I’ve spent the last month or two writing and video-ing about the problems, challenges, and hardships of managing and leading. It was getting depressing. So as an antidote, and in no particular order, here’s a list of five really fun, rewarding, and great things about being a manager. 1. You get to delegate No, I’m not being sarcastic or snarky. I’m serious. …
Is management leadership?
Many people will answer “no” to that question. No, they say. Management is management, and leadership is leadership, and the two have different objectives and different activities. A lot of opinion on the internet reinforces that point. I disagree, which won’t surprise anyone who knows me. If you have at least one person reporting to you at least some of …
How to support a decision you don’t believe in
If it hasn’t happened yet, it will. Eventually you’ll be asked, as a manager and leader, to support a decision you disagree with. Maybe it’s a project you don’t think will succeed. Maybe it’s a corporate acquisition – a merger with another company. Maybe it’s a round of cost-cutting and associated layoffs. Maybe it’s a single employee being terminated. Whatever it …
What do you do when a trainee won’t learn?
You’ve been training a new employee. And they’re stuck. They can’t seem to pick up the details, they can’t absorb the next step, they can’t “get it right,” they’re clearly stressed and unhappy – and so are you! You’ve tried everything you know how to do. Speaking privately with them. Role-playing. Asking questions to find out what they do understand – …
Stop flinging candidate spaghetti against the wall!
As a hiring manager, you know what I mean by that. Even if you don’t want to admit it. But I’ll give you an example. A client was convinced – as in, 100% certain, no question – that he couldn’t find great employees in his industry and geographic location. He felt that the specialized requirements of the job just weren’t possible …
Is leadership bad for you?
According to workplace research giant Gallup, 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement is directly attributable to management. Translating that to plain English: if you’ve got a good manager, you’re more likely to be happy, engaged, and productive than if you have a bad manager. Aye-aye, Captain Obvious! Like many research studies, this is hardly surprising. I think we’ve …
How do we fix leadership?
This is a follow-up post to an article I wrote on LinkedIn last week asking “Where’s the Future of Leadership?” How can we improve the working lives and careers of all employees and support bottom-line results? It’s a simple question, and it has a simple answer: we need to develop the skills and confidence of first-line managers and leaders. And …
Should work be more fun?
Do you bounce out of bed every morning, eager to get to work? Congratulations, if so. And if so, I’ll hazard a guess that either you have a great boss, or you work for yourself. (Or maybe both, eh?) But for a lot of people – an awful lot of people – work isn’t much fun at all. I’m not talking …
Does your team depend on you … a little too much?
I was talking with a colleague recently about the “mom” (or, of course, “dad”) factor in leadership. Teams look to their leaders for guidance and direction, and that’s obviously necessary. But like any good thing, there’s a flip side when it becomes TOO MUCH of a good thing. And that’s what happens when, for any number of reasons, the individuals …
Is there such a thing as BAD leadership?
A leader is someone who inspires people to take action. Leadership is the skillset or tools they use to do so. There are variations, of course. The thought leader We’ve all known someone who doesn’t actually have an official leadership or management role who nonetheless is the pivot point for their team, the one everyone goes to with questions, the one …