Manager Tools

Intra-Company Training Network Building

mauzenne — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:51:56 -0500

This cast recommends building relationships internally at your organization when you attend training events.

Managing Cultural Diversity - The Wendii Curve

mauzenne — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:19:09 -0500

This cast describes Manager Tools' first principle about managing directs from different cultures, based on the Wendii curve.

How To Manage An Arrogant Producer

mauzenne — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:37:38 -0500

This cast addresses how to manage a high performer who is arrogant or dismissive of others.

How To Stop Gossip

mauzenne — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:27:25 -0500

This cast addresses how to stop intra-office gossip.

The High I Manager Simple Downfall

mauzenne — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:00:13 -0500

This cast addresses a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High I Managers: starting well and ending poorly.

Developing Subordinate Managers - Chapter 1

mauzenne — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:26:46 -0500

This cast describes the first principle of how to develop subordinate managers - Measure Basic Behaviors.

Coaching/Feedback Template For Presentations

mauzenne — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:48:21 -0500

This cast provides guidance on giving feedback when coaching directs on their presentation skills, AND a detailed template managers can use when doing so.

Favorite Candidate Interview Preparation - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:30:48 -0500

This cast concludes our conversation on how to increase the chances that you will get to hire your favorite candidate when he or she has to interview elsewhere in the organization.

Favorite Candidate Interview Preparation - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:05:29 -0500

This cast describes how to increase the chances that you will get to hire your favorite candidate when he or she has to interview elsewhere in the organization.

High C Manager Simple Downfall - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:54:12 -0500

This cast concludes our conversation on a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High C Managers: finding fault with recommendations and ideas.

High C Manager Simple Downfall - Part 1

mauzenne — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:55:19 -0500

This cast addresses a behavioral change for an insidious practice of High C Managers: finding fault with recommendations and ideas.

The One On One Refresh

mauzenne — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:14:31 -0500

This cast describes how to refresh your One on Ones with your directs after you've been doing them for 1-2 years.

My Boss Skips Me

mauzenne — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:13:09 -0500

This cast describes how to work with a boss who repeatedly skips over a manager and works directly with your directs (his or her "skips").

Owning The Inputs - Part 2

mauzenne — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:04:10 -0500

This cast concludes our conversation on handling a direct who blames another direct for their failure to deliver a task on time.

Owning The Inputs - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:31:42 -0500

This cast recommends how to handle a direct who blames another direct for their failure to deliver a task on time.

Managers and Confidentiality

mauzenne — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:09:21 -0400

This cast recommends how managers handle requests for confidentiality from their directs.

The Management Trinity - Part 3

mauzenne — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:05:51 -0400

In this cast, we conclude our conversation on the origins of the Management Trinity, focusing on Coaching and Delegation.

The Management Trinity - Part 2

mauzenne — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:51:37 -0400

In this cast, we continue our conversation on the origins of the Management Trinity, focusing on One on Ones and Feedback.

The Management Trinity - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:50:53 -0400

This cast describes the origins of the Management Trinity: why we preach it, and how it came to be.

Timely Meetings – Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:17:15 -0400

This cast concludes our conversation on how to run timely meetings.

Timely Meetings – Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:20:11 -0400

This cast describes how to run timely meetings.

The First Question In Your One on One

mauzenne — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:36:14 -0400

This cast describes how to start every One on One.

Admin Trip Folders – Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:31:53 -0400

This cast concludes our discussion on a standard practice of administrative assistants helping managers prepare for business travel.

Admin Trip Folders - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:25:49 -0400

This cast describes a standard practice of administrative assistants helping managers prepare for business travel.

Direct Relationships Acid Test

mauzenne — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:54:33 -0400

This cast prescribes asking your directs what their children's names are.

Quick and Dirty Choosing a Number Two

mauzenne — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:37:39 -0400

This cast describes a quick and dirty way to choose an interim replacement or number two for your role as manager.

Project Manager Feedback

mauzenne — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:11:43 -0400

This cast describes how give feedback to a project team member if you are a project manager.

Team Formation – How Big?

mauzenne — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:04:12 -0400

This cast describes how big to size a team when forming it.

What To Delegate

mauzenne — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:33:16 -0400

This cast recommends simple choices for what to delegate to our directs.

The Coaching Model Revised - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:58:17 -0400

In this cast, we complete our discussion of the Revised Manager Tools Coaching Model.

The Coaching Model Revised - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:09:52 -0400

This cast describes the Manager Tools Revised Coaching Model.

Fighting The Downturn Silence

mauzenne — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:51:01 -0400

This cast describes how to combat the normal tendency of directs to communicate LESS during a downturn.

Simple DiSC®, Delegation, And Project Management - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:35:18 -0400

In this cast, we conclude our conversation on how to delegate and manage projects more effectively based on the DiSC profiles of your team members.

Simple DiSC, Delegation, And Project Management - Part 1

mauzenne — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:04:38 -0400

This cast describes how to delegate and manage projects more effectively based on the DiSC profiles of your team members.

Change Leadership, What's My Visual - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:44:13 -0400

In this cast, we conclude our conversation about beginning change efforts in any organization

Change Leadership, What's My Visual - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:12:31 -0400

This cast describes how to begin any effort to change an organization.

Project Manager One on Ones - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:18:34 -0400

The conclusion of our discussion on Project Manager One on Ones.

Project Manager One on Ones - Part 1

mauzenne — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:18:41 -0400

This cast explains the basics of how to have One on Ones with project team members who do not report to you.

Phone One on Ones

mauzenne — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:08:33 -0400

We've said it a hundred times, but we've never covered the basics of HOW to conduct a One on One on the phone. Clearly it works - Mark has shared that over half of the O3s he's done have been over the phone. Here's how.

Coaching the Meeting Delegation- Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 10 May 2009 23:12:06 -0400

This cast concludes our discussion on how to coach one of our directs on how to run our staff meeting which we have delegated to them.

Coaching the Meeting Delegation- Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:54:16 -0400

This cast describes how to coach one of our directs on how to run our staff meeting which we have delegated to them.

Staff Meeting Delegation and Succession Planning

mauzenne — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:52:12 -0400

This cast describes how to delegate running your staff meeting as part of succession planning.

One Less Thing - Free Up Your Calendar

mauzenne — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:24:58 -0400

This cast describes an executive priority management technique - One Less Thing - to free up your calendar.

The Feedback Continuum

mauzenne — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:52:10 -0400

This cast describes how to give negative feedback in an escalating way, over time, to improve performance.

Systemic Feedback

mauzenne — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:46:55 -0400

What do we do when we've tried giving negative feedback but it doesn't seem to be working? We've given repeated instances of feedback, and yet we don't see a change in a direct's behavior? We give systemic feedback. And it's easy to give - it's just the four step standard feedback model with a change in focus. If you already know how to give standard feedback, systemic feedback is simple to implement...yet its simplicity belies its power. Really well delivered systemic feedback is exceptionally hard to ignore, and lays excellent groundwork for further efforts if the direct doesn't change his or her behavior.

Layoff Communications Part 1: Openly Confidential

mauzenne — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:11:37 -0400

This cast how to talk about layoffs when they are being considered. Many managers are torn when it comes to layoffs. Most of us know that when they happen, they're probably inevitable. We understand that layoffs are often a painful necessity (even though they're an admission of failure). We also know that the thought, rumor, or knowledge of layoffs is likely to create questions from our team. Just a rumor of a rumor will induce fear. So what are the rules about communicating about layoffs? What do we say when asked? How should we say it? Can we lie?

Bad Boss #1 - When You Have Directs

mauzenne — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:17:31 -0400

Most of us, when we have an angry and demeaning boss, tend to worry about ourselves first. We have to deal with most of the yelling, and most of the abuse. But if we have directs, we've got an additional responsibility. And our directs may be somewhat sheltered, but our boss can be REALLY threatening and fear‐inducing. We have a relationship of SOME sorts with this bad boss. But it's likely our directs ONLY see our boss at his or her worst. And, we almost always underestimate how much more fear our directs feel for their "skip‐boss" than we do. We've got to talk to our directs about this kind of boss, in a professional way, and we've got to have a consistent approach for dealing with the problems an angry and demeaning boss creates for our team. Here's how.

Deciding Between Two Good Candidates

mauzenne — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:41:50 -0400

This cast describes how to decide between two good candidates in a hiring situation. We're NOT going to tell everyone who's trying to decide between two candidates whom they should pick. What we are going to do with this cast is tell you what factors are most effective in determining whom to hire, as well as walking you through a simple process for the decision.

The Heart of Feedback

mauzenne — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:23:33 -0400

This cast describes behaviors for managers to engage in to ensure that they deliver feedback ethically and professionally. Mark recently had an experience that was somewhat chilling for him. He was talking to a manager who wanted to show him how good he was at improving. This was a High D, forceful manager who described himself as "a recovering jerk". He was following the Manager Tools Feedback Model, but wasn't getting results? Why is that? Because he was violating the purpose of feedback, to encourage effective behavior. Feedback that meets the purpose of feedback must come from a positive place, from emotions of love and not fear, of respect and not intimidation. We have a series of recommendations for all of us to do before we give feedback, so that we all stay mindful of WHY we're giving feedback, and what its purpose is: to encourage effective behavior.

Effective Meetings - No Laptops

mauzenne — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:49:55 -0500

This cast describes why and how to run your meetings without laptops. For our original cast on the Effective Meetings Protocol, check out "Effective Meetings - Get Out of Jail!" (http://www.manager-tools.com/2005/08/effective-meetings-get-out-of-jail)

The Starter Feedback Model - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:09:31 -0500

In this cast, we complete our 2-part series on the Starter Feedback Model, an EVEN SIMPLER method for delivering feedback.

The Starter Feedback Model - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:46:02 -0500

This cast describes an EVEN SIMPLER method for delivering feedback to help those managers who are struggling to implement it.

How To Handle Two Viable Job Candidates

mauzenne — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:22:33 -0500

This cast describes what to do when a manager has two candidates for a job that meet the standard, but you can only offer one candidate.

Note: During the show, we refer to an older podcast on How to Make an Offer that you may find of value as well.

Manager Tools ONE DAY Effective Manager Conference Washington DC Area

mauzenne — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:17:54 -0500

March 24, 2009 — Embassy Suites Dulles — North/Loudon

We’re pleased to offer you the first ever opportunity to attend a ONE DAY Effective Manager Conference (EMC) on March 24th in the Washington DC area.

For more details on the conference, please visit our Washington DC Effective Manager Conference Page.

Bench Development in a Downturn

mauzenne — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:48:36 -0500

This cast discusses a way to build your recruiting "bench" during market downturns.

Maybe we can't hire anybody when the economy is soft. But there are lots of people looking. Maybe we can offer to help, and create or strengthen a relationship.

Horstman's Law of Project Management - Part 4

mauzenne — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:21:00 -0500

Part 4 of our series on Horstman's Law of Project Management.

Horstman's Law of Project Management - Part 3

mauzenne — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:39:10 -0500

Part 3 of our series on Horstman's Law of Project Management.

Horstman's Law of Project Management - Part 2

mauzenne — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:16:33 -0500

Part 2 of our series on Horstman's Law of Project Management.

Horstman's Law of Project Management - Part 1

mauzenne — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:10:29 -0500

In this cast we describe Horstman's Law of Project Management: Who Does What By When.

We've talked and joked about it many times, and this cast will put to rest the details of Horstman's Law of Project Management (HLPM). Mark came up with it several years ago, to help a group of young managers get over their fear of working on fairly complex software development projects. It was actually born over a dinner at Mexican restaurant in Dallas!

The concept is simple: all projects are simply tasks, done by people, within certain time frames. Despite all protestations to the contrary, no matter how complex the project, they all boil down to who is responsible for doing something, what they're responsible for, and when they have to have it done by. Complex tools can be helpful, but only on really large projects (and almost nobody looks at them anyway ;-) ).

Keep it simple with HLPM. Here's how.

Career Tools Cast #3: What Do You Want To Do?

mauzenne — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:21:06 -0500

This cast explains an important career search question, and how to answer it: "What do you want to do, and where do you want to do it?" You're going to be asked this question, and you have to know how to answer it, without limiting yourself. It's one of those fleeting career moments whose outcome is defined likely BEFORE the moment arrives.