People Management

A teacher’s 10 rules for keeping people happy

July 1, 2005
Managers have tremendous power to inspire and encourage, but some techniques actually undermine performance. Here’s Samuel Spitalli’s list of 10 no-nos.

When an employee loses control at work

July 1, 2005
Tempers flare all the time in the workplace, and managers need to know how to quickly calm down employees whose anger gets out of hand. Here’s a step-by-step strategy you can use:

Grill your people

May 1, 2005
Make it a habit to grill your people about stories in the newspaper.

The secret of leadership: no secrets

April 1, 2005
Jack Stack doesn’t believe in keeping employees in the dark. Stack worked for International Harvester (IH), where he’d been put in charge of acquiring parts. He started going to management meetings and hearing company secrets. One of them: The Russians had hired IH to make tractors, and the company was way behind on the order. The managers told Stack to keep mum and focus on getting parts.

The staff learns when you don’t blame

February 1, 2005
To learn as a team, you have to gather for product reviews and examine what did and didnt happen, without assigning blame or recognition.

Turn teammate envy into team success

January 1, 2005
You give an especially challenging assignment to someone on your staff. Then, everyone else grows envious and angry. Here’s how to channel that negative envy into a positive force.

Practice the four R’s of ‘power listening’

January 1, 2004
Power listening is listening with empathy, putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, and responding with what you understand the other person has said. The best way to become a power listener is to develop the specific skills of active listening, especially the “four R’s”:

Compel others to listen to you by starting off with these attention-grabbers

July 1, 2001
6 ways to get their attention fast.

Hold a waffler accountable

September 1, 1997
Wafflers constantly change their minds and give wishy-washy answers to even the most simple fact-finding questions. To hold a waffler accountable, try these techniques.