Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

The Manager's Cheat Sheet: 101 Common Sense Rules for Leaders

Management is all about connecting with the people on your team. So how do you effectively manage a team? With common knowledge of people, of course. These are a few back-to-basics rules that will help you develop essential management skills. This list is an excellent resource for any leader.

A couple that resonate particularly well for me:

36. Improve your skills. Learning is a lifelong process. You're never too old to take a class or ask a co-worker to help you improve your knowledge.
45. Focus your energy on things that matter. Don't let trivial tasks take time away from things that are really important.

Go check out the rest of the list! read more

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Personal quarterly objectives

Many of us work in places that use quarterly objectives (aka MBO's, or Management By Objectives). These are typically a list of 3-5 "targets" to be achieved within a given quarter. They are a great tool for guiding focus and prioritization, and provide a means to review how well you did at the end of the quarter.

Why not move to an MBO-like model for your personal development? It's easy - at the beginning of a quarter, get into the habit of stepping back and contemplating what you want to get done during the next quarter.

Here are some tips and tricks to increase the effectiveness of this approach:

  1. Keep the list short - 3 to 5 objectives are about right.
  2. Write down your personal MBO's using the "SMART" formula:
    • Specific - make sure you are very clear and explicit about what you want to achieve (practice your outcome-centric visualization.
    • Measurable - make sure there is a way (preferrably objective, and not subjective) to measure your progress and success.
    • Achievable - Are the objectives ones that you can actually attain?
    • Realistic - Dreaming is great, but do you have the ability and resources to succeed?
    • Time-bound -have you set a target date by when you will achieve the outcome?
  3. Review your objectives regularly (some people like to hang the list near their desk. I've also heard of people who keep a copy of their list on the mirror in their bathroom so they see it every morning when they get ready.
  4. At the end of the quarter, review and rate your outcomes. Also reflect on what you've learned along the way.

I'd love to hear whether you've every utilized a similar approach, and would like to hear any additional ideas you have to share.

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Buy remarkable book, get remarkable deal, become remarkable leader

Ok, so I haven't read this book yet, but I can't resist passing on an awesome deal: when you buy Kevin Eikenberry's new book, Remarkable Leadership, you get a fantastic bunch of bonuses that make it worth its weight in gold.   To order, click one of the links above, scroll down to see the bonuses, and look for the ordering links near the end of the page - you need to order through one of those links get the bonuses.

In addition to the free stuff, there are a couple of other reasons I'm recommending this before I read it:

  1. I've been following Kevin's blog for quite a while, and I think he has some awesome leadership kung fu
  2. Kevin's trying to concentrate the buying of this book right away so he can become an Amazon best seller

On a related note, Kevin and his team also offer the Remarkable Leadership Learning System, which is a powerful program to help you become a better leader by guiding you through focused work on a specific topic each month. Check it out if you're looking for a leadership breakthrough.

By the way - I will be reviewing this book in the future - after I get my own copy!

 

Related items:

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Voice mails of mystery

I leave and receive lots of voice mail messages. One of my pet peeves: voice mails of mystery. These are cryptic messages in which the caller doesn't give me enough information. You know the type - a name and a phone number, with no other context for why they are calling. Is this a sales call? A friend of a friend trying to connect with me? A wrong number? If I can't tell, I typically delete them.

These types of messages have made me more conscious of the content of the messages I leave for others. I try to follow this general recipe for voice mails I leave:

  1. State who I am and where I am from
  2. State why I am calling
    1. High level - not too much detail, but enough to get their attention
    2. Bonus: a punchy point about what I can do for you, or other "What's in it for you?" points
  3. Provide a bit of context (how I found your name, any time urgency, any drivers you may care about - such as whether this is customer-related, etc.)
  4. Provide information on how to reach me - both by phone and email - for best results, say them clearly and say them twice

I also find it useful to say something like, "If you're not the right contact, I'd really appreciate your help in getting to the right person."

All of this can be completed in 20-30 seconds. If it takes you longer than that, practice condensing you point and key messages until you can do it within 30 seconds consistently.

And smile - it really helps. I also suggest leaving yourself a voice mail as if you were trying to get your own attention and see if you'd call yourself back. Try to be objective when you audit your own message.

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[Review] The Art of Managing

I've just read Jane Treber Macken's, "The Art of Managing: How to Build a Better Workplace and Relationships," and I quite enjoyed it. The beginning of the book felt a bit academic, sharing a lot about the history of management theory, and an overview of various management models and techniques used in the last 150 or so years. But don't let the clinical introduction turn you away - once the book gets going, the author adds a lot of interesting tools and engaging examples that make this a very good read.

The book is short - only about 100 pages - but it covers a lot of ground in a very effective fashion. Macken does a wonderful job of weaving in material from noted management experts, along with her own personal stories of life and management. She also presents some useful tools and mental models to help you become a more effective manager.

Managing by sitcom

A lot of the fun in this book comes from the way Macken livens things up with things you don't always seen in management books. For example, one model I liked exploring describes office relationship styles in terms of characters from the "I Love Lucy" and "Leave It To Beaver" television shows. I'm a cross between "Ethel" and "Ward," trying to become more consistently "Ward."

I was a huge fan of these shows, so it was a fun exercise for me (and, even if you know nothing about those television shows, Macken describes how to use the model to apply it within your own context).

A plethora of tools

Other models and tools she discusses with her own spin include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator model, group development and conflict resolution techniques, motivational techniques, and a model for situational leadership.

Finally, she rounds it out with a great set of tools to assess the effectiveness and alignment of an organization, and discusses methods to address any weaknesses or mis-alignment you may discover.

In summary, I liked this book because it gave me some new twists on some familiar management models, as well as teaching me some new tools and techniques I can apply to become a better manager. I believe it would be equally useful to new managers and seasoned veterans.

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