Breaking Up with an Employee

No one likes to fire an employee. It’s uncomfortable – even distressing – depending on the circumstances. But it’s one of the realities of managing. In fact, the rest of your staff will take note of how you handle it.

The key to dealing with a prospective termination is to be brutally honest about the situation. Objectively assess the person’s performance and determine if the situation can be salvaged. In some cases, the employee may not have been trained properly; in others she may have floundered due to bad (or no) management.

The Dialogue of Feedback

How do you deliver feedback? Some people embrace opportunities to offer positive accolades for a job well done. Others are quick to criticize what didn’t work well and focus on what needs to be done differently the next time.

Both types of feedback are necessary. You need to acknowledge the good as well as offer suggestions for improvement.

What Are You Really Hearing?

I have a friend who is a litigator by profession, and true to her calling, she sounds like a litigator in all aspects of her life. She is smart, interesting, and fun to be around….that is, when she’s not badgering people.

Her tone is often contentious and argumentative, even if we’re talking about something as mundane as what to order in a restaurant.

Are You Covering Up For Weak Performance?

Some managers fall into the trap of stepping in and bailing out their lower performing employees. If certain staff members are not doing their jobs satisfactorily, a knee-jerk reaction is to jump in and do it yourself.

This isn’t a good idea. Not only do people not want to be micromanaged, snatching work from them (because you’ll meet the deadline or think you can do it better) is demoralizing. Over time, they will think, “Why bother? The work will never be good enough for my boss and she’ll just do it anyway.”

Turning to Fall

The autumn equinox arrived yesterday evening at 9:04p EDT. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it marks shorter daylight hours and cooler weather. The current indicator of change is that it gets light later in the morning and gets dark earlier in the evening.

Different cultures commemorate the equinox with various customs. I typically notice a shift in the workplace at this time of the year. The looser environment of summer transitions into more of a settled and focused workplace.

Let Go to Grow

Jonas hired a mid-level manager, Ethan, a few months ago. Since then, he has done virtually nothing to support Ethan’s onboarding and growth in the company. The excuses range from “he’s not ready” to “clients expect my level of expertise” to “he has to earn respect”.

All these excuses are ridiculous.

Next Level Leaders – Delegation and Feedback

New leaders are challenged by delegating and providing feedback to the people who report to them. The sooner these managers get comfortable with these skills, the more effective they will be.

When you start working with new direct reports, one of the most effective things you can do is reach an understanding on communication. Do you want the person to talk to you? Email? Text? How often do you expect check-ins? Having clarity over these issues will set the stage for your expectations.

The Denouement of Summer

I know that summer does not end officially until September 22, but Labor Day weekend has always been the unofficial end of the season for people in the US.

You don’t have to admit this, but did you work straight through the summer thinking that there would be plenty of time to enjoy it—only to now discover that it went by in a poof?

Next Level Leaders – Managing Former Peers

When many next level leaders are promoted, they find themselves managing people who were previously their peers. This can be awkward in some cases, but when you approach it proactively, it doesn’t have to be.

Just because you’ve been promoted doesn’t mean that you’re superior to your former peers. They are still the talented individuals they were when you worked side by side. Their concern is likely that you will treat them differently, and may even fear that you will no longer treat them with respect.

Next Level Leaders – Managing Time and Priorities, 2

Last time, we looked at four areas of focus as a foundation for good time management when you’ve been promoted into a new managerial role. To review, these include managing priorities, determining needs of your new director reports, managing projects, and fitting in with the pace of the environment.

Today we’ll look at a way you can plan and manage your time through determining the level of importance and urgency for your tasks. This method went into broad based use from Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Leadership is a Mindset

Category: Leadership