Most of us at some time have experienced the downsides of over-controlling management. Micromanagement discourages subordinate initiative, damages organizational morale, and inexorably leads to less than optimal subordinate performance. Managers who try to exercise control over everything their subordinates do,… Read More ›
More than a few times during my years as a practicing manager, I felt compelled to explain the WORK CONTRACT to an underperforming subordinate. In simple English the work contract is as follows: YOU WORK, WE PAY; YOU DON’T WORK,… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
At some point in everyone’s work life we encounter that person — boss, peer, senior manager, or subordinate that simply “gets under our skin”. There is something about them — their style, voice, mannerisms, daily behavior, attitude, routine commentary, or… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
What Best Mnagers Know & Do 