| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Catch Your Staff Doing Something Right
A long time ago, I learned something about being a manager that has proven to be one of the most valuable lessons I've ever heard. You can't manage people from inside your office. You have to be out and about, talking to your staff and co-workers, and seeing and hearing what's going on out there. It's called "Management By Walking Around", or MBWA. Technology has been a huge asset to the workplace, but it's also made us a little lazy and disconnected. How many times do you e-mail someone in the next office, or down the hall, instead of getting up and walking over there? Or you fax a document instead of carrying it to the person who needs it? People need personal contact and with e-mail and fax machines and cell phones and ATM's and self check out lines in the supermarket, we're getting less and less human contact every day. If you're the boss, it's even more important that you spend in-person time with your staff - there's no substitute for face-to-face contact. If you're new to MBWA, your staff won't know how to react and you may get stiff, monosyllabic answers at first. Persevere and show genuine interest and you'll get the results you're looking for. No one wants the boss standing over them and watching what they do, so when you practice MBWA have some simple questions or comments in mind. For example, 1. What's the most critical thing you're working on right now? Is there anything I can do to make the project easier to complete? 2. How's the Jones report coming along? Any problems with making the deadline? 3. I'm impressed with your latest proposal, Karen. I know this project is a lot of extra work and long hours and I appreciate your commitment and flexibility. 4. Hey, Bob, I see you have some vacation time coming up. Do you have any special plans? 5. I saw that movie you recommended - what great special effects! Thanks for the tip! Remember, keep it simple, short, casual and positive. Save the negative comments for a more private time and place. If one of your staff members brings up an interesting subject that sounds like it will take a while, invite her or him for a cup of coffee and set aside some time to really give justice to the topic. As a manager, it's easy to get caught up in your administrative duties and project responsibilities but the time spent away from your office and interacting with your staff will yield far greater results. It takes time and effort to build and maintain a balanced, effective workforce; take the initiative and you'll be rewarded with an atmosphere of trust and openness that will spell success for any organization. When you talk to your staff, do you really listen to them? Try this. Every Friday afternoon write down three things you learned from your staff during the week. If you can't list at least three things a week, you're probably not listening carefully enough. Looking for more career advice? Joan Schramm is a career, executive and personal coach with twenty years experience in management, training and coaching. Joan can work with you to figure out exactly what you want from your life and your career, and how to get there without a lot of detours. For more information about Joan, or to talk about what's going on in your career, e-mail coach@achieve-momentum.com, or go to http://www.achieve-momentum.com. Sign up for a free monthly newsletter, "Angular Momentum" and take a free Job Satisfaction Assessment.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Negative Self-talk is Too Expensive I'm always fascinated by the people who lift huge weights, particularly in competitions like the Olympic Games. There are events for men and women and they get up on stage to lift a bar with huge weights attached. Think Twice Before Selling ROI When we're selling to business people, our value proposition has to show a good return. Solid, credible Return On Investment (ROI) calculations are supposed to prove this for us. Employees Commit Corporate Fraud Imagine the following scenario; Ten years ago you decided to quit your job and start your own company. For ten years you worked hard, made sacrifices, and it paid off in the end. How Bad Communication Can Hold You Back and How to Break Free of It The reason jobs are often not done right and employees are fired is because of lack of skill. Right? Wrong! Poor communication and ineffective human relations are the major causes. The Dark Side of Help Desk SLAs You just signed a Help Desk Service Level Agreement (SLA) and now think things will get easier. However, you may soon be falling into one of these traps:1) COVERING THE TRUTH WITH METRICSIn some companies, those under the radar of SLA compliance may resort to doing the minimum instead of really solving the problem. Five Strategies for Profitable Services Growth In today's era of Professional and IT Services competition and consolidation, some small to medium-sized companies are proudly delivering 20%-50% annual growth.Unfortunately, the vast majority of firms have experienced two consecutive years of fee erosion, commoditization, client defection, and company identity crises. DIVERSITY is a BIG word -- With A HUGE Business IMPACT Second thought! Just in case. YOU or someone you personally know may fit the following picture of success which may carry too much risk for comfort. The Rise of Corporate Chair Massages Employers have rapidly begun to understand the importance of stress relief in the workplace. Stress free employees have a higher retention rate and higher rates of productivity. Preventative Maintenance of Company Delivery Vehicles If you have company delivery vehicles at your small or medium sized business you should have a preventative maintenance schedule and procedures for employees who are drivers of these vehicles. When discussing preventative maintenance over the years with business owners the first thing which comes to mind is 'Oil change' and usually the business owner who is on the hook for the loans on these vehicles is more than aware of that fact. How to do SWOT Analysis for your Business SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how to improve their business.To have best SWOT Analysis we use below methodSWOT on Strengths that you can use for improving your business. CEOs And Boards Are Locked In A Spiral Of Doom American CEOs are dropping like flies. Boards, armed with new federal rules and stock exchange requirements coming in the wake of the corporate scandals of the past few years, are getting rid of underperforming CEOs at record rates. Will a Workplace Bully Bankrupt Your Company? Safeguard Your Company Against Harrassment ClaimsTwenty-five percent of employees suffer with peer to peer bullying and its on the rise, according to the National Institute of Safety and Health. Dina Beach Lynch, a 12 year workplace strategist and mediator, has the answer: Conflict Coaching. Islam in the Workplace Suggested practice for HR personnelMuslims now form one of the largest religious groups in the UK. At a time when great misunderstandings and stereotypes circulate the media and society regarding the religion, it is crucial for an effort to be made at all levels to go beyond archetypal images and to begin to understand Islam and Muslims. Time-Wasting Problems - One Question to Move You Forward In any organisation, progress is frequently impaired by the time taken up to resolve problems that occur again and again - usually with people's performance (or not!). At a macro level, there could just seem to be 'lots of problems', which is a symptom in itself. Four Employee Behaviors That Can Kill Your Business I found it important to clarify for employees what "deal-breaker" behavior was at my company. These are the things I insisted would not be tolerated and would lead to immediate or ultimate termination, depending on the nature of the infraction of these hard and fast rules. Employee Discipline: How to Nip Problems in the Bud Are you uncomfortable with delivering disciplinary action, even involving employees you know deserve it? You're not alone. Disciplinary action is one of the least favored tasks a supervisor must occasionally perform. To Thine Own Self Be True--Its Better for Business: What Arthur Andersen Would Say to His Company As a child, you probably heard, "to thine own self be true." But what does that really mean? When the newspapers are full of cheating and lying business owners, politicians, and academics, does it really make sense to maintain your integrity?To me, the answer is a clear, unwaffling YES! Without your integrity, you really don't have a business or a career--just a waiting game until you world comes crashing down around you. How Invisible Communication Barriers Kill Productivity Many kinds of interferences or disturbances can confuse a message. Communication specialists call them ''noise. Commercial Collections Billing Practices Advice Swiftness is the key to collecting past due commercial accounts because commercial accounts depreciate more faster than consumer accounts.In creating and implementing a billing system, a credit grantor should recognize that time is the safest refuge of any debtor. Leaning Toward Change Seduced by the publicity surrounding the impact of Lean on organizations, it's no surprise that people new to Lean, upon hearing or reading such information, are anxious to implement a continuous improvement initiative in their organizations.What has received little publicity, however, and often frustrates Lean implementation, are the employees on whom Lean is often inflicted, albeit unwittingly.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
