Manager Tools

This guidance recommends asking your directs for work to be done - meaning requesting things in the form of a question – rather than stating your desire for something to occur.

This guidance describes how to deliver an unofficial performance evaluation when your direct is failing and may either not realize it or is resisting changing.

This guidance describes how to deliver an unofficial performance evaluation when you need to communicate something that can’t go on an official eval.

This guidance tells you how to use performance evaluations to improve your basic succession planning.

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 Naysayer – someone who tries to kill every idea, even after everyone’s agreed.

This guidance tells you how to potentially get some informal self development guidance from your manager by asking three simple questions.

This guidance tells you how to avoid the mistake of “Agenda Fascism” in One on Ones.

This guidance recommends how to address behaviors in meetings that reduce meeting effectiveness.

This guidance tells you how to do One on Ones with your directs who work a different shift than you do.

This guidance recommends the 'Ready Now/Ready Next' Approach to Succession Planning.

This guidance recommends greeting all of your directs when you first interact with them each morning, and how to do it.

This guidance recommends how to address behaviors in meetings that reduce meeting effectiveness.

This guidance tells you how to structure meeting agendas around the biggest, most important items.

This guidance tells you what to do when one of your directs spends too much time on social media.

This guidance recommends how to address a direct who likes part of his/her job and won’t stop doing it, or won’t focus on other areas that are more valuable.

This cast concludes our recommendations on focusing on behaviors because behaviors are measurable and aggregated behaviors ARE performance.

This guidance recommends focusing on behaviors because behaviors are measurable and aggregated behaviors ARE performance.

This cast concludes our guidance on what to say when your directs say, “Can I give YOU some feedback?”

This guidance tells you what to say when your directs say, "Can I give YOU some feedback?"

This guidance recommends a standing ground rule at all meetings: No “buts,” only “and”.

This guidance describes how to use a RACI [Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform] Matrix when determining project responsibilities.

The conclusion of our guidance on ethical behavior.

This guidance describes how to avoid having your directs give you work that you’ve already assigned to them.

Our guidance on ethical behavior. Although this show was originally recorded as a Career Tools cast, we've included it for free for our Manager Tools listeners and Licensees given the underlying assumption of ethical behavior in all our recommendations.

This guidance describes how to interview those colleagues on your bench…without interviewing them.

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

This guidance describes how to use a “Fruit Bowl” to eliminate cell phone distractions at meetings.

The conclusion of our guidance on how to obtain the requirements you need when working as an internal support provider.

This guidance describes how and why NOT to give feedback to your boss.

We believe this podcast, while a Career Tools cast, is of particular interest to our Manager Tools listeners as well. So, we're providing this as an additional cast for our Manager Tools listeners and Individual Licensees – Our guidance how to obtain the requirements you need when working as an internal support provider.

This cast concludes our guidance on how to measure the amount of feedback you’re delivering to your directs.

This guidance describes how to measure the amount of feedback you’re delivering to your directs.

This guidance describes how to schedule hour-long meetings, which are often back-to-back-to-back, in only 45 minutes.

This guidance describes the most important to ask further questions about during an interview.

This cast concludes our guidance on how to run a Routine Town Hall Meeting for your organization.

This guidance describes how to run a Routine Town Hall Meeting for your organization.

This guidance describes the first meeting a manager ought to have with a new team member.

This guidance concludes our discussion on when and how to end an interview with a candidate you won't hire.

This guidance describes when and how to end an interview with a candidate you won't hire.

This cast concludes our guidance on how to prepare for Steel Cage Death Match Meetings.

This guidance describes how to prepare for Steel Cage Death Match Meetings.

This cast concludes our guidance on how to give feedback on how you want projects reported on.

This guidance describes how to give feedback on how you want projects reported on.

This guidance describes how to manage work and decisions being done on a project.

This guidance describes how to manage work and decisions being done on a project.

This guidance recommends the best way to take notes during interviews.

This cast concludes our guidance on how to have project statuses reported and discussed.

This guidance describes how to have project statuses reported and discussed.

This guidance describes some simple improvements most managers can make to help them take better notes during their One on Ones.

This guidance describes how to be ready to talk with your boss about your team.