Manager Tools Hall of Fame Casts

Today, Mark and I finish up our series on running your staff meeting. If you haven't listened to

We've alluded to it, we've talked about it, but we've never until now shared our recommendation for one of the few mandatory meetings we recommend: The Effective Manager's Weekly Staff Meeting. We believe that a "Weekly Staff" and weekly One on Ones are the core of running a team of directs. It's one thing to meet with everyone individually, but Effective Managers know that there is a need for a socializing structure for the team as a unit.

In this cast we wrap-up our conversation on effective meetings, as well as answer some listener questions on meetings, One-on-Ones, and feedback.

How to do you feel about most of the meetings you attend? Are they productive, or generally considered a waste of time? Do you attend too many meetings? How do others value the meetings

How to do you feel about most of the meetings you attend? Are they productive, or generally considered a waste of time? Do you attend too many meetings? How do others value the meetings

In today's fast and flat world, ideas are becoming critical competitive advantages. Managers - and many others - need to be good at getting the most and best ideas from themselves and their teams.

In today's fast and flat world, ideas are becoming critical competitive advantages. Managers - and many others - need to be good at getting the most and best ideas from themselves and their teams.

This guidance discusses how to manage those directs whom you didn't hire and who have a history of poor performance.

This guidance discusses how to manage those directs whom you didn't hire and who have a history of poor performance.

This cast addresses how to manage a high performer who is arrogant or dismissive of others.

One of our most popular podcasts - and it was actually a series of casts - were titled "The Efficient Assistant and The Effective Executive". We laid out a plan for having a great relationship with one's assistant, and we get comments and mails almost every day from managers and executives thanking us for sharing what their firm never did. [Think about the penny-wise and pound-foolishness of giving someone an administrative assistant and then not teaching the basics of how to make the investment valuable!] Many of the assistants actually say thanks for the fact that our system recommends that they do a LOT MORE work than what they're doing now.

This week, we finish (finally!) our series on working effectively with administrative assistants.

This week, we continue our series on working effectively with administrative assistants. Given that this is part 2 of 3 parts, we've obviously had a lot to discuss on the subject.

One of the lost arts of the corporate world in the past 20 years is how to work with an administrative assistant. While we won't argue that a great deal of the "leaning out" of corporations has been a good thing, working with admins effectively is one of the painful legacies of the cutbacks.

This cast concludes our discussion on how to assign tasks to your directs.

This guidance describes how to assign tasks to your directs.

In today's cast, we conclude our conversation on Myspace and social networks. As always, if you're new to Manager Tools and haven't listened to the first part, you may wish to go back and listen to that first.

This cast gives guidance for managers' use of Social Networking Sites like MySpace and FaceBook.

This cast concludes our guidance on what a professional manager's role and limits are when it comes to being friends with our directs.

This guidance describes what a professional manager's role and limits are when it comes to being friends with our directs.

This guidance describes what to say when you don't have an answer to a question, even when it's urgent.

This cast recommends how managers handle requests for confidentiality from their directs.

Assume positive intent when analyzing the actions of others, especially directs.

Not everyone on your team wants to go along with every change you want to create. Luckily, you don't have to win over everyone.

Explaining your

Explaining your

This guidance describes how managers ought to communicate organizational information to their team members.

When decisions are made you may disagree with, you must communicate the decision supportively both in public and in private.

When decisions are made you may disagree with, you must communicate the decision supportively both in public and in private.

Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.

Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.

Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.

Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.

This guidance describes how to help individual contributors handle an overload in work.

This guidance discusses how and when to delegate to the floor.

This guidance discusses how and when to delegate to the floor.

Mark recently blogged with our first ever management koan, "

This guidance describes how to choose what to delegate using a simple Venn Diagram - the intersection between the direct, the manager, and the organization.

This cast explains our rationale for why Delegation is the 4th Member of our Management Trinity.

Part 3 of Dani's best management story about how she used the Manager Tools Trinity to terminate a poor performer in an organization where "you can't fire anyone."

Part 2 of Dani's best management story about how she used the Manager Tools Trinity to terminate a poor performer in an organization where "you can't fire anyone."

Dani's best management story about how she used the Manager Tools Trinity to terminate a poor performer in an organization where "you can't fire anyone."

This cast continues our discussion on whom to coach and develop on your team with your marginal time.

A short (8 min) extra cast where Mark introduces the Coaching Dilemma and solicits YOUR responses. What do you think is the correct answer to the dilemma?

This cast describes the role of Coaching in the Management Trinity, and makes a KEY recommendation regarding development of directs and performance management.

This guidance describes whom to coach and develop on your team with your marginal time.

This cast concludes our guidance on what to do and why when directs want to describe why they did what they did when you have given them negative feedback.

This cast contains our guidance on what to do and why when directs want to describe why they did what they did when you have given them negative feedback.

The conclusion of our guidance on how to respond initially to a direct who pushes back in various ways to an instance of feedback.

This guidance describes how to respond initially to a direct who pushes back in various ways to an instance of feedback.