Leaders & Managers
From the nitty gritty of daily management to addressing your aspirations of leadership, this section for leaders & managers tells you how to make strong leadership decisions, build effective teams, delegate and stay above the everyday management muddle.
Get tips, strategies, tool and advice on: performance reviews, preventing workplace violence, best-practices leadership, team building, leadership skills, people management and management training.
When managing your employees, you may find it hard not to boss them
around. After all, you figure it’s your job to direct their performance
and improve their behavior or attitude. But if you try to overmanage
them, they may rebel. That’s why you should lead by giving guidance,
not barking orders.
Don’t let your anxiety cripple you when you’re turning on the charm or trying to persuade a powerful audience of bigwigs.
Federal law says you can mandate overtime, provided you aren’t in an
industry in which work hours are regulated (such as truck-driving).
Before you fire someone who refuses to work overtime, study how you’ve
treated similar situations.
All of us bring bad habits to the job, even CEOs. But what separates
top execs from also-rans is their ability to root out destructive
habits and replace them with better ones.
Q. My boss has built a friendship with
one of our new employees. They do stuff outside of work together. I
feel my boss has lost her ability to be objective about this employee.
On several occasions I have pointed out to my boss when this employee
has abused company policy or not performed up to standards. She agrees
that this behavior cannot continue, but nothing changes. I doubt she’s
even discussing it with the employee. What can I do?
Richard H. Jenrette, 69, has an impressive résumé. The retired
chairman, president and CEO of The Equitable Companies also co-founded
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ), a large investment banking and
securities firm that remains a Wall Street powerhouse.
A worker repeatedly completes an assignment incorrectly
You want people to see you as bright, attentive and incredibly quick.
But you secretly wonder if you’re really all that brilliant.
Assertive managers influence employees to perform at a higher level.
But if you push too hard, your aggressiveness can trigger a resistant
backlash and alienate your team.
If an employee refuses to do work or argues with you, resist the urge
to fight back by declaring “that’s unacceptable” or “you better shape
up.” Instead, repeat what the person says in a nonthreatening tone.
