Beyond Managing Your Team A Tip From The Manager’s Answer Book

I was asked this question in a radio interview recently: When I think of being a manager, I think of managing people. Can you comment on other things manager deals with, managers, and/or has to understand?

Manager’s Tip:  Depending on your organization, you may be called on to manage a special project or program from time to time. This may involve bringing together a team of people from different departments – people for whom you have no direct authority over – to work on a new initiative. This is where your influencing skills are helpful. You are also responsible for managing resources in your organization. You may have to manage materials if you are manufacturing a product. Most managers have a budget and have to manage financial resources.  If your organization has proprietary assets – information or products – that must be protected you and your staff must follow procedures to keep the intellectual property safe. And you may find yourself managing customers and outside business partners. The key to managing service providers is to set clear expectations and hold them accountable – just as you would your internal partners and employees. Likely there are contracts in place with these providers, so become acquainted with the terms and conditions of those contracts. 

You can read more about managing budgets, projects, and resources in Section 1 of The Manager’s Answer Book starting on page 15. The Manager’s Answer Book is available from Amazon -- https://tinyurl.com/y8umaqpz - Barnes & Noble or your local independent bookstore.

Dashing Through the Data

Metrics are important in business today and a great deal of focus is placed on data analysis. Many organizations use dashboards – tools that track key performance indicators (KPIs) and other relevant data. Being able to measure effectiveness and efficiency in organizations is critical in today's business environment, and dashboards. Being able to measure effectiveness and efficiency in organizations is critical in today's business environment.

Metrics differ from analytics. Metrics are the hard numbers – the data that is collected. Analytics is the interpretation of that data and organizations use the analysis of data for several reasons: to evaluate performance against goals or to assess trends, for example. If your organization is using KPIs, they must be relevant to the story you want to tell, the challenge you want to address, or the problem you want to solve. Metrics that are meaningful are those from which you can glean insights for decisions. Measure what's helpful to answer a specific issue.

A good dashboard should be simple to use and easy to understand. It needs to be flexible and should integrate with the organization’s other systems, HRIS or financial systems, for example. Remember that you want to share the information on your dashboard with others, so avoid clutter and anything that's not visually appealing, such as too much color or graphics that are too ornate. Also don't display irrelevant data just for the sake of populating the dashboard. 

Manager’s Tip:  Become familiar with the tools your organization uses to measure effectiveness and efficiency. You can read more about measurements and analytics on page 29 of The Manager’s Answer Book.

Gratitude is a Two-Way Street

In our September 2018 newsletter, “Third Time’s a Charm,” we talked about the incredible experience we had seeing The Big Book of HR in the window of Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Needless to say, not only were we thrilled with the discovery, but we were so grateful to Cal Hunter, the manager of the business book department, for all he’s done to prominently display our books in that flagship store.

Before venturing over to the store that day in August, we called ahead to make sure he’d be there. We wanted to personally present him with a copy of The Manager’s Answer Book because we’d acknowledged him and his efforts in it. After all, books don’t sell on their own. 

After arriving at the store, I said to Cal, “I can’t thank you enough.” He corrected me.  “No,” he said, “it’s you and Barbara who I should be thanking.  If authors didn’t write great books, we wouldn’t have any to sell.”  When I asked if we could take pictures, he wryly responded, “Of course – this is your house!”  Then he got the store’s social media expert involved so we, the book, and the store – could receive even more coverage.  

Barbara and I know from investigating the publishing industry that this is a big deal. Primary placement for your book is priceless. We achieved it by being gracious and grateful to a savvy businessperson who was equally excited to meet us. Remember when we first met Cal he was looking for more HR books. And when we spoke on the phone that morning, the first thing he said to me is “Your book is doing great for us!” 

The story didn’t end that day in the store. In a follow-up e-mail, Cal expressed his thanks and appreciation to us for being “such authoritative and prolific authors” that allow the Fifth Avenue store “to present our customers with insightful content.” For Cal and his colleagues, it’s about the customer experience. It’s also about teamwork, because he understands that “bookstores exist because of the compelling work” authors do. Bookstores need authors to write books, authors need booksellers to market and sell the books, and both the stores and the authors need readers to buy and read them.  

This holiday season, Barbara and I are grateful for so many things. In our professional lives, we’re grateful to have wonderful people supporting us, like Cal Hunter, and our agent Marilyn Allen, -- we were surprised to learn that they share a long collegial relationship.  And we are especially grateful to you, our readers. Thank you for sharing our journey and supporting us!

And back to Cal’s comment – “this is your house.” Wow, we’ve got real estate on Fifth Avenue!  Well at least the space that our books take up, but we’ll take that and be grateful for it. 

Have a wonderful holiday season, and take some time to express gratitude to the people who support you.

Surviving the Talent Shortage: A Tip from The Manager’s Answer Book

Unless you live under a rock, you’re aware that we are in a serious talent shortage. Not only the unemployment is very low, there is a serious shortage of people with the right skill sets for the knowledge economy. 

Finding the right talent to fill positions in organizations is always a challenge but now, even more so. What can your organization do to survive and thrive, for that matter?  For one thing, you can work to retain your great employees so that you don’t have to replace them in a difficult job market. 

Manager’s Tip:  While there is no guarantee that they’ll stay with you forever, you can increase your chances of keeping them just a little bit longer by using some of the ideas found in the The Manager’s Answer Book:

“As you consider how to retain your great team, ask yourself these questions:

• Do they know how much I value them?  This is sometimes referred to as ‘re-recruiting your superstars.’ Sell them on the value they add to your team and let them know you are committed to adding to their skill set.
• Am I providing the high performers with career development opportunities such as mentoring, conference attendance, seminars, or degree opportunities? Investing I you superstars can encourage them to stay with you. Employees, especially Millennials, want to learn and grow, so be sure you offer developmental opportunities.
• Am I rewarding my great performers in ways that will motivate them to stay with me? In order to do this, you need to really know them individually so that the reward will fit them personally. To some people, a day off is a great reward. Others would rather have a bonus. There are countless ways to reward performance, but it isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ proposition.

For more ideas, see page 96 of The Manager’s Answer Book.

Creating Your Personal Brand - A Tip From The Manager’s Answer Book

As a manager, all eyes are on you.  You bring knowledge, skill and experience to the job, but you have to show you are credible and competent to be successful.  So how do you do that, and why is it important.  

Manager’s Tip:  You do it by creating your personal brand. Your brand is how you present yourself – how you communicate, act and interact with others. As a manager, you are representing the organization – whether interacting inside or outside – so you always want to be mindful of how your actions uphold the organization’s positive culture.  There are critical traits that illustrate a positive personal brand. Clearly at the top of the list are ethics and integrity – being true to your values and principles. You demonstrate this by making decisions that don’t contradict your values, seeking out people with common values and respecting the people around you. Trustworthiness is a close second to integrity.  You show other people that they can trust you by maintaining confidences, exercising discretion and avoiding rumors and gossip.  Listen to your staff and be as transparent as you possibly can. Be fair and consistent with your staff and admit when you are wrong.  And finally courage – having the confidence and integrity when you see something is wrong or not moving in the right direction to say something. Confront wrongdoing no matter where it’s occurring. Step up and do the right thing. Finally, courageous leaders not only speak out and take an opposing point of view, they also advocate for ideas and positions that may not appear to be popular.

You can read more in The Manager’s Answer Book. Section Four is devoted to creating your personal brand.  Ethics and integrity is discussed on page 111, courage on page 113 and trustworthiness on page 120. The Manager’s Answer Book, is available from Amazon -- https://tinyurl.com/y8umaqpz - Barnes & Noble or your local independent bookstore.

Developing Your Management Skills: A Tip From The Manager’s Answer Book

I was interviewed earlier this month for the radio show “Thank God for Mondays” which broadcasts on WSOU in the New York City metropolitan area. The occasion was National Bosses Day. We talked about several areas that new managers need to prepare and develop. In particular, I was asked: What are one or two skills that new managers needs to develop quickly, and how can they go about doing this?  

Manager’s Tip:  One of the things that is particularly hard for a new manager to do is give up favorite tasks and projects – those things your good at doing.  Delegation is the number one management skill and not learning how to delegate can derail your career. As you let go of your pet projects, think carefully about which staff member is right for each one. Once you’ve chosen someone, describe the task, the timeline and the expected outcome. Be available to answer their questions. Delegating frees up your time to work on strategic items and develops your employees’ skills.

Time management is another challenge – and not just for managers.  Try using a to-do list to keep track of what you’re doing. You may also want to start an accomplishments list so you can see that you’re making progress. Don’t forget to prioritize tasks on that to-do list, and manage distractions and interruptions – but do so gracefully. Finally, don’t take on too much. 

You can read more about delegation and time management on pages 53 and 54 of The Manager’s Answer Book, which is available from Amazon -- https://tinyurl.com/y8umaqpz - Barnes & Noble or your local independent bookstore.

Conflict, Stress & Holidays – Oh My!

It rained all night and the result for us was a peaceful night’s sleep.  “It’s a great way to relieve stress,” my husband declared. What stress is he under, I thought, but it had been a long time since we’ve slept through a rainy night. We live in the desert and rain here is rare.  

I’m writing this in late September, just after the devastating storm named Florence battered the east coast. Don’t tell people in the Carolinas that rain is peaceful and relieves stress, unless you want more conflict. We know better – we’ve lived through hurricanes and can understand and appreciate a different point of view.  

One of the keys to managing conflict – and alleviating stress – is the ability to listen to different points of view.  As we discuss in The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook, we all have different experiences that shape the way we see things and events around us. Hurricane season is devastating in coastal areas. The summer monsoon season, as the rainy season is called in the Southwest, is welcomed with open arms.

There are more stressful seasons descending upon us. Halloween? No, it will be fun even with the ghosts and goblins and other dark creatures. But then we prepare for Thanksgiving – families gathered around the table. You’re concerned that after the upcoming mid-term elections your right-wing and left-wing relatives won’t keep their political differences civil and are hoping your outspoken brother focuses his attention and comments on the football game rather than offending anyone. 

You may take a pass on Black Friday, but there’s still the stress of holiday gift giving – selecting the perfect gift for everyone, purchasing it, and wrapping it.  

Barbara and I have a gift suggestion, and we'd be honored and humbled if you'd consider it.  We published two books on conflict, The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook and The Conflict Resolution Phrase Book. They are available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and independent book sellers. Both address topics of diversity, differences and expectations among others. It could be the perfect answer for those relatives who can’t get along or a gift for your colleagues or clients not only at the holidays, but at any time during the year! These books are a good reminder that conflict can be addressed with grace and civility.

Look no further, you can order both books online. To ease the stress, we’ve added links.  The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook: https://tinyurl.com/y8qy4msz and The Conflict Resolution Phrase Book:  https://tinyurl.com/ycktzyz9,

Free up your time this holiday season for the decorating, baking, partying – whatever you love, but can’t seem to find the time, to do. Fill this time with wonder and light and excitement before the gloomy days of winter, not stress and conflict.