Manager Tools

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.

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.