I remember my first supervisory job back when I was 22 years old, supervising a group of peers my own age and five people who were many years more senior than I (and many of them had previous management experience). Partly based on a fear of making mistakes and an overactive ego/bravado I made many […]
Category: Leadership
Give the Freedom to Fix Frustrations
The managers of two different groups I worked with recently both feared that their employees wouldn’t contribute ideas and that the session would be a dud. As it turned out one group identified 36 opportunities for improvement and the other 20 ideas. The opportunities for efficiency and customer impact were very high. The managers were […]
Are you really listening?
If you are like me, your ability to listen fluctuates from being an excellent and attentive listener to being distracted and disinterested. And most of the time, we aren’t fooling anyone – they can tell if we are really listening. I’ve also noticed in myself, that my listening skills tend to fluctuate depending on my […]
Dealing with Unacceptable Employee Behaviors
Fortunately the majority of employees are motivated, pleasant and productive. Unfortunately, the small number of employees with attitude, behavior and performance problems can disproportionately and negatively impact the front line supervisor/manager. Should you accept or correct unacceptable behaviors? Dealing with difficult employee behaviors is a challenge for most supervisors and managers. Unlike a tangible performance […]
Internal competition: Motivator or Demotivator?
Internal competition – motivator or demotivator? Managers typically are more competitive than average employees. So it’s natural for managers to want to create a competitive spirit between employees, shifts, divisions and locations. And some employees respond really well to this competition. It can even get carried away to include gaming the system to […]