Blog
How to Handle the 8 Most Common Chain of Command Problems
Building a great one-on-one management dialogue with every boss is a lot easier to accomplish in a workplace with stable and clear reporting relationships and direct lines of accountability. But as we all know, in the real world, such workplaces are rare. Some level of chaos is much more common. Every day, I hear…
Want Innovation? Start with More Boundaries.
The best people you manage want freedom to maneuver at work. They want some latitude when it comes to their schedule, where they do their work, whom they work with, what they do, and how they do it. The problem is that every task, responsibility, and project has parameters that constrain every employee’s freedom. …
Soft Skills: What role are you going to play?
Whether you are in a large complex organization with lots of resources or a tiny business where you are the chief cook and bottle washer, the most important element in bridging the soft skills gap is the human element. If you are not an active champion of high priority soft skills behaviors in your…
What Is Undermanagement Costing You?
I’ve said it before: undermanagement can be difficult to identify. And yet, it is the number one cause of the most common preventable problems in the workplace. How is undermanagement going unnoticed? There are two factors at play here: managing people is getting harder, and there are seven key areas of management with which leaders…
Bad Managers Hide in Plain Sight
The last twenty years have been a time of radical transformation in how we all work. Advances in technology have led to greater flexibility, convenience, and comfort for legions of people now able to work remotely. Improvements in diversity, equity, and inclusion have expanded the talent pool for employers and created opportunities for employees. Whole…
To Be a Go-To Person, Accept the Hard Realities
I’ve been studying go-to people for decades now. Whenever I work with organizations, I ask everyone, “Who are your go-to people?” And I pay attention to the individuals (or types of individuals) whom others cite most frequently and consistently. Go-to people come in every variety and work at every level and are found in…
Don’t Let Diagonal Working Relationships Hold You Back
The collaboration revolution has ushered in a huge increase in interdependent working relationships where lines of authority are not clear, along with the rise of so-called “self-managed teams” and the thinning out of management ranks in many organizations, all of which flatten hierarchies and widen the spans of control for managers. In this environment, the…
Are You Caught In an Authority Conundrum?
Nate works as a manufacturing manager in a major company that makes truck steering systems. To do his job, he regularly collaborates across the organization, whether it’s with purchasing or quality or engineering. One of his biggest frustrations is when things don’t go well with his counterpart from another department. It’s never clear how to…
To Win at Collaboration, Play the Long Game
There is a crucial lesson that Lisa, an experienced emergency room nurse, leader, scholar, and professor of nursing, emphasizes to all of her students: “Before you do anything else, check: Does the patient have an airway? Is there adequate circulation? If those things aren’t there, none of the other issues are going to matter.” …
Working Things Out at Your Own Level Doesn’t Always Work
The fact is that despite the collaboration revolution, with its flatter organizations and self-managed project teams, there is always somebody in charge who is making decisions. Choices are considered up and down the chain of command. At your own level, there will always be conflicts that can’t be worked out. What can you do?…