Management & Leadership Articles from ResourcefulManager

9 Ways To Manage People Who Get On Your Nerves

by Renee Cocchi | February 6, 2017

I’ve always said, “I don’t have to like you to work with you.” Over the years that evolved into, “I don’t have to like you to manage you.”

It’s not that I am antisocial. I’m just stating facts from experience.

Of course, it’s more pleasant and easier to manage people you like.

But some experts say that having a team in which everyone gets along extremely well also weakens it.

Reason: We gravitate toward people who are like us and have similar values. So there’s no one to challenge our thinking.

But not liking someone can lead to conflicts that often result in new insights and resolutions.

So what happens if you really dislike someone you manage, but they’re really good at their job?

Well, you could get another job, but a better option: Accept the fact you don’t have to like everyone you manage.

All it requires is that you respect them or something about them. Acknowledging that they’re good at their job is a sign of respect.

Need more help?

Here are additional suggestions for managing people who rub you the wrong way:

Click to continue »

Performance Management

Performance Reviews: 5 Things We’re Not Telling Employees

by Lisa McKale | January 29, 2017

Part of the problem with employee performance reviews is that they are frequently repetitive, bland, and time-consuming.

They’re seen as obligations, not employee development tools.

Yet we know that thoughtful reviews make a big difference when they focus on how an employee can improve in the coming year.

Sure, every review has to have the nuts and bolts – listing the employee’s duties and responsibilities and rating how well they did them.

But while the employee’s ability to do the job is essential, there are other valuable traits that generally don’t make it into reviews. And they’re just as important if the goal is to help your employee blossom.

So what have we been leaving out?

Click to continue »

New Managers

7 Steps To Turn Your People Into Great Managers, Too

by Lisa McKale | January 22, 2017

Almost all managers (98%, in fact) believe employees should have had more training in professional development, conflict resolution, time management and other skills before they became managers, says research recently published on Forbes.com.

Since it often falls to us to train employees for future managerial roles, it seems we’re falling short in equipping them with the complex and intangible skills they need to become proficient managers.

If we’re approaching managerial training by throwing employees to the wolves and hoping for the best, we’ll continue to get disappointing results – especially if we expect to promote from within.

So how do top resourceful managers train their future peers?

Here are seven steps that can help:

Click to continue »

Leadership

Why We Make Dumb Decisions: 6 Very Fixable Reasons

by Renee Cocchi | January 15, 2017

The answer is easy: No one’s perfect. Everyone makes mistakes.

Great leaders try new things and push boundaries. Sure they make mistakes, but that’s how they learn what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t. They don’t dwell on a failure. Instead, they see it as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Leaders that stay with the status quo and don’t experiment, quickly become stagnant!

So why do some managers make more than their fair share of bad decisions?

Click to continue »

Leadership

How Do You Stack Up? The 2017 Face Of Management Survey [Infographic]

by John Walston | January 8, 2017

How do you stack up to other managers and executives around the country?

As you start 2017, we thought you’d like to know.

ResourcefulManager surveyed 1,838 managers and executives, who directly manage other employees. The result was our exclusive 2017 Face of Management infographic.

Here are some of the key findings:

52% feel their departments are understaffed
40% think they are underpaid
45% work 50 hours or more hours a week
61% say they are average communicators at best.

Here’s the full infographic:

Click to continue »

Hiring

7 Ways To Get New Employees To Hit The Ground Running

by Lisa McKale | January 2, 2017

You’ve hired a lot of great young talent recently. Onboarding went great (for the most part). Orientation’s almost over, and now they’re getting into learning the ropes.

Don’t you wish you had some magic power to make this go – faster?

People learn at their own pace, right? You’ve got to be a little patient.

But if there were just a simple way to get your rookies playing like veterans, we’d all know it by now.

You can’t get inside new hires’ heads, but you can make their job transition smoother – both for them and for you.

Here are seven steps to make it happen:

Click to continue »

Leadership

The Top 10 ResourcefulManager Blog Posts of 2016

by John Walston | December 26, 2016

As 2016 winds down, I’d like to tip my hat to the ResourcefulManager community.

I’ve talked to a lot of you this year and have exchanged emails with even more.

You’re an exceptional group. You care deeply about your staffs and you’re constantly working to become better managers and leaders.

And I’d like to think that we have helped you along the way. The only gifts we had to give were our blog posts.

We had more than 280,000 of you visit our web site this year to read them and you viewed more than 655,000 pages.

So I’ve compiled a list of the most read posts in The Top 10 ResourcefulManager Blog Posts of 2016.

Click to continue »

Leadership

7 Ways To Spot Burnout – And The 7 Steps To Prevent It

by Renee Cocchi | December 18, 2016

Think of all the excellent managers and supervisors you’ve had. They were probably high achievers.

You’re probably one, too!

But high achievers are often so passionate about their jobs they don’t realize how hard they’re working or the load they’re carrying – they just want to succeed.

Which makes them prime candidates for burnout!

You’re probably thinking: I’m not burned out. I’m just a little stressed.

But guess what? “Stressed out” and “burned out” are just a few degrees apart.

Burnout sneaks up on you slowly over time, while you’re dealing with your busy and hectic life, and feeds off your energy.

So let’s make sure you don’t let stress get the best of you!

Click to continue »

Leadership

The 101 Best (And Most Inspiring) Quotes On Innovation

by John Walston | December 11, 2016

In business, maintaining the status quo is death.

If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind – particularly in today’s world.

Innovation is critical to every company, whether it is new products or services, more efficient manufacturing processes, or new marketing and sales channels.

Innovation does not require some exotic new technology. It requires an innovative culture – one that is embraced by the people at the top and flows through the whole organization.

Click to continue »

Leadership

Open Door Policy Nightmares – And 4 Ways To End Them

by Lisa McKale | December 4, 2016

You pride yourself on having an open door policy. Employees know you’re receptive to their needs and can talk to you about anything.

That’s great, right?

But what sounds like workplace nirvana can turn into a nightmare. If you’re not careful, you could end up running daily therapy sessions or become the defacto office police department.

An open door that allows for constant access to you for every single issue, problem and decision may turn out to be counterproductive to you and your entire department.

Click to continue »