Leadership
The New Supervisor’s Creed
On May 28, 2013 | 0 Comments

It isn’t easy learning how to supervise a team of people. It’s doubly hard if you are plopped into the middle of it all mostly because you are very good at your technical work. Those technical skills don’t often translate to the supervisory skills that you will need with this new responsibility.   [message type=”info”]Learning […]

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Why Choose a Human Resources Career?
On May 17, 2013 | 0 Comments

Human Resources is a tough profession, at best… I’ve been in this line of work for many years, and I can speak directly to its challenges. Most recently, I was invited to speak to a class of MBA students about human resources. The instructor’s guidelines were, “Just let them know what you do and how […]

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Delegation as Motivation – Part 2
On May 13, 2013 | 0 Comments

…because if you do it right, effective delegating will be the best motivating tool you will ever have.   If you took the assessment in Part I of this blog, and you’re back reading this, you probably know you need to learn to delegate work. I was going to write a spiffy blog to tell […]

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The New Employee
On May 3, 2013 | 0 Comments

Sadly, many new employees do not have the best day on their first day at work. It’s pretty easy to blame human resources. Maybe you work for a company where the new employee program is boring, confusing, detached or (worse) absent. This will not be a good start for the enthusiastic new employee. However, because, […]

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Effective Supervision can start with a “Hello”
On May 2, 2013 | 0 Comments

Sometimes effective supervision starts with a “Hello” – Here’s a story I thought I’d share with you today. At least, just say, “Hi.” One of my clients, Greta, began our first session seeking help with a “difficult” employee. Greta was a delightful person. She was warm and friendly, beloved by all. She had a loyal […]

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Managing Up – Part II
On April 30, 2013 | 0 Comments

Actionable Tips to help Supervisors Manage Up   Get to know your manager. How does she work with her employees? What is important to her at work? What are her strengths and challenges as you see them? How does she work best? Who does she work best with? What is her work style? How does […]

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What is Managing Up? – Part 1
On April 29, 2013 | 0 Comments

What is Managing Up?   [message type=”info”]Managing up is working with your manager to increase the likelihood that he or she will work productively with you to meet the needs of your unit and employees.[/message]   When a new supervisor complains to me that he is not getting support from his manager, I ask what […]

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Difference between Managers and Micromanagers
On April 25, 2013 | 0 Comments

Are you an effective leader or an activities director? Dave Crenshaw does an excellent job outlining the different management styles of effective leaders and not so effective supervisors, who he calls ‘activities directors.’ What an excellent way to describe a micromanager – an activity director     What will be particularly helpful for the untrained […]

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