If I only knew then what I know now …
How many times have you said that?
Hindsight is worth its weight in gold and keeps us from repeating our mistakes.
Tale a moment and think about it.
If you could go back in time to your first management position, what single piece of knowledge would you take with you to make managing easier or better?
To get some answers, I went straight to people on the front lines – executives and supervisors I respect – and here’s what they said:
Why do so many good managers struggle to delegate?
Here are two of the biggest reasons:
Fear of losing control
Your parents might have drummed into your head, “The best way to get something done right is to do it yourself!” Solid advice, but if you’re too enamored with your own way of doing things, you’ll never learn to delegate well.
Fear of dropping the ball
What happens when you pass a project to one of your lieutenants? He or she might take the ball and run a different route than you would. One that might not work. Scary? Yes, but at some point, you’ve got to trust your people.
Good people are ready to take on more responsibility. So be brave and try them out!
You won’t be the first.
When you’re in business, the most important person is the customer. It’s easy to become shortsighted and think of only yourself and your employees. But every manager and employee needs to be making sure that customers – and prospects – have an amazing experience interacting with you every day. You have to WOW them. You […]
Are you a workaholic?
You know, someone who’s so dependent on his or her work that it becomes the central part of life?
Not sure? Ask yourself:
Well, I’m back from vacation, and I’ve spent the whole week digging out.
Which means I’ve had to do a lot of catch-up reading. And that means I’ve got some great stuff to share with you.
So let’s get right to it.
Do you feel like you’re busier than ever, but are accomplishing less?
That you’re pushing an ever-growing boulder up a hill?
Welcome to the typical U.S. workplace. The growth rate of productivity has slowed in the past decade.
Why? We’re distracted at every turn by meetings, smart phones, the Internet, etc.
And working more hours doesn’t solve the problem.
This infographic will give you a better understanding of why you’re less productive and what you can do about it.
We have a lot of great resources on the ResourcefulManager web site, but we are particularly proud of our infographics.
They’re loaded with valuable statistics and information every manager needs. And they are visually stunning, too.
In our “In Case You Missed It” section today, I’m recapping some of our best and giving you links so you can put them to good use.
Michael gets a promotion. Kelly, his soon-to-be-former team member, feels hurt and left behind. How do you handle this as a manager? (Yep, we’re talking about TV co-hosts Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa.)
Watching this situation unfold in the media took me back to my college TV news internship when a similar situation happened at the TV level.
And, just like the Michael-and-Kelly saga, it wasn’t pretty.
Depending upon whose numbers you believe, at least 41% of us (and it could be as high as 50% to 75%) don’t use all of our paid vacation. I am one of the guilty ones. My excuse (or at least what I tell myself): I like working. But every expert will tell you that not […]
Can’t remember the last time you got a raise? Or at least a raise that actually felt like a raise?
Not a surprise. For many, the days of the automatic yearly raise have pretty much dried up. Particularly for managers.
Now if you want a raise that will be meaningful, you’re going to have to ask for it.
Gulp! Bet that made your mouth go dry. Asking for a raise can be intimidating and nerve-racking.
But it shouldn’t be.
You’ve earned it. You deserve it. So just do it!
But to make the process easier on yourself and increase your odds of being successful, put this 11-step formula to work:
