How does your company select its' supervisors, team leaders or managers? More often than not, the "best" technical person in the department is selected to both aid their retention and to solve a "gap" in the organization. This is fine in theory - but in practice will fail more than it succeeds.The skills and attitudes required to be an effective team leaders or manager are very different from being technically competent. Indeed one may argue that know HOW to do the job may be a disadvantage … [Read more...] about A high performing individual does not make a good manager/ team leader
Bullying at work, recognising it & its impact on innovation
Bullying at work on the increase Or so the reports and surveys tell us. What we do know is that where bullying exists, trust does not. We also know that innovation requires openness and trust. So what do we really have in our organisations - innovation OR bullying?Are you being bullied at work – or are you a work place bully?As employers we have a responsibility to our employees, customers and suppliers for them to be respected and not bullied in any way. To deliver on that … [Read more...] about Bullying at work, recognising it & its impact on innovation
How to receive feedback from your manager
How to receive feedback from your manager As my good friend @Quicklearn said on twitter a few days ago:"So much written on how to give feedback. What help is out there for those destined to receive it?"It promoted me to think.. in this light hearted reply (well it is the August silly season) lets look at the feedback methods and what they actually mean for you the recipient:The feedback sandwich:Praise (Bread) 'Feedback' (Meat) Praise (Bread)This approach is not to help … [Read more...] about How to receive feedback from your manager
When interviewing goes beyond HR and the Line Manager
Many organizations are starting to explore a new approach to improving retention through participative selection. There is a belief that when staff are involved in the recruitment decision they are more likely to support the new staff member, and as a consequence retention is improved.Many local authorities have been doing this for some time with mixed results. For the process to be meaningful (and legal) each person must be selected or rejected on defined criteria. This makes employee … [Read more...] about When interviewing goes beyond HR and the Line Manager
The best training should always be led by your manager
Being a manager is a journey, from our first days as team leader or supervisor through middle and senior roles to director level. The more senior we become, the more of our time should be spend on developing our people. It is easy when we get promoted to keep doing the things we used to do, but as we can see from the graphic below, we should be spending time on our people not just “doing things”. As a team leader we start to take on people development activities, and as we progress, we do less … [Read more...] about The best training should always be led by your manager
