Matthew Swyers wrote an excellent piece for Inc. today about why ultimatums don't work in employer-employee relationships, but all I could think about was how proactive management would eliminate the need for an ultimatum in the first place. Proactive management requires that leaders clearly express expectations -- of...
Many managers read all the talk about employee engagement and think that happy employees will automatically level up their productivity; unfortunately, managing performance isn't that simple. There's one more element of the equation: a manager's rapport with his or her team. As Jason Lauritsen...
You might think that movies are just for entertainment, but today's must-reads prove that there are plenty of leadership lessons to be learned from famous films. * Here's an offer you can't refuse: leadership lessons from "The Godfather," including the importance of community,...
A French chef I once worked with had a management mantra for perfection and productivity that translates beautifully into a business environment. Most chefs are demanding perfectionists by nature, but French chefs are proud to take this stereotype to new heights. This particular chef was no exception: motivation was the...
We know that bad management can hinder employee morale and job performance, but new research indicates that poor leaders can even mess with their subordinates' overall well-being. A study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology asked 1,100 employees to rate statements like "my supervisor tries...
In my last newsletter, I shared tips to manage millennials for maximum productivity, but there's one management mistake that will throttle Gen-Y workers' efficiency every time: disengaged management, otherwise known as "not caring." As I wrote in my column for Lifehack.org this week, millennials...
