Communication+Management

I was stressed.  I was about two months into a three-month stint of filling in for a colleague who was on leave. She had trained me thoroughly before she left, but the tasks I needed to complete had nothing to do with my education, background, and experience. I did my best, but I was in over my head.  On this particular day, I was struggling to resolve a particularly confusing and irritating problem. I knew people were depending on me to find a solution so they could avoid delays in their work, but it wasn’t coming together.   I felt bad about myself and my predicament. I assumed everyone was upset with me. Then an amazing thing happened. One of my colleagues contacted me out of the blue to thank me. They said they wanted me to know how much they appreciated the work I was doing, even though it was well outside my wheelhouse, and they ended with a few words of encouragement. All told, the message was maybe four sentences. But it completely turned my day around. Inste...

When I started as an operations manager at my most recent workplace, I had more than 15 direct reports. That eventually rose to 25 before I shifted roles and was responsible for between five and ten people for the rest of my time there. Managing 25 people was a challenge. Writing their annual performance appraisals took two weeks! However, one of my favorite parts of managing that large group was the opportunity it gave me to have lots of one-on-one meetings. I committed to having those one-on-ones every other week, so I’d usually have 13 one week and 12 the next. They usually lasted between 15 and 30 minutes, although some ran longer. One colleague was routinely in my office for an hour or more, but we spent much of that time laughing. Those epic meetings often meant I’d have a longer day at the office, but it was worth it to have a bit of fun . One-on-one meetings between a leader and employee are vital for building connections, providing information, managing performance , and guidi...

A manager I know had an employee who was facing a challenging situation in their family. They needed time to help another family member, but they felt guilty about falling behind on their work.  The manager encouraged the employee to take time off and not worry about their tasks, even suggesting gently that they might want to take a temporary leave. However, the employee chose to keep trying to do their job. They said they appreciated the change of pace it offered, even though they were distracted and not able to perform at their usual level.  The two of them limped through this situation for several months. The employee felt guilty about their work effort, but they were doing their best under the circumstances. Meanwhile, the manager felt like they were not handling everything precisely the way they should. It was difficult and stressful, and the manager felt unprepared to offer the right kind of assistance or to guide the employee to resources that could help. I’ve often tho...

When you’re part of a small team in a big organization, it can be difficult to understand statements you hear from the CEO and other high-level executives in “town hall” meetings. Perhaps they mention projects that don’t seem to have a direct impact on the work you and your team are doing. Or maybe they’re using acronyms and jargon you don’t understand. In such cases, tuning out their messages is a natural response. But it’s a bad idea, especially if you’re a manager. Though C-suite executives may be focusing on the big picture, it’s up to you to interpret their statements and translate them so your employees can understand what the organization is doing and how they can contribute to meeting overall goals. Here are a few suggestions to help you understand and explain those high-level messages. Pay attention . Some people ignore companywide messages and skip town hall meetings, assuming they have better things to do with their time. I think that’s a mistake. You need to know what you...

Middle management is not for the faint of heart.  You face daily demands from leaders higher up the food chain and from the people who report to you. You juggle multiple projects and deadlines of your own, and you’re responsible for making sure your team members stay on track and complete their projects. It sometimes seems that you get all the blame when something goes wrong, but none of the credit when it goes well. So why would anyone aspire to management? As someone who has worked in middle management for decades, I can confirm that the challenges are many, but so are the rewards. Today, let’s focus on the latter. Here are some of the best things about working in management generally and middle management specifically: Higher compensation . This is probably obvious, but managers usually get paid more than the people they manage. Since money is an integral part of life, this is a benefit that shouldn’t be overlooked, and it’s usually a major factor in people deciding to seek a ro...

On most weekdays, you spend more waking hours interacting with work colleagues than with family and friends. Since that is the case, I firmly believe you should have some fun while working—and so should the people who work for you. As a manager, you’re responsible for ensuring your employees enjoy their jobs while staying engaged and focused on the tasks at hand. This requires a bit of a balancing act, but you can do both! Here are some suggestions to help. Get to know people. You don’t want to get too involved in the details of your direct reports’ personal lives, but it’s good to know some things about them, their families, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, etc. In other words, be a human! This is important as a manager because what’s happening outside of work hours can affect what your employees do while they’re working, and you need to be aware of that. But this knowledge also allows you to have occasional fun conversations with them. If all you ever talk about is business ...