This week, we finish (finally!) our series on working effectively with administrative assistants.

Also, for all of those who went to Podcast Alley and voted for Manager Tools, thank you very much! We achieved a long-held objective of getting in the Top 10 list of all podcasts. We don’t know how long we’ll stay there … but we’re enjoying the moment. And we owe that to all our friends here on Manager Tools. Thank You!

Here’s a brief outline of the 3-part Series:

1. Part 1
• The Role of the Executive
• The Role of the Admin
• The Single Biggest Roadblock
2. Part 2
• Managing the Executive’s Schedule
3. Part 3
• Managing the Executive’s Office
• Managing the Executive’s Relationships
• Managing the Executive’s Administrative Deliverables

If you’ve ever had to deal with two of your directs fighting about something, this is the cast for you. Mark likes to say that “the definition of conflict is two human beings in the same COUNTY.” If that’s true, then 500 or 1,000 or 5,000 people in the same organization is not just ‘a conflict waiting to happen’, it’s conflict guaranteed to happen.

Yes, conflict is inevitable. Unfortunately, the natural response of most managers to conflict among their staff or team [can you guess what it is?] is completely, totally ineffective.

Sure, some conflict is good - the creative tension that produces better ideas, disagreements that lead to a third way. But most of us don’t describe that as conflict - that’s just “different ideas”. The conflict we’re talking about here is by definition dysfunctional and ineffective.

This cast lays out a way to address it and move toward effectiveness.

What do you do when you’re in conflict with a peer… and your directs become involved? What’s interesting here is that we all ought to know that if we ARE in conflict with a peer, our directs ARE involved. Our directs know who among our peers are our allies, and who we don’t align well with. Our directs make choices, perhaps subtle, but choices nonetheless, that can add to our tensions (yes, even if we tell them not to).

What can we do as managers to help our directs deal with a peer of OURS that WE are in conflict with? When the peer begins to not behave professionally, and doesn’t meet her responsibilities to projects or teams he’s on… what do you do? When the peer expresses disdain, or is less than professional in how he treats one of your team?

Listen up; we’ve got a plan.

Part 2 of our 2-part series on managing conflict when your directs are involved.

We still have slots available for our Effective Manager Conference on April 18th and 19th. Be sure to sign-up now and take advantage of the early registration discount!

Have you ever wondered what your team REALLY thought of you? Have you ever wondered what they say about you to their spouses about you after one of their tough days? Have you wondered if other managers wondered this, or do they have their “stuff” so together that they don’t worry about this like you do?

Oh, they worry. Trust us.

The thing is, if you ask around, some people (and more than some in HR) will recommend you “do a three-sixty!”

That’s when you really SHOULD worry. 360-degree feedback is very powerful, and almost always inappropriate for managers as a way to learn how they’re doing. (We spend some time talking about 360 in the cast, as background.)

This cast teaches you a basic, simple, easy, low investment, low (zero) cost, easily repeatable, hard to mess up, gets-better-when-you-repeat it every-once-in-awhile technique for beginning to learn how you’re doing as a manager.

We’ve alluded to it, we’ve talked about it, but we’ve never until now shared our recommendation for one of the few mandatory meetings we recommend: The Effective Manager’s Weekly Staff Meeting. We believe that a “Weekly Staff” and weekly one on ones are the core of running a team of directs. It’s one thing to meet with everyone individually, but Effective Managers know that there is a need for a socializing structure for the team as a unit.

And if you’ve ever HATED that “round robin” at the end of meetings, where no one really knows what to say, and everyone just wants the meeting to be over, we’ll tell you how to avoid THAT too.

During the podcast, we make reference to our previous shows on running effective meetings — the Effective Meeting Protocol (EMP). You’ll find those shows here:

• Effective Meetings, Part 1
• Effective Meetings, Part 2

Today, mark and I finish up our series on running your staff meeting. If you haven’t listened to last week’s show, you may want to do so.

During the show, we also allude once again to our previous podcasts on the Effective Meeting Protocol (or EMP). We did these shows back in August of 2005, so as we suggested last week, please visit our archives on the website if you haven’t listened to them.

You’ll find those shows here:

• Effective Meetings, Part 1
• Effective Meetings, Part 2

UPDATE: If you downloaded the podcast on Monday morning, it is likely you have a corrupted version of the podcast. Unless you like listening to the sound of chipmunks, you’ll probably want to re-download the podcast. If you are listening to the show in your browser and you previously downloaded the bad version, you must clear your browser cache, and in many cases, actually *close* your browser, restart it and then click on the play button. My apologies to all those impacted!

– Mike

This cast describes how to have a discussion with a direct whose personal odor is affecting their teammates.

We get asked “the body odor question” a lot, and everyone seems stunned that we actually have an answer. Usually, a manager just mentions it in passing. “Well, thanks for this other help…but even YOU can’t help with THIS problem.” In keeping with their tone, I say, “what’s that?” Their reply of “I got a guy who is creating problems on the team. It’s …uhhhh… it’s like… he uhhhh…”

“Body Odor?”

“How did you know?”

The fact is, we ALL smell. If you don’t think you do, you’re mistaken, and that deodorant or antiperspirant in your bathroom closet, to say nothing of the eau de toilette, cologne, perfume, and scented toothpaste and body lotion you likely have there as well.

And so, it’s going to happen that you will have to have a conversation with one of your directs about their personal scent. Here’s how.

Today, we complete our discussion on Body Odor.

One of our more controversial topics, to be sure … but folks, we don’t make this stuff up! The issue arises in offices all across the world every day. And since it doesn’t seem like anyone else wants to talk about it, we will!

This cast gives managers specific steps to take when dealing with a personal crisis of a direct report.

Mark once heard a manager say that when one of his directs started crying, he simply “gave them some tissue and walked out.” Even though he prided himself on being a tough-minded, results oriented, very successful manager, at some level he knew that his response was too callous, too cold. When Mark looked at him, mouth agape, he immediately backpedaled and said something to the effect of, “well, I’m giving them space…I don’t want them to be embarrassed . . . I appreciate their need for privacy . . . I didn’t want them thinking I was evaluating them right then.”

All delivered with that delicate edge of panic that comes from defending the indefensible. Your directs have lives outside of work, and as often as you will ask them to stay late, to do more, to answer emails on the weekend . . . every once in a while, THEIR lives are going to herniate into YOUR work.

What do you do as a manager when one of your team has a crisis? When their spouse is hurt or hospitalized? When their house burns down? When someone’s parent passes away?

We’ll tell you in this cast.