Manager Tools

This guidance recommends some simple things managers can do to improve the accountability and productivity of distant team members.

This guidance recommends how to introduce changes in how you manage your team.

This guidance recommends how to have effective One on Ones with directs who are initially resistant.

This cast concludes our discussion on how effective managers address governmental politics at work.

This guidance recommends how effective managers address governmental politics at work.

This guidance recommends how to further your succession planning efforts by extending your network to your directs.

This cast concludes our conversation on an even more basic model for effective meetings than in our original guidance.

This cast describes an even more basic model for effective meetings than in our original guidance.

This guidance addresses how personal One on Ones ought to be – should they be all about family and personal stuff, or just about work?

This guidance addresses questions about the purpose and value of One on Ones, particularly for those directs who challenge the need for them.

This cast concludes our conversation on how to respond when someone disagrees publicly in an unprofessional way.

This cast describes how to respond when someone disagrees publicly in an unprofessional way.

This cast describes how to decide whether or not to give feedback to one of your directs based on someone else's input.

This cast describes how to deliver feedback to skip level associates.

This cast describes a simple technique for controlling one's calendar, thereby keeping more time available for primary objectives.

This cast gives our guidance on how to deal with conflict with internal support providers.

This guidance recommends assigning both the reporting of work and the work itself when delegating.

This guidance disagrees with the old notion of praise in public, criticize in private, and recommends more effective behaviors.

This guidance recommends how to deliver both praise and feedback (though not together), and why they are both valuable – and completely different.

This guidance describes whether or not to give feedback in public, or in private . . . or neither.

This cast describes WHEN to give feedback. How fast is too fast? How slow is too slow?

This cast concludes our conversation on some situations where feedback isn't appropriate, because the error/mistake/infraction is so egregious, encouragement of effective future behavior isn't enough.

This cast describes some situations where feedback isn't appropriate, because the error/mistake/infraction is so egregious, encouragement of effective future behavior isn't enough.

This cast concludes our conversation on the Rule of 150, how it affects the growth of small companies and organizations, and how to address it.

This cast describes The Rule of 150, how it affects the growth of small companies and organizations, and how to address it.

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

The conclusion of our recommendations on how to influence others by asking for verbal commitments.

In this recommendation, Manager Tools describes how to influence others by asking for verbal commitments.

This cast concludes our conversation on LinkedIn and what it means for Managers.

This cast reviews our recent Career Tools guidance on LinkedIn, as well as highlights LinkedIn's recent Fortune magazine cover story, and recommends some basic LinkedIn behaviors for managers.

This cast describes one way to help your directs – when they are managers – to begin using the Manager Tools Management Trinity: One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching, and Delegation.

This cast concludes our conversation on a more effective way to set standards for getting one of your directs promoted.

This cast describes a more effective way to set standards for getting one of your directs promoted.

We conclude our conversation on how and why to delegate almost all of your routine reporting to your directs.

This cast describes how and why to delegate almost all of your routine reporting to your directs.

This cast addresses a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High D Managers: always putting results in front of relationships. People MATTER!

This cast addresses a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High S Managers: overprotecting your team.

This cast recommends building relationships internally at your organization when you attend training events.

This cast describes Manager Tools' first principle about managing directs from different cultures, based on the Wendii curve.

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

This cast addresses how to stop intra-office gossip.

This cast addresses a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High I Managers: starting well and ending poorly.

This cast describes the first principle of how to develop subordinate managers - Measure Basic Behaviors.

This cast provides guidance on giving feedback when coaching directs on their presentation skills, AND a detailed template managers can use when doing so.

This cast concludes our conversation on how to increase the chances that you will get to hire your favorite candidate when he or she has to interview elsewhere in the organization.

This cast describes how to increase the chances that you will get to hire your favorite candidate when he or she has to interview elsewhere in the organization.

This cast concludes our conversation on a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High C Managers: finding fault with recommendations and ideas.

This cast addresses a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High C Managers: finding fault with recommendations and ideas.

This cast describes how to refresh your One on Ones with your directs after you've been doing them for 1-2 years.

This cast describes how to work with a boss who repeatedly skips over a manager and works directly with your directs (his or her "skips").