Tips for Managers

Encourage collaboration across teams

May 27, 2020
Interdepartmental conflicts can kill productivity, lead to mistakes, and result in disputes. To increase collaboration across warring departments, take these steps.

Defend a policy that’s unpopular

May 27, 2020
Imagine that you have to defend an unpopular policy to your employees—longer hours, shorter vacations, higher copays, you name it. To make matters worse, you don’t like the policy yourself. What should you do when someone asks, “How can you support this policy?”

Make employee surveys transparent

May 27, 2020
For you, asking employees to complete a survey asking for information or opinions may seem routine. For employees, however, it may seem risky—or just another meaningless demand.

Give praise without taking it back

May 27, 2020
Strangely, one of the hardest aspects of giving praise is keeping it positive. Remember these guidelines.

Ask as if you weren’t a manager

May 27, 2020
Asking questions from a position of authority often works, but not always. Some people react negatively to an authoritative style and are reluctant to commit to anything definite or simply to answer at all. If that happens, a nondemanding approach may help.

Lead through a crisis: 5 tips

May 14, 2020
These are crazy times we are living in. You may feel inadequate, unsure and out of your depth. That is to be expected. These tips will help you find a new center.

Sound Bites: May ’20

May 1, 2020
When an employee seems reluctant or unenthusiastic about a task you want to delegate, pay attention … Praise employees for … nothing?

How to help a stutterer

April 24, 2020
According to The Stuttering Foundation of America, in Memphis, Tenn., a little over one percent of Americans stutter to some degree. Stuttering is not at all related to lower intelligence or lower capacity for work, but like everyone, people who stutter do better with an understanding manager. Keep these three tips in mind.

Get more out of your feedback

April 22, 2020
You know the basics of feedback: It should be specific, timely, clear, and objective. But there’s more. To achieve a lasting impact, your feedback should do these jobs as well.

Referee a dispute: 3 tactics

April 22, 2020
Here are several behaviors and tactics you can use when you need to step in and help settle a dispute.