Manager Tools Hall of Fame Casts: Recent Episodes
Manager Tools
Manager Tools is a weekly business podcast focused on helping professionals become more effective managers and leaders. Each week, we discuss specific actions for professionals to take to achieve their desired management and career objectives. Manager Tools won Best Business Podcast Award in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012 as well as the People's Choice Award in 2008. The Business Podcast Award is now named after Manager Tools. This feed contains all the best guidance – the things that are most fundamental, the things that are the closest to being a silver bullet, and the things that will make the biggest changes to your work life. Begin listening now, and take action today. Go to http://www.manager-tools.com/testimonials to read what others are saying about the impact Manager Tools has had on their careers and lives. Our goal: Every Manager Effective (TM).
During this cast, we complete our series on making a job offer to a candidate. If you haven't listened to last week's cast (part 1), please do so first!
This cast shares our most important principle in The Manager Tools Effective Hiring Process: Set the Bar HIGH.
This guidance describes the fundamental error in trying to achieve "Work-Family Balance" and how to solve it forever.
Today, we cover the second in a two-part series of podcasts on Time Management. If you're new to the show or you didn't listen to last week's podcast, it's probably worth while going back and listening to the previous show first. Otherwise, you'll be joining the conversation half-way through and we all know how comfortable that feels. :-(
Time management is a fallacy, we like to say. Time doesn't need you to "manage" it - it's been getting along just fine without you for billions of years. We can't manage time. But what we CAN manage is what we do with that time. And yet, the overwhelming evidence is that managers do NOT "manage what they do with that time." There's a shocking CHASM between our behavior in this area and our knowledge of what to do. In fact, Mark recently blogged on how busy everyone says they are, which irritates him. He looks at their calendars, and there's no EVIDENCE that they're busy. There are vast swaths of unscheduled time!
This is the second of our casts that describe our recommendations about calendar management.
This cast concludes (Part 4 of 4) our guidance on how to respond when, through any number of factors, you and your team are OVERWHELMED with lots of new work. Perhaps it's a layoff, perhaps it's a re-organization, perhaps it's because you're GOOD. Regardless, what do you DO??
This cast continues (Part 3 of 4) our guidance on how to respond when, through any number of factors, you and your team are OVERWHELMED with lots of new work. Perhaps it's a layoff, perhaps it's a re-organization, perhaps it's because you're GOOD. Regardless, what do you DO??
This cast continues our guidance on how to respond when, through any number of factors, you and your team are OVERWHELMED with lots of new work. Perhaps it's a layoff, perhaps it's a re-organization, perhaps it's because you're GOOD. Regardless, what do you DO??
This guidance describes how to respond when, through any number of factors, you and your team are OVERWHELMED with lots of new work. Perhaps it's a layoff, perhaps it's a re-organization, perhaps it's because you're GOOD. Regardless, what do you DO??
In this cast, we conclude our conversation on giving a decision briefing to your manager.
For years pundits have been predicting that technology (videoconferencing, etc.) will lead to the decline and death of business travel. We here at Manager Tools don't agree. We're human, and humans do better with face to face connections to ensure a complex project does well. Technology has led to the globalization of business, but that has INCREASED the need for getting on an airplane.
The hand shake is the most important professional greetings in the world today. There are many cultures in the world, and there are places to bow, and places to hug, and places where cheek-kissing is perfectly appropriate. The handshake, though is the preferred greeting for most of our audience.
For the holidays, we're re-releasing one of our Hall of Fame casts ... the Pre-wire. This cast describes a way to prepare for meetings or presentations where you need to persuade.
The conclusion of our guidance on ethical behavior. Although this show was originally recorded as a Career Tools cast, we've included it for free for our Manager Tools listeners and Licensees given the underlying assumption of ethical behavior in all our recommendations.
Our guidance on ethical behavior. Although this show was originally recorded as a Career Tools cast, we've included it for free for our Manager Tools listeners and Licensees given the underlying assumption of ethical behavior in all our recommendations.
If you're a manager, don't think for a moment that someone else is managing your career. Those days are long gone. YOU are managing your career. What you do - not only in job skills, but also in what we call "Transition Skills" - will be the primary determinant of your career success. You're not going to have the richest, most rewarding series of roles and opportunities by allowing someone in HR to know enough about you to get you where you need to be. And succession planning won't save you either.
One of our most popular podcasts - and it was actually a series of casts - were titled "The Efficient Assistant and The Effective Executive". We laid out a plan for having a great relationship with one's assistant, and we get comments and mails almost every day from managers and executives thanking us for sharing what their firm never did. [Think about the penny-wise and pound-foolishness of giving someone an administrative assistant and then not teaching the basics of how to make the investment valuable!] Many of the assistants actually say thanks for the fact that our system recommends that they do a LOT MORE work than what they're doing now.
Today, we continue our conversation on "Managing Your Boss" or, better yet, "Creating a Good Relationship with Your Boss". Last week we discussed Boss Goals and Boss Communications; today we cover Boss Schedule/Time Management, Boss Work Style, and Boss Relationships.
Managing Upwards for the most part boils down to Creating a Good Relationship with Your Boss. "Managing Your Boss" is somewhat of a misnomer in our world view; tell your boss that you're managing them and see what kind of look you get. :-)
Got Email? Of course - what manager doesn't? We know managers who get 200 (or more!) emails every day. Email is a necessary evil in the corporate management world, and highly effective managers know how to get the most out of their email WITHOUT spending too much time on it. In our latest podcast, we talk about how to make your technology work for you, and how you can spend less time on email while getting more done.
This cast describes a simple verbal tool for addressing tension, conflict or other ineffective emotions in the workplace.
We tackle a tough topic in this week's cast: Layoffs. We know it's not an upbeat topic, but it's highly likely you're going to be involved in one at some point.
This cast concludes our guidance on how to prepare for Steel Cage Death Match Meetings.
In this cast we cover part 2 of our series on mergers and acquisitions. Hopefully, with this podcast, the idea of a merger or acquisition will be just a tad less scary. Put some of the ideas we discuss to work today and you'll benefit handsomely even if there isn't a merger on your horizon!
Today we cover the 2nd part of our series on Preparing For Your Review. After you've listened to the podcast, I think you'll agree that if you follow this simple process you will be in a position to not only get the best possible review possible this year, you will also have all the information you need to improve your performance (and your next review!) over the coming year.
We spent a lot of time at the end of last year talking about how to write someone else's review.
This week, we continue with our discussion on effective performance reviews. Last week, we discussed collecting data; today we discuss evaluating the data and writing the review. In the weeks following, we'll continue with a discussion on actually DELIVERING the review.
It's the end of the year. Most managers we know are thinking about the holidays... and annual reviews. After years of managing, training and consulting, we've concluded this is one of the most poorly managed and implemented processes we're aware of. It's not hard to do, but for plenty of (bad) reasons, managers just don't handle this responsibility well. For those few who do, it's an enormous competitive advantage.
In this cast, we finish up our conversation on jump starting relationships with your internal customers. Last week, we discussed the first of the 5 steps (Identifying Who, Prepping your 5 minutes snapshot, and Sending out the first email), today we'll discuss the actual customer meeting AND, Mark's favorite (because it's the ACTION step) , reporting back to your team.
This casts lays out our recommendations for an Effective Teleconference Meeting, or Conference Call.
Today, Mark and I finish up our series on running your staff meeting. If you haven't listened to
We've alluded to it, we've talked about it, but we've never until now shared our recommendation for one of the few mandatory meetings we recommend: The Effective Manager's Weekly Staff Meeting. We believe that a "Weekly Staff" and weekly One on Ones are the core of running a team of directs. It's one thing to meet with everyone individually, but Effective Managers know that there is a need for a socializing structure for the team as a unit.
In this cast we wrap-up our conversation on effective meetings, as well as answer some listener questions on meetings, One-on-Ones, and feedback.
How to do you feel about most of the meetings you attend? Are they productive, or generally considered a waste of time? Do you attend too many meetings? How do others value the meetings
How to do you feel about most of the meetings you attend? Are they productive, or generally considered a waste of time? Do you attend too many meetings? How do others value the meetings
In today's fast and flat world, ideas are becoming critical competitive advantages. Managers - and many others - need to be good at getting the most and best ideas from themselves and their teams.
In today's fast and flat world, ideas are becoming critical competitive advantages. Managers - and many others - need to be good at getting the most and best ideas from themselves and their teams.
This guidance discusses how to manage those directs whom you didn't hire and who have a history of poor performance.
This guidance discusses how to manage those directs whom you didn't hire and who have a history of poor performance.
This cast addresses how to manage a high performer who is arrogant or dismissive of others.
One of our most popular podcasts - and it was actually a series of casts - were titled "The Efficient Assistant and The Effective Executive". We laid out a plan for having a great relationship with one's assistant, and we get comments and mails almost every day from managers and executives thanking us for sharing what their firm never did. [Think about the penny-wise and pound-foolishness of giving someone an administrative assistant and then not teaching the basics of how to make the investment valuable!] Many of the assistants actually say thanks for the fact that our system recommends that they do a LOT MORE work than what they're doing now.
This week, we finish (finally!) our series on working effectively with administrative assistants.
This week, we continue our series on working effectively with administrative assistants. Given that this is part 2 of 3 parts, we've obviously had a lot to discuss on the subject.
One of the lost arts of the corporate world in the past 20 years is how to work with an administrative assistant. While we won't argue that a great deal of the "leaning out" of corporations has been a good thing, working with admins effectively is one of the painful legacies of the cutbacks.
In today's cast, we conclude our conversation on Myspace and social networks. As always, if you're new to Manager Tools and haven't listened to the first part, you may wish to go back and listen to that first.
This cast gives guidance for managers' use of Social Networking Sites like MySpace and FaceBook.
This cast concludes our guidance on what a professional manager's role and limits are when it comes to being friends with our directs.
This guidance describes what a professional manager's role and limits are when it comes to being friends with our directs.
This guidance describes what to say when you don't have an answer to a question, even when it's urgent.
This cast recommends how managers handle requests for confidentiality from their directs.
Not everyone on your team wants to go along with every change you want to create. Luckily, you don't have to win over everyone.
This guidance describes how managers ought to communicate organizational information to their team members.
When decisions are made you may disagree with, you must communicate the decision supportively both in public and in private.
When decisions are made you may disagree with, you must communicate the decision supportively both in public and in private.
Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.
Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.
Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.
Power is necessary for organizational change and success, even if some of us would rather call it influence. But what is it? And how can I get some? And some more? It's not as hard as it sounds.
This guidance describes how to help individual contributors handle an overload in work.
This guidance describes how to choose what to delegate using a simple Venn Diagram - the intersection between the direct, the manager, and the organization.
Today, Mark and Mike discuss the topic of Delegation. There probably isn't a management book out there that doesn't talk about the importance of delegation. However, very seldom does the author get into the type of detail we'll discuss today. Today, we cover the "how to" ... how to determine what and to whom to delegate and specifically what specific steps to take when delegating to an individual.
Today, Mark and Mike discuss the topic of Delegation. There probably isn't a management book out there that doesn't talk about the importance of delegation. However, very seldom does the author get into the type of detail we'll discuss today. Today, we cover the "how to"... how to determine what and to whom to delegate and specifically what specific steps to take when delegating to an individual.
This cast explains our rationale for why Delegation is the 4th Member of our Management Trinity.
Part 3 of Dani's best management story about how she used the Manager Tools Trinity to terminate a poor performer in an organization where "you can't fire anyone."
Part 2 of Dani's best management story about how she used the Manager Tools Trinity to terminate a poor performer in an organization where "you can't fire anyone."
Dani's best management story about how she used the Manager Tools Trinity to terminate a poor performer in an organization where "you can't fire anyone."
This cast continues our discussion on whom to coach and develop on your team with your marginal time.
A short (8 min) extra cast where Mark introduces the Coaching Dilemma and solicits YOUR responses. What do you think is the correct answer to the dilemma?
This cast describes the role of Coaching in the Management Trinity, and makes a KEY recommendation regarding development of directs and performance management.
This guidance describes whom to coach and develop on your team with your marginal time.
This cast concludes our guidance on what to do and why when directs want to describe why they did what they did when you have given them negative feedback.
This cast contains our guidance on what to do and why when directs want to describe why they did what they did when you have given them negative feedback.
The conclusion of our guidance on how to respond initially to a direct who pushes back in various ways to an instance of feedback.
This guidance describes how to respond initially to a direct who pushes back in various ways to an instance of feedback.
In this cast, we share what do effective managers do when a direct disagrees with the feedback you give them.
What do we do when we've tried giving negative feedback but it doesn't seem to be working? We've given repeated instances of feedback, and yet we don't see a change in a direct's behavior?
In this podcast, Mike and Mark share a technique managers can use to give feedback to their team members.
In this podcast, Mike and Mark share a technique managers can use to give feedback to their team members.
In this podcast, Mike and Mark share a technique managers can use to give feedback to their team members.
In this podcast, Mike and Mark share a technique managers can use to give feedback to their team members.
This guidance recommends how to have effective One on Ones with directs who are initially resistant.
Mark and Mike conclude their discussion on the single most effective management tool available today - the weekly One-on-One.
Mark and Mike continue their discussion on the single most effective management tool available today - the weekly One-on-One. In the podcast, we refer to both a written summary of the key points for conducting One-on-Ones, as well as a form useful for documenting your One-on-Ones.
This cast begins our series on the Management Trinity, and our reasons for each of its three (four) components: One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching and Delegation.
This cast includes Part 4 of our discussion on how to implement the Manager Tools' Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching).
This cast includes Part 3 of our discussion on how to implement the Manager Tools' Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching).
This cast includes Part 2 of our discussion on how to implement the Manager Tools' Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching - and Delegation!).
This cast describes how to gradually implement Manager Tools' Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching - and Delegation!).
The definition of an Effective Manager is to achieve results while retaining your team members.
The definition of an Effective Manager is to achieve results while retaining your team members.
This guidance concludes our series on how to rollout the DiSC Behavioral Instrument to your team.