relationships

I Am A Former Peer

Our guidance how to deal with not being promoted, when your former team member is now your boss.

One of the most requested Manager Tools casts was ‘How To Manage a Disgruntled, Non-Promoted Direct’. The cast was written for new managers whose former peers were struggling with the new relationship.

But what if you’re the person who wasn’t promoted. How do you deal with your own feelings and develop a new, productive, respectful, manager-direct relationship?


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Community Relationships

This cast gives a guide balancing your professional countenance with your community relationships.

A few weeks ago on our Facebook page, we asked: what are you doing to use your professional skills to improve your community? Many people posted about the projects they were involved with from working with children to marketing for non-profits.

We absolutely support all your efforts to improve your communities. And, there are some cautions about your behaviors which prevent problems in both your professional and your community efforts.


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Developing Internal Relationships (The When & How) - Part 2

This cast gives a guide for when to develop the relationships you identified in the Developing Internal Relationships – The Where cast.

In our first Developing Internal Relationships cast we helped you identify your current network and judge how effective it was. We also helped you identify the people you need to meet in order to round out your network.

When you listened to that cast, you might have asked: if I haven't come across those people yet, how am I going to meet them? In this cast, we want to give you some ideas for when and how you can start those relationships.


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Developing Internal Relationships (The When & How) - Part 1

This cast gives a guide for when to develop the relationships you identified in the Developing Internal Relationships – The Where cast.

In our first Developing Internal Relationships cast we helped you identify your current network and judge how effective it was. We also helped you identify the people you need to meet in order to round out your network.

When you listened to that cast, you might have asked: if I haven't come across those people yet, how am I going to meet them? In this cast, we want to give you some ideas for when and how you can start those relationships.


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Developing Internal Relationships (The Where) - Part 2

This cast concludes our discussion on a framework for looking at where you need to develop internal relationships.

In our Build A Network cast, we told you that more relationships were better and to develop relationships with people indiscriminately. That guidance still stands. But whether you’re new in your organization, or you recognize that you don’t have the depth of relationships you need, the whole organization is a big target. This cast will help you narrow down where you want to direct your energies.

Equally, this cast will help you assess how good your network is. We’re going to give you a framework to put your current relationships in. Once you’ve done that, the gaps will be clear – and so will the relationships you need to develop.


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Developing Internal Relationships (The Where) - Part 1

This cast gives a framework for looking at where you need to develop internal relationships.

In our Build A Network cast, we told you that more relationships were better and to develop relationships with people indiscriminately. That guidance still stands. But whether you’re new in your organization, or you recognize that you don’t have the depth of relationships you need, the whole organization is a big target. This cast will help you narrow down where you want to direct your energies.

Equally, this cast will help you assess how good your network is. We’re going to give you a framework to put your current relationships in. Once you’ve done that, the gaps will be clear – and so will the relationships you need to develop.


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Bi-Monthly Skip Level Reviews - Part 2

This guidance concludes our discussion on how to learn about your skips and develop your direct report managers by discussing your skips on a regular basis.

We get asked all the time, "Should I have One on Ones with the directs of my directs? If relationships are good, relationships with everyone in my organization would be very good, right?" By this reductio ad absurdum logic, of course, the CEO "should" be having One on Ones with everyone, right?" That math doesn't work, and so the only question becomes, where to draw the line.

Others ask us, "How CAN I have One on Ones with my skips? I can barely fit in my directs' One on Ones. This is killing me!" Well, we don't know what else to say, but thank you for making our point to the other guys, and hey, we never told you to have O3s with your skips anyway. But, alas, one of our listeners and good friends tells us we once said the only day of the week to have O3s was Thursday. Whoa. I think what we said was only have One on Ones on days that end in Y.

It boils down to: What do we do about cultivating some sort of knowledge about our skips, for whose work we are responsible?

An even smarter question is How do I get the most out of my entire organization? It's not enough to see them in groups, as we recommend in our Skip Level Meetings guidance. How can we consider them wisely in our succession planning? Because, you know, you're supposed to be thinking about succession planning for your directs' positions, right?


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Bi-Monthly Skip Level Reviews - Part 1

This guidance describes how to learn about your skips and develop your direct report managers by discussing your skips on a regular basis.

We get asked all the time, "Should I have One on Ones with the directs of my directs? If relationships are good, relationships with everyone in my organization would be very good, right?" By this reductio ad absurdum logic, of course, the CEO "should" be having One on Ones with everyone, right?" That math doesn't work, and so the only question becomes, where to draw the line.

Others ask us, "How CAN I have One on Ones with my skips? I can barely fit in my directs' One on Ones. This is killing me!" Well, we don't know what else to say, but thank you for making our point to the other guys, and hey, we never told you to have O3s with your skips anyway. But, alas, one of our listeners and good friends tells us we once said the only day of the week to have O3s was Thursday. Whoa. I think what we said was only have One on Ones on days that end in Y.

It boils down to: What do we do about cultivating some sort of knowledge about our skips, for whose work we are responsible?

An even smarter question is How do I get the most out of my entire organization? It's not enough to see them in groups, as we recommend in our Skip Level Meetings guidance. How can we consider them wisely in our succession planning? Because, you know, you're supposed to be thinking about succession planning for your directs' positions, right?


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Can I Be Friends With My Directs? - Part 2

This cast concludes our guidance on what a professional manager's role and limits are when it comes to being friends with our directs.

Can I be friends with my directs? We get this question all the time. It's a GREAT question, with the changes in workplace culture and sensibilities over the past 30 years. There's also it's companion follow up question, can I drink with my direct/friend?

And the answers are no, and sort of yes, but really no, too, depending. Surprised to hear that imbibing alcohol with your directs is potentially okay? Because it can be…. until it isn't. And that depends on you.

Shall we clear all this up?


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share

Can I Be Friends With My Directs? - Part 1

This guidance describes what a professional manager's role and limits are when it comes to being friends with our directs.

Can I be friends with my directs? We get this question all the time. It's a GREAT question, with the changes in workplace culture and sensibilities over the past 30 years. There's also it's companion follow up question, can I drink with my direct/friend?

And the answers are no, and sort of yes, but really no, too, depending. Surprised to hear that imbibing alcohol with your directs is potentially okay? Because it can be…. until it isn't. And that depends on you.

Shall we clear all this up?


  [Play in Popup]

Bookmark and Share