Tips for Managers

Try a breakfast meeting

April 22, 2020
Scheduling your workgroup or department meetings for early in the day is an attractive idea: People’s energy will be high and their minds fresh, and the meeting will be out of the way early on. All possible, but be realistic.

Support expertise, but stifle arrogance

April 22, 2020
Look out for three negative attitudes that are tip-offs of a descent from supportive expertise to confrontation.

Little chats are time well spent

April 22, 2020
Small gestures of kindness should be part of every manager’s efforts at engaging and motivating employees. Take, for example, the practice of not only greeting your people but also chatting for a few minutes. This type of act has a surprising number of good qualities to it.

Silent treatment? Take this tack

April 8, 2020
What can you do when an employee doesn’t want to talk to you? Try to discern whether it is shyness, anger, or something else that is keeping the employee quiet. Some guidance.

A checklist for effective feedback

April 8, 2020
Keep these feedback guidelines in mind.

Defuse the conflict, save the discussion

April 8, 2020
When employees begin to argue, with the volume rising and the reasonableness departing, it’s time to step in.

The question you don’t want to hear

April 8, 2020
How do you respond when you assign an employee a task you thought he could already do, and he says, “How should I do it?”

Sharpen your listening skills

April 8, 2020
You won’t succeed in the workplace without good listening skills. Use this checklist to become a better listener and leader.

Should you praise publicly or privately?

February 26, 2020
Here are some guidelines to help you make your decision.

Go easy on young workers’ ideas

February 26, 2020
Your younger workers will sometimes offer ideas that really aren’t that good. But you should never shoot down the employees who bring them. Their willingness to take risks is priceless.