People Management

How can a grumpy veteran lead a newbie?

October 13, 2021
Q: Sometimes I think I’m doomed as a leader because I listen to what far younger people are saying and I think, “You just don’t get it. You don’t have any life experience. Just wait 20 years and see if you still believe your nonsense.” Am I just a hopeless dinosaur?

For hotheads, establish ground rules

October 13, 2021
Q: I was ready to interview a potential CFO with excellent qualifications when one of his references mentioned that while he was terrific, he also had “a bit of a temper.” I figure that this means it’s actually a big one. How do I bring up my concerns in the interview?

Learn the first law of trial attorneys

October 13, 2021
Of the myriad techniques that trial attorneys learn, perhaps the most important is this: Never ask a question to which you do not already know the answer. Open-ended, ultimate-type questions such as “Why?” are, for example, strictly forbidden.

Are you a loud listener?

September 8, 2021
You call yourself a “business leader.” However, if your team members cannot characterize your relationship with them as a fluid, ongoing conversation, then you’re little more than an actor delivering a boring monologue on a stage that’s about to collapse.

When you should (and shouldn’t) change the way an employee works

August 27, 2021
Asking an employee to reform more than one or two behaviors at a time can quickly overwhelm and demotivate them, no matter how calm and accepting they may seem. Here, then, is a checklist to use when deciding if employee behavior needs change.

How to coach a salesperson

August 16, 2021
The modern-day business of sales (for the most part) no longer features the drudgery and limitations experienced by the salespeople of lore—young Willy Loman, the Avon Lady, etc.—but that same self-starting, independent, highly motivated attitude is still very much in play.

Bring tinted sunglasses to your company

July 14, 2021
Does your organization have a sound method for employees to offer their opinions, vent or file a complaint without having to worry they’ll be identified?

Facts bore. Tell them a story

July 9, 2021
“Whenever I work with call centers,” writes customer experience expert Lior Arussy in the book Next is Now: 5 Steps for Embracing Change, “I meet people who don’t feel their work has much impact.”

What should you fear from the ‘dark triad’?

June 9, 2021
Aggressive, dominant, self-promoting. Manipulative, cynical, strategic. How about risk-taking, impulsive or lacking in empathy. Do any of these traits ring true for anyone you know? How about for yourself?

Find the right project leader

May 12, 2021
With enough time, you can usually train a person to be a great project leader. But you’ll do it better—and more quickly—if you start with someone who has a few innate leadership traits.