Management Mastery

In today’s corporate environment, the merging of two or more departments or functional areas is commonplace.  Such consolidations can be extremely disruptive and can negatively impact the performance of the departments involved.  In this episode, we discuss ways to avoid many of the mistakes a manager can make during such a merger. 

Who is in sales?  Every one of us in every function, in every company, in every industry.  Large company, or small, we all have “clients” and we are all “salespeople”.  By that, we mean we all need, at least from time to time, to convince that is, “sell” someone on an idea or get them to agree to do something for us. That “something” can range from actually buying your product, to giving you a pro...

Every manager has clients – whether they are inside or outside of the company, the ability of a manager to forge and maintain positive relationships with those clients is central to their success or failure as a manager.  In this episode we will discuss ways to build successful relationships with your clients:

The circumstances for getting feedback from your boss, whether positive or negative, can range from a chance meeting in the hallway to a formal performance review.  In this week’s episode of Management Mastery, we discuss the range of ways you can get feedback from your boss and how you should respond to each.

This week on Management Mastery we discuss getting feedback from your clients. As we have said in previous episodes, you always have at least two bosses: Your immediate supervisor and your client or clients. And everyone has clients.  Being able to get honest feedback from your client is critical to your success as a manager.  In this episode we discuss the benefits of getting honest feedback from...

Like it or not, it looks like remote working is here to stay.  What is currently known about this relatively new workplace reality, how widespread is it how do workers feel about it and what should managers who have staff working remotely – whether part-time or full time – be aware of in order to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives?  We’ll address some of these questions in this epis...

We have defined trust to be “when the manager believes their staff can be relied on to carry out their assignments and staff, in turn, believe that the manager knows what they are doing and will do what they say they will do.  Trust requires three characteristics:  competence, character, and caring. In this episode we discuss why “Caring” is critical in building and maintaining trust between manag...

One of the most important elements of successful management is trust: The trust of the manager in their staff as well as the trust of the staff in their manager.  Along with Competence and Caring, Character is one of the three key elements needed to build and maintain trust. We discuss competence and caring in separate episodes.  In this episode, we explain what we mean by “character” and how it i...

We have spoken about the importance of building trust with team members in many of our episodes.  Trust, in business, is when the manager believes their staff  can be relied on to carry out their assignments and staff, in turn, believe that the manager knows what they are doing and will do what they say they will do.  What is required to build trust are three characteristics:  competence, characte...

Influence is one of the most powerful tools a manager has.  In this episode we will discuss What It is, why it’s Important and how can you increase yours and use it most effectively.   Communication is how you move from merely providing information to entertaining, directing, or inspiring others and, eventually, to influencing them.  And, influence is more than words, it is about building a strong...

When asked why they enjoy their jobs, young professionals consistently tell us that 3 of the most important things are:  “A job that is challenging, the autonomy to do my job, and being able to learn new and marketable skills.”  In this episode, we discuss ways a manager can help staff get what they are looking for in their jobs. 

In one way or another, every good manager is a coach.  As a coach, you want to make your staff members as effective and productive as possible.  One of the most useful tools for developing staff is through the use of “Coaching Through Questioning”.  In this episode we explain this management approach and discuss how it can make you a more effective manager and your staff more productive. We show h...

Truly effective managers act more like the leader of a team than the boss of a department.  In this episode, we discuss what it takes for the boss of a department to become the leader of an effective team and why it is important.

A real temptation for a newly assigned manager is to tackle the biggest problem facing the group to show they are up to the job of managing their new department.  Like taking on too much right away, this can lead to serious problems.  In this episode, we will discuss ways to successfully avoid the potential pitfalls in taking on a complicated assignment too quickly.

Whether you are new to your position, or have been in your position for a period of time, setting realistic expectations for yourself will always be a challenge.  It is in your best interest to be actively involved in discussions of the expectations of your boss and of your staff so you can then determine the best method(s) of prioritizing them and attacking them.  How you handle these challenges...

When a new boss arrives either through a promotion, transfer, or from outside the company, it will change team balance.  In this episode of Management Mastery, we discuss how making the right decisions initially will go a long way toward the manager achieving success in the position.

Often when a new manager takes over, the boss, clients, staff, or stakeholders may have a number of issues that need to be addressed. Taking on the right issues can lead to success; taking on too many and doing a poor job at them can lead to failure. In this episode, we will discuss ways of successfully avoiding some of these potential pitfalls.

The minute you get promoted, you will no longer be the same person to your boss, your colleagues or your new staff.  In this episode we will cover these changes and how to deal with them.

It should be obvious to any manager, no matter how new, that the more engaged in their work an employee is, the more productive they will be – and the less likely to leave for another position.  But in this time of remote working, the “great resignation” and economic uncertainty, what should a manager be doing to ensure maximum engagement of the members of their team?  In this episode of Managemen...

A transition to a new leader is pivotal for the leader, the staff, and the business. One of the most important decisions a new leader must make is whether to stick with the existing team and for how long. In this episode, we discuss some of the important issues in deciding what, if any, staff changes to make and when and how to make them.

Regardless of the problem facing your team, as manager, you are expected to have the answer. Right? After all, you are the manager. Well, not necessarily. Unfortunately this is a trap many managers – and not just new ones – often fall into. In this episode, we’ll explore why “always having the answer” can often backfire and how to avoid it yourself.

Leaders often experience isolation at greater levels than most employees.  They have few peers, lots of scrutiny, a good deal of pressure, make decisions sometimes without much data, and have information that must be kept confidential.  In addition, they have to watch for feelings of isolation among their staffs.  In this episode we discuss some of the challenges leaders face and how to address th...

Every manager, at some time, has to fire 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

A performance improvement plan or “PIP” is a document that aims to help employees who are not meeting job performance or behavior-based goals.  A PIP covers specific areas of performance deficiencies, identifies skills, training, or behavior gaps, and sets clear expectations for an associates’ future conduct.

A critical part of any manager’s job is conducting regular employee performance evaluations or reviews. Obviously, if things are going well, these can be positive experiences for both the Manager and the employee. But, if things are not going well, they can be very stressful for both parties. In this episode, we will cover how to make the most of either situation.