management Archives - Page 39 of 42

Manage Better by Understanding Mistakes and Why People Make Them

Many companies use some kind of program for “measuring quality,” but the result of these assessment is typically expressed in “error rates.” Error rates are pretty worthwhile when they’re used to identify process steps that... Continue reading

Are You Coaching? Or Just Waving Your Arms?

A lot of what passes for coaching -- in workplaces, in homes, even on kids’ sports teams -- is really just a lot of exhortations and fervent repetitions of normative statements. It doesn’t help the... Continue reading

A Positive Charge for a Negative Employee

How do you handle a perpetually negative employee? You may get an idea from this bit of conversation that I had with a distressed client about a pivotal but consistently negative staff member we’ll refer... Continue reading

Is It Really So Hard to Nail Down Customer Loyalty?

I’ve gone to the same tiny nail salon for a number of years. My visits depend on my work and travel schedule, but no matter how many weeks apart, I’ve always gone on a Monday... Continue reading

Are You a Leader Who Knows How to Listen?

For the past six weeks I’ve been writing about why employees need to be able to give their bosses feedback -- and what both managers and organizations lose when they discourage that feedback. Now it’s... Continue reading

What If You Could Lead Better by Listening Better?

Any student of management will tell you that it’s stupid to ignore your staff’s feedback -- not to mention impolite, inefficient, and often directly and obviously damaging. You don’t necessarily have to act on staff... Continue reading

Don’t Be a Leader Who Makes People Powerless

If you manage others, you may find it hard to believe that your subordinates aren’t comfortable engaging with you about the work and the workplace. But don’t assume it’s because they’re apathetic or weak. Leading... Continue reading

Give Your Boss the Benefit of the Doubt

We’ve all been there: We’ve worked for managers who don’t listen or don’t understand, who are unfailingly critical, ignorant, or worse. So where can you begin if you’re trying to make a case for yourself,... Continue reading

Can You Help Your Leader Handle the Truth?

No matter how much I read (and write) about employee engagement and good management practices, it still amazes me how seldom employees share effective critical feedback with their management. This is not the usual whining,... Continue reading

Making Extraordinary Service Look Easy

I’m not a fan of inter-organizational benchmarking: It’s almost impossible to replicate someone else’s successes when you don’t have their operating model, or to replicate their practices or techniques when you don’t have their culture... Continue reading

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Tag: management