Manager Tools

The Black Widow Mistake is named after the red, angular figure eight markings on the abdomen of the dangerous female black widow spider. The mistake that many aspiring executives make is to start narrowing their development at the same time that their executive role requires them to be thinking more broadly, including outside the organization. It can put a stop to your upward development.

The Black Widow Mistake is named after the red, angular figure eight markings on the abdomen of the dangerous female black widow spider. The mistake that many aspiring executives make is to start narrowing their development at the same time that their executive role requires them to be thinking more broadly, including outside the organization. It can put a stop to your upward development.

The way most managers develop their team is haphazard and neither efficient nor effective. How can we not develop our teams when doctors learn thousands and thousands of procedures, diagnoses, and surgeries in such little time? See One, Do One, Teach One. It's faster, and it works well if you're willing to delegate and give lots of negative feedback.

Too many managers fail to delegate sufficiently. In many cases, managers don't know how or what to delegate. But even when some managers have a sense of what and how, they don't delegate. This is often because they don't know the hidden dangers of NOT delegating!

Too many managers fail to delegate sufficiently. In many cases, managers don't know how or what to delegate. But even when some managers have a sense of what and how, they don't delegate. This is often because they don't know the hidden dangers of NOT delegating!

As managers get more responsibility, and potentially promotions to Senior Manager, they start feeling squeezed between the demands from above and the demands of running their org. The increases in requests for information from above take time to prepare for. The answer is to make your team's reporting more proactive.

As managers get more responsibility, and potentially promotions to Senior Manager, they start feeling squeezed between the demands from above and the demands of running their org. The increases in requests for information from above take time to prepare for. The answer is to make your team's reporting more proactive.

Part 2 of our Hall of Fame guidance on how to plan for and take an effective vacation.

Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to plan for and take an effective vacation.

Welcome to a special episode of Manager Tools. Today, you're listening to the live recording of our 20th anniversary podcast, captured in front of a fantastic audience of managers and leaders just like you.

Too many managers rely on HR to bring them candidates for their hiring needs. HR is a necessary part of sourcing candidates, and it's important to work with them. But there is often a disconnect, because they don't know your work or needs as well as you do. Effective managers build a bench of possible candidates, and hire from their own bench whenever they can.

Too many managers rely on HR to bring them candidates for their hiring needs. HR is a necessary part of sourcing candidates, and it's important to work with them. But there is often a disconnect, because they don't know your work or needs as well as you do. Effective managers build a bench of possible candidates, and hire from their own bench whenever they can.

Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have an "HR Business Partner," they work for someone else, and probably support other managers. This isn't inherently bad, but a smart manager knows to work with them, while understanding the challenges.

Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have an "HR Business Partner," they work for someone else, and probably support other managers. This isn't inherently bad, but a smart manager knows to work with them, while understanding the challenges.

If feedback is so important to high performance - and it is - it makes sense to study if and when and how the very best athletes get feedback about their performance. While there are 500 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies - truly rarified air - there are only 32 starting players at each position on each NFL team. There are more than 10 times more of the very best CEOs in the entire world than the very best starting quarterbacks, middle linebackers, centers, and defensive ends.. Even if you count all 11 starting players on offense or defense, there are still more Fortune 500 CEOs than starting offensive or defensive players. It is harder to become a starting NFL player than it is to become a Fortune 500 CEO. And they get more feedback than the CEOs do. There’s a connection.

Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. Theree's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the way it's supposed to be.

Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the way it's supposed to be.

Part 2 of our guidance on why interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.

Interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.

It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work. But it is a MYTH that “working hard” simply means working more hours. In fact, working more hours, in the long run, is NOT the way to think about “working hard.” In this series of guidance, we will lay out how to get the most out of yourself without constantly sacrificing your personal and family life.

It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work. But it is a MYTH that “working hard” simply means working more hours. In fact, working more hours, in the long run, is NOT the way to think about “working hard.” In this series of guidance, we will lay out how to get the most out of yourself without constantly sacrificing your personal and family life.

Learn about our Effective Senior Manager Conference: its purpose, its agenda, its topics. If you’re a manager and are thinking about your career as a Senior Manager and even Executive, you need to learn why the job is different, and how to succeed.

Interviewing internal candidates is different than interviewing external candidates. Internal interviews are not just efforts to fill positions, but also part of professional development for your organization.

Part 2 of our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately preparing them for greater leadership opportunities.

Our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately preparing them for greater leadership opportunities.

Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling them is actually more important than having weekly One On Ones. Why is that? Our data show why. And directs tell us why when we ask them. And for those who are just getting started, what rules should I use in scheduling my One On Ones.

Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling them is actually more important than having weekly One On Ones. Why is that? Our data show why. And directs tell us why when we ask them. And for those who are just getting started, what rules should I use in scheduling my One On Ones.

Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they’re not as hard as the manager thought they would be. And very few managers who do Manager Tools One On Ones never stop.

Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they’re not as hard as the manager thought they would be. And very few managers who do Manager Tools One On Ones never stop. But feedback is a different story. We would guess that around half of Manager Tools managers don’t ever fully implement feedback so that it’s second nature in a way that their directs know this is how their boss will talk to them about their performance. Why is it so hard?

Most managers think that performance reviews are their most significant contribution to performance management and improvement. But that’s wrong. Frequent feedback is the greatest tool we managers have to improve performance. In fact, performance reviews aren’t even really part of the performance improvement efforts managers engage in. Performance reviews are an organizational system that is primarily designed to help the organization manage succession planning.

Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it’s well received, it works, and frankly, it’s easy to get addicted to giving it.

Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it’s well received, it works, and frankly, it’s easy to get addicted to giving it.

Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it's well received, it works, and frankly, it's easy to get addicted to giving it.

In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll start conflicting with each other.

In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll start conflicting with each other.

Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to think more creatively about annual planning goals.

Our Hall Of Fame guidance on how to start setting annual goals, and why we do not like "SMART" goals.

The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 2

The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 1

How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones

Our Hall of Fame guidance on delivering a performance review.

This week, we're re-releasing one of our Hall of Fame casts on how to prepare performance reviews.

How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones

Our guidance on the reason for interviewing

Our guidance on the Feedback Sandwich.

Our guidance on using "Is that what you want?" in the Manager Tools Feedback Model.

Part 2 of our guidance on how to change the ways you interact with your team when it comes to keeping work on time.

Part 1 of our guidance on how to change the ways you interact with your team when it comes to keeping work on time.

What happens when you ask a direct to change for the better and they say no? Are they resisting all changes now? Is there something going on you don’t know about? Are they going to be a problem going forward? Are they developing an attitude? Uh-oh.

What happens when one of your directs, or even not a direct, files a grievance against you? How should you respond? What are the rules? What can you do, and what should you do, and how should you do it? It's a rare event for a Manager Tools manager, so the Christmas Rule applies. But we'll tell you here exactly what to do and how to respond.