Manager Tools

Our guidance on how to deal with objections. This Career Tools podcast is included as a special bonus for Manager Tools Listeners.

The conclusion of our guidance on how to have a brief meeting with your team immediately after you resign.

This guidance explains how to have a brief meeting with your team immediately after you resign.

This guidance recommends asking your assertive communicators to wait to contribute, and to reinforce what you want with feedback.

The conclusion of our recommendations for how to set up the order of interviews you conduct for a day of in-person interviews of a candidate.

Our recommendations for how to set up the order of interviews you conduct for a day of in-person interviews of a candidate. This guidance is part of our Effective Interviewer Series.

This guidance recommends measuring the input proffered from quieter team members, to increase their contributions and collaboration.

This guidance recommends what questions to ask of a job candidate’s references, if you progress to that stage.

This guidance recommends what questions to ask of a job candidate’s references, if you progress to that stage.

This guidance recommends evaluating directs’ performances by the content of what they bring to their One on One with you.

The conclusion of our guidance recommending giving more positive (and then negative) feedback to a manager’s top performers, rather than trying to spread feedback out equally.

This guidance recommends giving more positive (and then negative) feedback to a manager’s top performers, rather than trying to spread feedback out equally.

The conclusion of our recommendations on professionals abandoning their belief in the myth of a just world and 'play politics'.

This guidance recommends professionals abandon their belief in the myth of a just world and "play politics".

This guidance helps managers be more collaborative by getting more input from their team members.

This guidance continues our recommendations about topics to cover with new directs, encouraging them to ask questions about everything they don’t understand.

This guidance describes how to quickly assign tasks in a project without getting bogged down in details.

This guidance describes if and how to use lists and agendas during your One on Ones.

This guidance recommends a straightforward way to diffuse tension around, and overcome, objections others have to your ideas.

The conclusion of our guidance recommending doing email three times a day. ONLY three times a day.

This guidance recommends doing email three times a day. ONLY three times a day.

This guidance recommends managers never willingly allow their boss to talk to a skip directly.

This guidance completes our discussion on how to respond to vague feedback from your boss or others.

This guidance explains how to respond to vague feedback from your boss or others.

This guidance tells you how to prepare for meetings where politics are going to play a role (which is to say, ALL of them).

This guidance tells you what to do when directs bring you bad news.

This guidance recommends what to do when a direct would get negative feedback but it’s not yet time for it in the Trinity Rollout Process.

This guidance recommends what to do when a direct would get positive feedback but it’s not yet time for it in the Trinity Rollout Process.

This guidance tells you what to do when directs resist One on Ones because they are a form of "micromanaging."

This guidance tells you how to structure your briefing to your team around Simple Succession Planning.

This guidance recommends knowing where decision makers and influencers stand on proposals and decisions that matter to you and your team.

This guidance recommends proactively scheduling time for your key responsibilities in the morning, versus afternoon or early evening, "when everyone’s gone.

This guidance describes when we recommend a manager consider their directs’ resumes.

How to create a dead-simple Succession Planning Form.

This guidance completes our recommendations on how to do One on Ones while you are traveling.

Part 2 of our guidance on how to document the performance of your directs and your communications with them.

Our guidance for how to document the performance of your directs and your communications with them.

This guidance recommends how to address behaviors in meetings that reduce meeting effectiveness, based on a popular 2012 Wall Street Journal article. This Chapter deals with handling a multi-tasker and also reviews the Journal’s general meeting guidance.

How to improve your effectiveness by eliminating long open periods from of your calendar.

This guidance recommends how to do One on Ones while you are traveling.

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 guidance recommends how to address behaviors in meetings that reduce meeting effectiveness, based on a popular 2012 Wall Street Journal article. This Chapter deals with handling a Rambler – someone who talks and talks and talks ... and talks.

This guidance recommends admitting your mistakes openly as a manager, to your team, to enhance candor and openness from your team members.

We recently published guidance recommending that managers ask directs for their efforts, rather than commanding. Can't they say "no"? Yes.

This guidance describes a simple way executive succession planning is often done, and the key to mastering it.

This guidance recommends how to address behaviors in meetings that reduce meeting effectiveness, based on a popular 2012 Wall Street Journal article. This Chapter deals with handling a Silent Plotter – someone who tries to kill every idea, even after everyone’s agreed.

This guidance describes the fundamental error in trying to achieve “Work-Family Balance” and how to solve it forever.

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.