Management Mastery

The Gallup Organization has been measuring Employee Engagement among thousands of employees since 2000 using questions that measure 12 factors of engagement. The level of enthusiasm employees feel toward their work and workplace is a powerful predictor of numerous important  business outcomes, including the quality of the work, level of productivity, safety, and profitability, among other things. ...

In our last two episodes, we spoke with Vance Morris, a former senior executive with the Disney Organization, about the benefits to consumer-facing businesses of creating what he calls “Experiences” for their clients.  In this episode, we discuss how managers can apply those same techniques to the benefit of their in-house departments even if they don’t have outside customers.

Vance helps business owners get, serve and keep clients for life through creating experiences and response required marketing. He is a Former Birth Control Factory Security Guard turned Disney Leader, turned Bankrupt Out of Work Executive, turned Carpet Cleaner, turned Successful Entrepreneur. In this episode, Vance talks about the lessons he has learned to become a successful marketer -- in any b...

Vance helps business owners get, serve and keep clients for life through creating experiences and response required marketing. He is a Former Birth Control Factory Security Guard turned Disney Leader, turned Bankrupt Out of Work Executive, turned Carpet Cleaner, turned Successful Entrepreneur. In this, the first of two episodes, Vance shows how the lessons he learned as a Disney Leader can help an...

Every manager, at some time, has to fire or lay off an employee.  It is one of the most difficult tasks a manager has, but it must be done caringly and professionally.  Layoffs are a special subset of termination. We’ll discuss the process for both in this week’s episode of Management Mastery 

It is important that a new manager meet with their staff as a group as soon as possible. In this episode we discuss why and what to cover The first meeting can occur before or after you’ve begun having one-on-one meetings with your staff.  Today we’re going to talk about the parts of your first staff meeting: ·       Introductions ·       Department and Challenges ·       Your Management Style ·  ...

Preparation for hiring top talent has to begin even before there is an opening to fill.

It’s one thing to be able to attract desirable candidates to interview at your firm.  As we discussed in a previous episode, top candidates are looking for a successful company, a challenging job, an excellent boss and senior management, and teammates who are bright, stimulating and want them on the team, as well as a position where they can visualize a career path for themselves.  Once having att...

One of the most important tasks the manager faces is recruiting top talent.  When you have the opportunity to make a new hire, you should approach it as an excellent opportunity to strengthen your department by adding a new personality with unique skills, abilities, and energy.  And, increasing abilities of your team can make you more effective in your role.  In this episode, we’ll discuss what to...

As a manager, you’re probably past the time when others will watch out for your career growth.  A critical part of managing your personal career involves knowing your own strengths and weaknesses.  It’s this type of self-awareness that’ll allow you to further develop the skills you have as well as learn new ones.  This’ll put you in the best position to make your greatest contribution.  It’ll also...

For every manager, creating a great team is extremely important, but has become much more complicated with remote working, teams working across geographical boundaries, and greater diversity in the workforce. Under any conditions, creating a strong team is a critical problem for managers and those who do it well have the opportunity to surpass their colleagues, as well as their competitors. In thi...

There are a number of characteristics that organizational researchers have found distinguish high-performing teams.  The recent move to remote working and to virtual teams that can have members in different countries, makes some of these features of high-performance more difficult.  In this episode, we’ll explore how to employ the tactics of high-performing teams even when working virtually.

A good manager knows that it’s important to manage not only relationships with their subordinates, but also those with their bosses. Successful management of one’s boss is not always easy or intuitive.  In this episode, we’ll discuss some of the common problems in dealing with one’s boss and suggest ways for handling them. 

Promotion to management means taking charge and exerting power.  It also means you are vulnerable to a number of traps.  A common one is hubris, which can be defined as “the excessive pride and self-confidence that can come with power”.  For a new manager, hubris can lead to any number of problems.  The most effective way to counter hubris in yourself is by showing humility. In this episode, we wi...

Great managers lead by setting the appropriate context. That is,by explaining the business objectives, the competitive environment and the regulatory constraints in which the department and company operate, rather than by trying to control people simply through a set of rules and procedures. Once managers explain the context, staff are better able to understand the direction and strategy and the m...

At some point, you very likely will find yourself called upon to present to an audience larger than a small group.  If you’ve never done it – or even if you have – this can be a fear-inducing experience.  In this episode we give you some advice on how to get through it successfully.

:  The climate of a department involves how staff interact, engage, and exchange ideas to create a positive work environment.  It is important to build a healthy team climate to ensure that staff feel comfortable, confident, and supported when around one another.  Many managers don’t focus on climate but simply accept the way it is when they arrive. Thus, they possibly miss a major opportunity to...

In our November 13, 2023 episode we discussed the importance of empathy and defined it as “our social radar”; that is, our ability to understand what others feel, and why they do what they do.  We identified the characteristics of people who display empathy, why empathy is important to the functioning of a department, and how the manager can help the members of the team improve their empathy.  In...

The questions that get leaders and teams into trouble are often the ones they fail to ask.  In the process of planning and decision-making, a critical role of the Manager, is to uncover key information, insights, and alternatives, by asking critical questions others may have overlooked. Gaining new information can be difficult than it sounds for two reasons:  First, you may be blinded by your own...

New Managers often have a habit of talking too much.  A lot of this is due to feelings of insecurity in their new position.  They often feel they need to show they are “in charge” by dominating the conversation – especially with their staffs.  This is a mistake  In this episode we will explain why and how to use silence – that is, simply talking less.  We will also discuss the opposite problem: Wh...

Providing help to the members of your team can be tricky.  Since you’re the boss, staff members are aware that you supervise and evaluate them, and if you come in and say “I’m here to help” it may or may  not  be received well.  Those managers who come in too heavy-handed often receive a bad reputation.  In addition, staff members can have strong emotional or psychological reactions to unnecessary...

When surveyed, most managers say they give each of their team members equal attention, respect and consideration.  Yet the research over many years finds that bosses have “in-groups” with whom they have warmer, more personal relationships and “out-groups” where they act more transactionally.  In this episode we discuss why that can be bad for the manager and how to make an effort to change that dy...

There are a number of honest mistakes new managers often make.  In this episode, we discuss three of the most common and, often some of the hardest to totally avoid making.

While a promotion can be gratifying, exciting and rewarding, it often carries with it new or increased pressures and strains on both you and your family.  In this episode we talk about how to deal with some of those new burdens.

The best managers recognize that one-on-one meetings with staff members are key to building a cohesive, well-run team.  By one-on-one meetings we’re talking about status update meetings where you and your staff member discuss their progress on assignments as well as any other issues they or you may have.  Why? Because staff members are critical to your success, both as individuals and members of t...