New Managers Must Learn Assertiveness

In another installment from the True Story files, Joanne was listening to a manager from another department...

"In" and "Out" Group

Dear Joan: I am very frustrated with my team and I hope you can give me some ideas. I have been a manager...

A Glimpse at Blitz The Ladder's Blitz Approach

In a recent online survey, business professionals identified numerous barriers to achieving the career...

A Quick Way To Improve Your Performance Review

A good Performance Review is a great opportunity if done correctly, to motivate your staff.  If...

A Red Carpet Welcome

Remember your first few days at your present job? Were you excited? Nervous? Did you worry about...

A Wake Up Call

Watching the news recently, I saw an interesting statistic indicating that 53% of workers are unhappy...

All of us are stuck on suck-ups

We all claim to hate suck-ups. So why do we surround ourselves with them? I have reviewed more than 100...

Are there any grounds for a confidentiality breach?

Dear Joan: I hold a Senior Management position as a Director at a Financial Institution.  I...

Are there really no stupid questions?

"There are no stupid questions," says Steve Wolff, CEO of AMS, a consulting company for the performing...

Are you a control freak?

As a manager, are you a control freak? Are you obsessing about every detail of your work, or the work...

Are You a Micromanager?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself: Are you frustrated that your employees don’t do their...

Are you Assertive or Aggressive?

Too often, people who think they're acting assertively are really acting aggressively. The mistake is...

Are You Guilty of Clock Abuse?

If one piece of equipment in the workplace were identified as the most troublesome, it would have to...

AS A MANAGER, DO YOUR STAFF KNOW WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT FROM YOU?

Be an Effective Manager and Tell Them To have a successful career in any company you must know how to...

Ask So You Don't Have to Guess

Why Save the Best Questions for an Exit Interview? Human resource specialists and senior-level leaders...

Ask the Wizard of Weirdness

Dear WOW: I work on an R&D technical team, and have a dilemma. One of my team members, Charlie, has...

Beware of Backseat Driving

Sometimes we meet people who seem to know everything. I'm not talking about Mensa members with IQ's of...

Boss who hoards work needs employee's feedback

Dear Joan: I work for a company that has downsized and is redefining itself due to major changes in the...

Building Employee Loyalty

Nearly half of all employees plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months. If you lost half of your...

Calibrate performance review ratings across your management team

If you are a manager who takes the responsibility of doing performance reviews seriously you are probably...

Choose Your Friends Wisely

Birds of a feather flock together. I’m sure you have heard that saying before but have you ever...

Clarity or Diversion?

Clarity or Diversion? Does your organization call meetings for strategy or diversion? If you ask many...

Coaches Corner: How to Stay Positive in Tough Times

Look around—times are tough right now.   The economy has impacted our 401 K’s,...

Commitment to Training Attracts Top-Notch Employees

My family and I had the good fortune to stay at the Marriott Marina Hotel in San Diego, California. The...

Creating Conditions for Sustained Success

What brings success? Is it better leaders? Better products? Better salespeople? What about better performance...

Dealing with a Chronically Absent Employee

A reader recently asked for help with the following human resources scenario: We have a seven-year employee,...

Dealing with a negative boss

Q: I am in a management position and I have a supervisor that is negative and unsupportive. He brings...

Dealing with Difficult Behavior

  Conflict is inevitable in the workplace. However, that does not mean that we cannot work to prevent...

Dealing with Difficult Behavior

Conflict is inevitable in the workplace. However, that does not mean that we cannot work to prevent unproductive...

Dealing With Large Mistakes

Dear Joan: I am a business owner who has had an employee work for me for approximately three years. She...

Dealing with Mergers

It seems that everyday we hear about new mergers. And although mergers are often done to create a more...

Disruptive Employees

Dear Joan: I was recently given the task of implementing Lean Manufacturing at my place of employment....

Do we need more quality control, or more common sense?

Headlines in 2007 were overloaded with safety issues and recalls. Whether in the design / development...

Do you have an Eddie Haskell in your office?

Are you familiar with the Eddie Haskell character from the “Leave It to Beaver” television...

Do You Plan Your Day? Maybe you should start!

As I have coached people over the years I have observed clients that have the following issues with organization:  1.  ...

Do your managers need to attend 'boot camp'?

Here's the myth: If a manager is not naturally good at managing people, then he/she cannot learn. The truth:...

Does Your Staff Know What They Can Expect From You?

To have a successful career in any company you must know how to build relationships and one of the most...

Doing or Being

95% of the problems we have with time management are really not about managing time, but about managing...

Earning respect from a lone-wolf manager

Dear Joan: I have a situation where a co-worker is trying to poison my direct reports behind my back....

Emerging Trends

How the developing “mosaic” quilt of the United States workforce will affect Human Resources...

Employee Development

When companies think of employee development, they often search for training programs, educational seminars,...

Employers must manage workers with divergent attitudes, habits

On her computer screen at work, Ruth Garren has a calendar counting down the days until her 65th birthday...

Engaging Change: Six Tips for Surviving and Thriving

The only thing that stays the same in business is change – and with the economy experiencing a...

Enrich: Energize the job

When the thrill is gone, so are they. Your most valued employees are also the most likely to suffer job...

Everyday Workplace Conflicts

Dear Joan: I just read one of your articles on Workplace Conflict. This article seems to be addressing...

Executive Coaching: A Leadership Development Tool for Top Performers

 "Coaching" used to be a popular approach for derailing executives or professionals whose performance...

Expand your coaching

Joe Smith is CEO of Clarkson Products, a major division (40,000 employees) of Clarkson Enterprises, a...

First Round or Second Round? Tips on Timing Your MBA Applications

Applying to a top MBA program requires a lot of thinking. You have to put together many components in...

Five Ways to Build Your Value at Work

Every day people go to work and wish their job were better. Besides better compensation, they want more...

Flex policy isn't very flexible

Dear Joan:  My company has recently instituted a flexible schedule policy.  Any employee wishing...

Focus your team and draw them together - with stories

If you’re leading or building a team, Annette Simmons has a question for you: “What’s...

Focus your team and draw them together with stories

If you’re leading or building a team, Annette Simmons has a question for you: “What’s...

Generation Y Managing Baby Boomers: In Good Company?

The experienced professional, 51 years of age, gets a brand new boss... who happens to be a 26-year old...

Goals: multiply options

Expand employee's options with a new twist on goal setting Do you get a knot in your stomach when a valued...

Good Places To Work Use Good Communication Strategies

What makes for a positive work environment and happy employees? Duh! One of the key factors is good communication...

Great Communicators Become Great Leaders

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about clarity. I notice that some leaders live in their own heads—they don’t...

Great Service is Linked to Strong Leadership

There's a famous story about a group of visitors to Disney. They were walking in the Magic Kingdom when...

Health Insurance Options

I'm going to graduate in May. I've had several promising interviews lately and think it's just...

Helping Co-workers Cope With Loss

When people are hit sideways with a tragic loss and it throws them for a loop, don’t believe for...

Helping Successful People Get Even Better

In my role as an executive coach, I am asked to work with extremely successful leaders who want to get...

Here Are Ways Which Are Making Average Managers Into Outstanding Ones

Do you want to be the best manager around and earn the respect you deserve? Do you want to motivate your...

Hidden Costs of Conflict

Whenever people work together, conflict is an inevitable result. Disagreements occur in even the best...

Hot Management - Part 2

HOT Management™ is not a 100% solution (there are no 100% solutions). But according to our research(*), this...

How a Clear Vision and Mission Leads to More Profits

Here's an experiment you can try: Walk into a corporate office and find their mission statement hanging...

How can suspending my beliefs inspire my team and resolve conflicts?

Early in my career, I thought of other people as either with me or against me. If they were with me and...

How Do I Deal With The Queen Bee Syndrome?

Dear Joan: How do I deal with the Queen Bee Syndrome? I work in HR. My boss consistently places the blame...

How do I Manage a Bipolar Employee?

Dear Joan: I am searching for some information and advice on an employee I have.  I am at a loss...

How do we turn these "place holders" around?

Dear Joan: I was just speaking with our CEO and she asked me to look into a problem that was brought...

How Much Personal Business At Work is Reasonable?

The other day I came across an article that said the average US worker spends approximately two hours...

How Nice Are You?

Dear Joan: "My workplace is nice to a fault," a client told me recently. "People just won't tell you...

How to be a Better Manager

Do you manage a staff? A large staff? A small staff? It doesn't really matter how big your staff is....

How to Deal with a Jealous Job Sharing Partner

Dear Joan: I have been reading what I can on dealing with jealous employees. Most say to ignore it and...

How to handle an employee with roller coaster performance

Dear Joan: I am a manager in financial services company. Most of the people on my staff are hard working...

How to hire, train, and retain great employees

Where I live (in Idaho), the cost of replacing an employee averages somewhere between $17,000 and $31,000....

How to kill morale and birth an exodus

The story you’re about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. My...

How to lead others in implementing your ideas

Dear Joan: One area I have been struggling with since the beginning of my career is sharing ideas and...

How to Reduce Interruptions

Dear Sue: I am frequently interrupted while trying to do my work. I think people should attempt to find...

How to Stop Playing it so Safe

How do we get the Safekeeping Self to alter its behavior? How do we get it to stop ruling the roost?...

How To Turn Around Negative Attitudes

It doesn't matter where you work, at some point all organizations have employees who develop negative...

How Will Questions Motivate my Coworkers

If: Leadership is not about having coworkers do what you want, but having them want to do it. Then: Motivation...

I'm a new manager (and being taken advantage of)...

Dear JobDig: I am a new manager and I am being taken advantage of. The girls who work for me cheat on...

If You Are A New Manager Make Sure You Copy This

If you were to join the James Dyson Company, within your first week, if not first day, you will build...

Influence vs Authority

Dear Joan: I would like to ask what strategies you suggest for people in matrixed organizations; whose...

Influence Vs. Authority

Dear Joan: I would like to ask what strategies you suggest for people in matrixed organizations; whose...

Information: Share It

Information is power. But you've known that for a long time. As kids we knew that having the inside scoop...

Innovative approach to exiting employees builds culture of trust

Dear Joan: We operate in a high stress work environment. Jobs are hard to come by around this area. Your...

Introducing HOT Management

Managers in every workplace today are engaged in a tug of war. On one side, employers are demanding more...

Is your leadership developing or diminishing?

When all the excitement of starting a company or being promoted to a senior leadership position fades...

It's just a suggestion

How many times have you found yourself feeling sandblasted with another person's advice. It is pretty...

IT'S OKAY TO BE THE BOSS: Be a great one!

Since 1993, I have studied the experience of thousands of managers at all levels in a wide range of industries...

Keeping the People You Really Need in the Outsourced Economy

The outsourced economy is here to stay. As a leader, you may not relish the idea of outsourcing. However,...

Keeping Track Without Becoming A Micromanager

Dear Joan, I am a senior manager in a large organization. I’ve been promoted into a “stretch...

Lack of Support

Dear Joan: I have known for quite some time that I get very little, if any, support from my boss, and...

Leadership Communication Insights

What gives someone true power?   The power isn't in a movie star, a talking head, a bestseller,...

Leading or managing?

Am I leading into the future or am I managing the present? David McLaughlin, former Chairman of the Red...

Levels of Decision Making in the Workplace

Every day at work we are faced with decisions to be made. Leaders are faced with many issues when making...

Leveraging Seasoned Professionals

Lately, I've been hearing an interesting theme, as I network among friends and colleagues. In a recent...

Lines of Authority

I am a VP and have about forty people reporting to me through six direct reports. I seem to be continually...

Looking for Ways to Advance Your Career? It's Time for a Career Check-Up!

Worried about your job security? Unhappy with your current position? Hoping to get a raise or promotion...

Make Your Move - Right Into Management

Are you ready to move up the corporate ladder and shoulder management responsibilities? There are a number...

Making the Transition to Manager

Getting promoted is a common goal, but perhaps the most difficult promotion is transitioning from line...

Management and Youth Soccer

Last spring was the big draft. You may have heard about it. No, I'm not referring to the NFL draft that...

Management and Youth Soccer

Last spring was the big draft. You may have heard about it. No, I'm not referring to the NFL draft that...

Management Favoritism

Dear Joan: I work for a large company that has favoritism issues and a committee was formed to resolve...

Management strategies for layoffs

Dear Joan: I've been through two downsizings. In the first one, my boss knew six months in advance that...

Management Styles

Dear Joan: I am a new manager.  I manage a small business but I find it hard to know if I am too...

Manager is behaving like a Grinch

Dear Joan: I work for a small department of a large employer who frequently receives holiday gifts from...

Managers Beware - Your Employees Are Watching You

Is “walking the talk” a tired old cliché or a bold new concept? Very few managers today...

Managers cheat employees with sugar-coated performance reviews

Dear Joan: Here is a situation for which I could use some advice. My employer is a large, state- funded...

Managers Time - 57% Is Spent Dealing With Difficult Staff

Announcing Ways To Deal With Difficult Staff. As a manager, how do you deal with difficult staff? How...

Managing Meetings - This Is How You Fail At Them

Become the manager who is a failure at managing meetings or do the opposite and become the expert... Meetings...

Managing Meetings - This Is How You Fail At Them

Become the manager who is a failure at managing meetings or do the opposite and become the expert... Meetings...

Managing Styles

Dear Joan: I am a new manager.  I manage a small business but I find it hard to know if I am too...

Managing Your Career Through Effective Social Networking

Social networking is now all of the rage. People of a certain generation were raised on MySpace and Face...

Medications and Messy Desks

Dear Joan: I have a perplexing issue involving medication for control of a medical condition and a very...

Mentor: Be one - you'll double the odds of keeping them

A recent study said mentored employees are twice as likely to stay as employees with no mentor. The even...

Mentoring Programs for Professional Service Firms

Creating Mentoring Relationships that Serve the Individual and the Firm It seems almost everyone can...

Motivate Your Sales Team to Crush the Tomato

Motivation is one of the biggest keys to developing successful teams. Every day strong skilled teams...

My Manager Has Gone Missing

Dear Joan: Do you think managers are accountable to their direct report associates as to where they are...

Networking - Technology vs. Principles

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Silicon Valley to do a variation of a book tour. It was exhilarating...

New leader lacks leadership

Dear Joan: Just before the holidays, our department lost its supervisor and our CEO has opted not to...

New manager faces long-term abusive employee

Dear Joan: I have recently taken over as Operations Manager of a small power station in the UK. I have...

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes

Perhaps you've heard Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: Doing the same things over and over but...

Now You Can Have Super Motivated Staff with these 8 Proven Tips

As a manager, one of the key skills is providing feedback on staff performance. How easy is it to give...

One hostile employee causes continuous turnover problem

Dear Joan: I have worked at this specialty dental office for over four years and have over thirteen years...

Opening the Doors of Communication

Who is not interested in knowing more about themselves and about others that they interact with or may...

Outstanding Managers Know How To Delight Their Staff - Do You?

The success of an organisation does not solely depend on management but on the work of its staff as well....

Overworked and Stressed Out

Dear Sue: I am the manager of a small business. The owners have three other offices and a manufacturing...

Performance Is The Target

How would you answer the following question if you had a choice between True and False? Training is a...

Performance Planning

It’s that time of year; it only comes once a year. Yes! It’s your annual performance...

Personality conflict may be something more

Dear Joan: I have two employees who have a major personality conflict. One is a new employee who is young...

Presenting Effectively to Senior Level Audiences

Dear Joan: I have recently been promoted to a general manager position in a financial firm. I am leading...

Q&A: Triangulation

Dear Joan: Help!  I manage a small office of professionals and administrative support staff. ...

Questions on references, age discrimination, and outdated skills

  Dear Joan: I have a question regarding references.   I was laid off from my last position...

Retaining Gen Y Talent: 6 Key Tips On How Keep Your Millennial Employees From Leaving

To many employers, the Millennials (aka: Gen Y) entering our professional work environments are a mystery....

Self Management

When it comes to self management, I don't think there are many mysteries. It's much like understanding...

Setting Company Goals

Dear Joan: I supervise 63 staff. How do I assist them in planning their goals for this year? Answer: Their...

Seven Manager Resolutions for a More Engaged Team

New Year is traditionally a time for making positive changes: quitting smoking, exercising more, or eating...

Seven Manager Resolutions for a More Engaged Team

New Year is traditionally a time for making positive changes: quitting smoking, exercising more, or eating...

Staying connected in order to stay motivated

Years ago a good friend was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. She did a curious thing. She withdrew...

Stress Management for Optimum Performance

Stress. It's a fact of life for today's busy executives, managers, and independent business owners. And...

Stretch Assignments

The most challenging project pushes your limits and tests your skills. Seeking and committing to a "stretch...

Successful Managers Don't Hold On To Information - They Share It!

It has been said, "If you give, you shall receive". This saying is often used to refer to giving of your...

Take Control of Burnout

You have probably experienced burnout at some point in your life. Either your own, a coworker's, or a...

Team Building: Leadership Strategies To Address Today's Most Common Team Building Problems

Despite best team building efforts, many organizations are still operating on low power when it comes...

Technology can be a major hurdle among workers of different generations

Lindsey Powell didn't have access to the Internet on her desktop computer at her last job, and it was...

The "How To Be Likeable" Series. Ten Things You Can Do Today.

To a large measure, your likeability will lead to success or failure. It often trumps skill levels in...

The 7 Simple (but ignored) Rules For Ensuring Your Meetings Are Productive

A recent survey (by Dr. Steven G. Rogelberg, Professor and Director of Organizational Science at the...

The Five Leadership Communication Commandments

Is success as simple as hanging the brooms and shovels where they're supposed to go? Is it finding out...

The Performance Scorecard

In today’s hyper competitive marketplace, employees and their managers understand that their organizational...

The Rarity of Passion-Driven Teams

The concept of teams is not new. Although a “teaming” revival has been zinging around the...

The Rising Expectations for Leaders

"Half the CEOs in the world are below average."                                                                         David...

The Seven Deadly Sins of (Not) Listening

As we learn communication during our school years we experience many speech classes and writing classes. ...

The Silent Treatment

Dear Joan: I am desperate for an answer on why a person would use the silent treatment in an office....

The under-management epidemic

There has been so much talk about the engagement of workers: Are your employees "engaged" or not? But...

The Various Styles of Managing

Dear Joan: I am doing a research paper on various styles of management, such as micromanagers. But I’m...

The World's Shortest Leadership Course

Even if you’re just a clerk, you can become a leader. A wonderful leader. Here’s how: Envision...

Thriving or Dying by Meetings

Have your machine call my machine. Beam that to my PDA. Use the meeting scheduling software. Meet online,...

Tips to leverage your development budget

They were such voracious learners; I should have guessed something was up. In a recent Leadership Lab...

To Help Others Find Answers Ask Questions

Coaching is often thought of as a way to help a person who needs “fixing.” This attitude...

Touchy Feely Is Not My Style

When Alan sat down in his chair in my management training course on recognition, his body language told...

Tough tactics to combat gossip

Dear Joan: We have some malicious gossip issues here and I wanted to run some things by you. It happens...

Tough Times and Holiday Bonuses

What do you do when you just don't have the money in your budget to give the kind of holiday bonuses...

Turn the day of resolutions into a year of evolution.

Throughout my life history it seems that my well intentioned New Year's resolutions have diminished like...

Ultimate outcomes of coaching expectations

Question: I have been thinking about hiring an exec coach. What should I expect and what will be the...

Using Pessimism to Your Advantage

They’re cynics. They’re gloomy. They’re sarcastic and grumpy. They focus on the worst...

Valuing the Individual

Recently, I worked with a manager who wanted to build greater rapport with her team. I gave her an assignment....

Ways Entry Level HR Professionals Can Be More Relevant

After a long and arduous job search, I finally landed my first human resources position a while back. ...

We Really Need to Talk

Oftentimes the toughest part of working with other people is knowing when and how to communicate. ...

What are you doing to increase trust?

The following story is true. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent—and...

What doors will I open?

Work can be a source of greater happiness, if you become adapt at opening and closing doors. There are...

What Flavor is Your Management Tea?

When it comes to coffee or tea, I'm a coffee guy. I'll occasionally get decadent and apply for a bank...

What Gardening and Managing Have in Common

Like most husbands, I bought my wife roses for Mother’s Day. These weren’t cut flowers, but...

What is Executive Presence

“He needs executive presence,” a CEO explained to me recently, as he was describing the coaching...

What Makes for a Great Leader?

What makes for a great leader? Are leaders born, or can they be molded? Whether or not someone has the...

What You Can Do Today To Become A Better Team Communicator

I'm often asked, "What can I do differently to improve my communication skills in the workplace?" Let's...

What's the Problem?

If you're in a leadership role, you're never at a loss for problems to solve. But be careful about getting...

When Colleagues Become Competitors

Silos are nothing more than the barriers that surface between departments, causing people who are supposed...

When should I commit resources to new projects?

"Be careful what you wish for," the old saying goes. Maybe it should be "Be careful what you begin" instead....

Where's Your Blind Spot?

I was out on the field at a kid's soccer tournament when I overheard bits and pieces of a conversation...

Why Are Performance Evaluations Such A Pain In The...

Why is it so difficult to find five people in any company who are pleased with the way performance evaluations...

Why most new managers encounter trouble

Before placing someone in the role of a supervisor or manager, a few questions must be answered. Is the...