In previous episodes we’ve spoken about “Designing Jobs” and “Assessing Staff Wellbeing.”  Now we want to  talk about you and some issues related to managing your own career.  It’s important to remember that you’re both a manager as well as an employee of your company.  So, not only are you a boss, you also have a boss. In this episode we’ll discuss how to deal with your own manager in ways that’ll, hopefully, make you both more successful.

In almost any company of any size, managers do performance reviews.  And, as with anything, some managers are better at it than others.  Some have biases that they can’t get away from such as giving better reviews to people they hired, or that they know socially outside of the office.  Nevertheless, almost everyone agrees there is a valid place for performance reviews when they’re done fairly and objectively.  In this episode we discuss what goes into a good review.

In a previous podcast on one-on-one meetings with your staff, from December 17 of 2024, we discussed how to manage and conduct one-on-one meetings with the members of your staff.  Unfortunately, many managers either downplay the importance of one-on-one meetings or focus only on discussing what the staff member needs to do to successfully complete their jobs.  In this episode we expand on what outstanding managers do in discussing other areas that are also important to members of their staff.

In addition to the job performance of their staff members, a wise manager is also concerned with the general and emotional wellbeing of their staff.  This may require watching for signs of problems that’re outside of just job performance.  By being sensitive to general issues of staff wellbeing, a good manager can often head off performance problems down the road.  We discuss how in this episode.

Your relationship with your boss is critical, and the first meeting is among the most important you will have. In this encore episode, we will cover how to plan for and behave in this all important meeting.

Usually,  when a new manager is hired, the jobs of the current staff are already in place.  Nevertheless, it’s the manager’s responsibility to make sure that their staff members’ jobs are structured to fit the abilities of each staff member as well as best fulfill the department’s needs.  This may seem easy and straightforward, but it can be complicated.  In this episode we’ll discuss some of the challenges that you may face. 

All too often, people misjudge the impression they make on others, especially in initial conversations. Frequently, their anxieties and self-critical thoughts lead them to assume the worst.  Feeling one has made a bad initial impression on a new colleague can lead to poor outcomes in the workplace.  In this episode, we’ll explore ways to avoid this “liking gap”.

The traditional concept of authority is simply exercising control over others because of one’s position in an organization.  In today’s world that may not be the best strategy.  Indeed. it may not even be an option.  A more realistic and, indeed, effective approach on the use of authority is to lead by motivating staff members’ energy and commitment.  How to effectively do that is the subject of this episode.

A difficult problem requires a manager, and their team, to take the time to break it down into individual steps, thinking through potential solutions, considering alternatives from all sides of the problem, and providing follow-up.  In each step formulating and asking effective questions is critical.  In this podcast we’ll suggest ways to successfully do this

In any job market it’s difficult to attract and retain top talent, the kind that add valuable skills and abilities to your department.  In the past, a major component was pay, but more recently there are other factors that come into play.  In this episode we’ll explore what top talent seeks and what the manager should do to ensure that talent remains.

We discuss what senior sales executive called, in an earlier episode, "Sales Content" and "Sales Style" and why they are important in effective and efficient selling.

This week we discuss how our guest, Senior Sales Executive Jake Kilrain successfully started as a new manager in a new company in a new city.

Senior sales executive Jake Kilrain is our guest to discuss how he successfully moved into a management position in a company new to him, in a city new to him and to lead a department where an incumbent felt they should have been given his position. He also talks about what he calls the key elements of selling: Sales Content and Sales Style

Having successful teams involves a clear, agreed upon approach as to how the members of the team work together to achieve their goals as well as a clear understanding of what those objectives are.  It’s also important to have both individual and group accountability for the team’s performance.  Team success also requires a strong, positive working relationship between the Department Manager and the Team Leader.  We cover why these are all important in this week’s episode.

In the first episode on working with teams, we discussed the importance of trying to keep working teams smaller than 10 to 12 staff people. We also talked about the importance of establishing the mission for each team as that will impact how the team is comprised. In this episode, we will talk about how to assign staff to each of the teams based on its “mission” and to maximize efficiency and probability of success.

In our last episode, we talked about the importance of talented staff to the success of a manager and how leaders should effectively manage them.  In this week’s encore episode, we explore, in greater depth, what talented staff look for in a position – the kind of working environment they want and how they want to be treated.  By understanding what they are looking for in a job, the good manager is better able to keep talented staff motivated and productive – as well as on the team.

You can’t be successful unless your talented people are successful. In this encore episode, we discuss some key aspects of managing your most talented staff.

A team is a small group of people with complementary skills who work with a common purpose, goals and approach for which they are mutually accountable.  Teams hold greater long-term potential than staff working individually because greater incremental value is achieved when team members work together. Two critical aspects of putting together effective teams are their size and their staffing.  In this episode, we discuss optimizing both.

In its January 24th issue this year,  Inc. Magazine published an article entitled “The 7 Skills That Will Define the Next Generation of Leaders”.  The article was based on data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers and from other research organizations that have done studies on leadership for a number of years.  In a past episode we discussed the first skill, emotional quotient or “Social Intelligence”.  In this episode, we’ll discuss the other six skills they identified along with some of our own thoughts on leadership.

In its, January 24th 2025 issue,  Inc. Magazine published an article titled “The 7 Skills That Will Define the Next Generation of Leaders”.  Using data from studies on leadership by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and other research organizations, the article described seven skills that the authors say will be key to the success of managers in the coming years. In this episode, we’ll discuss what the authors identified as the most important skill – that of social intelligence – sometimes called EQ or one’s “Emotional Quotient”.  In this episode, we’ll discuss EQ, what it is, why it's important and how to strengthen it in yourself.