Managers in different parts of the world are conditioned to give feedback in drastically different ways. A Chinese manager learns never to criticize a colleague openly or in front of others, while a Dutch manager learns always to be honest…
“I get completely caught up in fire-fighting and can’t find the time to advance my longer-term priorities.”- It’s a common managerial wailing. We all have either used it ourselves or have heard people around us use it at work. The…
There is a lot of research – most of it from the West, on what keeps employee engagement high. While there is truth to all that research of understanding an employee’s intrinsic motivation – their values, personal vision aspirations etc.,…
When you exchange pleasantries with a co-worker in the elevator, the two of you are building trust. Face-to-face meetings, office parties, and opportunities to socialize together after work-hours can all contribute to the feeling that your fellow employees will be…
Research shows that when employees are willing to go beyond their formal roles by helping out coworkers, volunteering to take on special assignments, introducing new ideas and work practices, attending non-mandatory meetings, putting in extra hours to complete important projects,…
The irony for most, newly appointed managers, is that the skills and qualities that earned them the promotion are very different from those that will serve them well as a leader, and they’re often left to figure it out on…
“Not all smart people work for you.” – Bill Joy, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems was famous for saying it and companies are well aware of this truth. That’s why, many seek to tap the potential of “open innovation” by…
Managers are likely to get in situations where they allow teams to abdicate responsibility for solving their own problems; this is when they fail to understand their true role as a manager. The day you become a manager, the arithmetic…
The toughest test of leaders is not how they deal with poor performance — it’s how they address mediocrity. Chronic mediocrity is a symptom of ineffective leadership, not of anaemic personnel. Mediocrity is not permanent. In fact, one can dramatically turn…
In recent times, with sluggish economy, executives in a desperate pursuit to grow are ignoring reason and setting growth targets that are overwhelming; the pressure to perform and grow is, put simply, too high. But as a manager, you have…