The Three Dimensions of Effective Management
In this article, we offer a new definition for effective management—one rooted in equity, sustainability, and results.
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How to Manage Skip-Level Relationships
Interacting with your direct reports’ direct reports—with care, attention, and consistency—has significant benefits. Here are three specific tips for navigating skip-level relationships successfully.
Six Tips for Managing Managers
Management is both a technical and a relational skill. As the manager of a manager, you’re paying attention to the outcomes they lead their team to achieve and how they relate to their staff in the process. Here are six tips for managing managers.
How to Receive Feedback (Part 2)
Receiving feedback about power, difference, and inequity can be challenging. Learn how you can make it easier for staff to share feedback with you, and resolve issues sooner.
How to Receive Feedback (Part 1)
When we respond well to feedback, we strengthen relationships and trust, increase the likelihood that we’ll keep getting it, and contribute to a culture of growth, candor, and rigor within our teams. Here’s our best advice for receiving feedback, focused on the parts that you have control over.
How to Push Toward Excellence (with Heart)
Have you ever needed to push a staff member or a team for more but didn’t know how? When we say push, we don’t mean shoving someone into the deep end without a life raft; we mean setting a high bar and being honest when something needs improvement. Here’s some language you can use.
7 Tips for Making the Most of Your Check-ins
When check-ins are done right, they can revolutionize the way you manage. In this article, we share our best tips for getting the most out of your check-ins.
How to Approach Tricky Performance Improvement Plans
Here are some tricky performance scenarios our clients have encountered, and suggestions for designing a responsive performance improvement plan.
Four Steps for Addressing Performance Problems
What do you do when someone isn’t performing well—they’re not meeting expectations, hitting goals, or demonstrating the must-haves of their role? How much should you invest in performance improvement? When is it time to let someone go? And, how the #@$% do you decide? These four steps will help you navigate the tricky processes of addressing performance problems.
The Four Elements of Strong Relationships
We believe that relationship-building is a core competency for effective management (equitable, sustainable, and results-driven). This guide is for managers looking to build (more) supportive and functional relationships with their staff.