Posts Categorized: Management

Middle Managers need help (in the new world of work)

September 28 2022

The shift to remote work is particularly impacting on middle managers in all larger organisations. We should address this now. Middle managers play a vital role, and it’s just not on to let the role – or the incumbents – languish, when we actually can meet the challenge. Why are these roles so important? Middle management roles are critical positions in all mid to large organisations; indeed, the impact of middle managers on business success can be ‘make or break’:… Read more »

Should leaders own all decisions?

August 30 2022

Organisational success depends on leaders making smart decisions. And sometimes, that’s to delegate that decision to someone else. If you’ve worked with senior leaders who insist on being involved in (ahem, ‘making’) every decision in the organisation, you’ll know how frustrating, disempowering and unproductive it is. I’ve seen it at close hand, and it’s incredibly destructive. Perhaps like me, you’ve spent too long over some decisions that aren’t ultimately worth that amount of energy. As I’ve discovered, there are a… Read more »

It’s REBOOT – and time to dream again

October 19 2021

Key points: WFH is now a real option, at least part-time, for many organisations. While away, many staff have been plotting a career shift, some, a drastic one. Many businesses may now have to factor in “The Great Resignation”. This will all impact on workplace design, workforce planning, and recruiting. Managers: it’s time for some new thinking. Back in 2019, a request…. Remember this scene in pre-2019? A typical employee in a typical workplace lodges a request to work from… Read more »

Michael Caton: “tell ‘im he’s dreaming”

MBWA – a highly effective management hack, or a dud?

July 2 2019

What if there was ONE easy way to be a great manager?   MBWA, or ‘Management-By-Walking-Around’, has been put forward as one such method. It involves managers being out on the floor, directly engaging with team members, while also observing frontline workers in action. Sounds great huh – get out there with the team, show that you’re one of them, be a part of it… In support of this idea, there are some studies do suggest that managers who are… Read more »

OMG! Did you get that offer?

November 4 2015

“OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!” Yep, that was the reaction recently when we got an offer of a CEO position. I use the term ‘we’ here, although my involvement was very much in the background. In reality this was about the success, in a competitive job application process, of a focused and committed coaching client. The triple “OMG…” was a direct quote from my client’s partner, as they sat back and celebrated on the evening of the day the offer came in…. Read more »

It’s ‘Performance Management’, not footsteps in a dark alley!

September 10 2015

The sound of footsteps… Being told ‘You’re going into performance management’ is typically about as much fun as hearing footsteps behind you in a dark alley. And neurological research demonstrates that the physical impact is similar – the ‘fight or flight’ response is pretty common. But I always get concerned for another reason when I hear that someone is about to be ‘Performance Managed’. This paints the picture of performance management as the big bogeyman of workplaces. And while often… Read more »

Engagement, climate and performance – what’s the connection?

March 25 2014

High turnover typically means low organisational health – it’s disruptive and expensive. ‘Commitment to stay’ is supposed to be great. But low turnover can be a problem too, depending on how it relates to engagement. How do you know which you have? Employee engagement ‘Engagement’ has now ascended to a level akin to the holy grail. Engagement tends to mean people stay on with the organisation, but sometimes ‘intention to stay’ gets confused with real engagement. Puzzling…? The wrong sort… Read more »