A simple framework to help give tough feedback to a coworker. The most common question I get asked by a manager who doesn’t want to become a bad boss is: “How do I give negative feedback to a coworker?” Giving honest feedback is the most deceptively difficult thing for a manager to do. A survey of nearly…
How to approach your first meeting as a new manager (it doesn’t have to be as daunting as it feels!) It happened: You’re a new manager now. Perhaps, it’s the first time you’re leading a team. Or you’re taking over a new team as a manager. Either way, that first meeting as a new manager is…
Of all the tools for effective leadership we think we need — a good system for tracking progress, or clear metrics around hiring — specific questions are our most underrated. Ask the right question… and you’ll learn that your company’s most valuable employee doesn’t feel challenged by her work and is thinking about leaving. Ask the wrong question… and…
From data of 15,000+ people, and studies over the past few decades, I pulled together best practices for sharing info (e.g., decisions, institutional knowledge, progress, vision) in a team. Dear manager or individual contributor who wants their team to work well together, People can’t do good work unless they have the context to do the…
Your reaction sets the tone in your company. Don’t blow it by blowing up when you receive negative feedback from your team. Here’s how. They’re watching you. I don’t mean to sound creepy. But it’s something to come to terms with as a leader: Your team is watching you. As a leader, your actions set the example —…
From data of 597 people and distilling 50 years worth of research, I wrote a practical guide for building trust in teams. Dear manager or employee who wants their team to perform well, If you Google Books “trust,” you’ll get 147,000,000 plus hits. On Amazon Books, “trust” turns up in 50,000 results. Woof. “Building trust” within your…
If you’re a manager and looking for something new to read, here are a handful of books I enjoyed this past summer. I don’t like leadership books. Many tend to be hyperbolic (was that tactic really “life changing”?) or repetitive (you could say the same thing in about 30% of the text). Most tellingly, I often…
As a manager, here’s how to make the most of your 15-minute call with a candidate’s reference. I remember the first time I hired someone new. Talk about feeling like I had no clue what I was doing! I especially felt that way when it came time to do reference calls for the candidates. Having…
Part of being a good leader is knowing which employee benefits to offer. According to 1,000 leaders in The Watercooler, these 3 make the biggest difference. Four in five employees want more company benefits than a pay raise. That’s according to a 2015 survey conduced by Harris Poll. Woof. It begs the question: Which employee…
Whether you’re a new manager or hate delivering negative feedback, I share our most popular tips for the situations that managers most frequently encounter. “If there’s one thing you should be doing to become a better manager, what is it?” I got asked this question recently. My answer: It depends on on the situation 🙂 It…