Tips for Managers

‘I did what you told me to do’

February 24, 2021
What’s clear to you may not be clear to others.

Avoid right-or-wrong arguments

February 24, 2021
You’re probably good at winning your point in arguing with your staff, but it’s a skill you don’t want to overuse.

Limit your tolerance for whiners

February 24, 2021
Watch out for office whiners— employees who continually complain about everything imaginable.

In setting goals, balance degrees of difficulty

February 24, 2021
Striking the right balance for your employees is essential when you’re setting goals—you don’t want objectives to be either too easy or too hard. Keep these guidelines in mind.

Dig for the bad news — and motivate

January 27, 2021
We’ll bet you’ve experienced this scenario before: An employee reports that a difficult task has gone well, but you know that he or she has been worried about it nonetheless. Hand out praise and congratulations for doing the job, but also ask a few questions to uncover the difficulties the worker has encountered.

Ditch these negative words when coaching

January 27, 2021
Words matter when you’re coaching an employee. As you coach employees and teams, avoid these counterproductive words and phrases.

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound right

January 27, 2021
Suppose you find yourself on the receiving end of feedback that’s, well, questionable. After all, under-pressure employees have been known to deliver information that’s wrong, hard to understand, and occasionally purposefully untrue. If what you’re hearing is suspicious, these tactics may help.

A positive approach to discipline

January 27, 2021
Discipline is an unpleasant fact of life for managers (and employees). It’s worse if you treat it as punishment. Instead of reprimands and warnings, try this approach.

Put the ‘good’ in ‘goodbye’

January 27, 2021
Replacing employees who resign is expensive, so make each departure useful through an effective exit interview. Look again at your exit interview process and consider these late-breaking ideas for improving it.

2 questions for ‘stay’ interviews

January 27, 2021
“Stay” interviews are a good tool for promoting employee retention, but their success rides on asking the right questions. These two can help you hold a productive conversation.