while having breakfast in one of my favorite business travel hotels, I could not help but overhear a conversation between the two individuals seated not more than three feet from me. The gist of the conversation involved workplace… 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 ›
What Best Mnagers Know & Do 