A Technical Manager's Perspective

Management Principles from Manager Tools

I found the last 5 episodes of Manager Tools intriguing and a great review for all managers. Both Mark and Mike from Manager Tools have a great way of sharing and explaining strategies that can help all managers. If you are a new manager, a seasoned manager or a senior manager/executive, I would encourage you to listen to the last five episodes, and in particular the four episodes on the Manager Tools Management Trinity. I think these podcast are essential for all managers, and all folks that would like to move into a management role. Here is a sample of what you will find ......

The four most powerful things that managers can do are:

One-on-ones

• Managers are responsible for the performance of your directs

• Managers have a responsibility to build a professional relationship with their directs and one-on-ones help build that relationship. Having a relationship improves communication and builds trust.

• To foster teamwork, you need to have trust; you can build trust by communicating regularly.

• Communication what managers do with their directs to make both the team and the manager more effective.

• Teams trust relationships and the openness of communication.

Feedback

• Feedback encourages effective behavior.

• Feedback is about talking to your directs about their behavior.

• Good management is encouraging and inspires with hope.

• Feedback is all about the future so focus on the future.

• Managers have a responsibility to give feedback to their directs because directs often deliver behavior that is effective when they are given frequent feedback on what they are doing and on the results and impacts of their behavior.

• Managers are paid for the performance of their directs, and feedback is the tool to use. Using both positive and negative feedback consistently will help both your performance and the performance of your team.

• Feedback model helps managers achieve better performance with their teams because it creates regular performance communication between the manager and the direct.

• Doing nothing is the same as saying they you agree with what was done.

• Managers talking about behavior are really talking about performance and how to improve the performance of their part of the organization which is based on the behavior of the manager and the team.

Coaching

• Coaching encourages improved effectiveness.

• Coaching is not just for poor performers.

• Coaching helps to develop directs and set the stage for improved performance.

Delegation

• Delegation is needed to grow and meet the ever increasing demand for noteable inprovments in performance.

• Delegation helps to grow productivity by transfering work from a higher cost center to a lower cost center.

• Delegation leads to paying less for the same output and this is a productivity gain.

• Managers should look to delegate part of thier job functions to their team, and look at taking responsibility for tasks that the Managers Manager does not like to do.

After listening to Marks overview of one-on-ones, feedback and coaching in the Delegation podcast, I knew that I was going to write about this because I certain believe in these principles, and strive to meet them every day:

• Managers ability to achieve their responsibilities comes from maximixing the effectiveness of their directs.

• The Manager is the responsible party of the organization, not only responsible to the oranization but for the organization.

• The biggest lever to maximize the effectiveness of their directs is the relationships the manager creates with their directs.

• Best way to ensure the day to day performance of directs is to provide feedback, both positive and negative.

I know my posts have dropped off lately, however other factors from family to work and the Patriots have consumed my time in the last month. It is not for a lack of topics to write about as I have been digging into a couple of technologies, and pulling together thoughts on others. I have been reading a lot about OpenID and single sign-on and have a number of thoughts and strategies surrounding OpenID and it's impact both inside and outside the Enterprise. Cloud Computing is another technology that is starting to get some hype, and in many ways it may be useful to the Enterprise but not in the manner that is being talked about now.

I am also still very interested in Enterprise 2.0 and SOA from both a deployment perspective and a support perspective. And finally, Management. I am always looking to learn how I can improve as a manager and recently came across a new Management Blog that looks interesting. The blog is called Damn Good Manager and is worth checking out and contributing if so inclined.

Technorati : Technology OpenID SOA Management

Although I have mentioned the Manager-Tools podcast multiple times, I have not referenced them in a while. However, this week, I listened to 3 very timely casts on how to set annual goals. Both Mark and Michael do a great job outlining the area's to focus on when identifying goals, and really concentrate on measurable and time bound goals. They also give us food for thought around soft goals and strategies, and although this is a long series, there are quite a few topics that will help us identify, measure and meet our annual goals.

Here are the links to each annual goal post which include a podcast in each link.

How to set annual goals: Part 1 of 3

How to set annual goals: Part 2 of 3

How to set annual goals: Part 3 of 3

If you are in a managerial role and have not visited Manager-Tools, I encourage you to do so. There is a tremendous amount of rich content here. They cover topics from giving and receiving Feed-Back to Body-Odor. They also give many great examples and strategies that deal with difficult situations, and it is refreshing to listen to others talk about how they have dealt with these situations.

If you are considering investigating Manager-Tools, here is a good place to start .... Manager Tools Basics

Technorati : Management Leadership

I apologize for the lack of posts here, I recently changed positions which has kept me fairly busy. I have been coming up for air on the weekends and plan on resuming my posting. I am in a new environment with a new set of challenges and technologies to learn. What a difference in work environments. I left a very structured and rigid Healthcare organization for an open collaborative academic institution. It's a real breath of fresh air.

Most of you that know me, know that I am a big fan of Podcasts. I am still listening daily but have expanded my scope to include audio books. This new trend started after listening the "MIT Sloan School of Management Podcast" called "Tough Choices" by Carly Fiorina. Carly spoke to MIT Sloan students in October 2006 and spoke of her experiences at Lucent and HP. Listening to Carly talk about real examples surrounding Ethics, Leadership, and Managing through change was compelling enough to make me search out the full edition of Carly's book "Tough Choices". I looked at both audible.com and Itunes and Itunes had a better price. I downloaded the full edition of Tough Choices last week and spent the weekend listening to it. This week I pulled down "The Google Story" and have identified a dozen other books that look compelling enough to pull down and listen to.

I do not have the time to sit down and read a book like this over a weekend, however I was able to listen to Tough Choices over the span of two days because I could listen while doing errands and working around the house.

If you are interested in learning more about this, check it out, AudioBooks at Itunes or Audible.com.

Technorati : Technology Management

Here is a slideshow called the Little Book of Leadership. Plenty of food of thought here from 40 different leaders.

| View | Upload your own

Technorati : Management, leadership

In 2005 when I started listening to Podcasts, my focus was purely technical. Then I discovered Manager-Tools and Management Craft added Management and Leadership podcasts to my weekly rotation. In the last year I have expanded my listening choices to a bunch of non-technical podcast that focus everything from Boston events to Business events. I listen every evening on my way home from work, when I do errands on Saturdays and when I do yardwork and chores around the house. I have also started watching more Video from a variety of sources on the Internet, mostly focusing on business and technical topics.

I find that listening every week helps me to stay current with Technology and exposes me to the new trends in computing. Back in July of 2006 I outlined the Podcasts that I listened to on a regular basis and identified the podcasts that I listen to on a daily and weekly basis. That list has changed a little and I wanted to share with you what I am current listening to and encourage you to check out these podcasts and video-casts.

Daily Feeds:

• KenRadio World Tech Roundup - Ken Rutkowski and Andy Abramson talk about the MET News (Media, Entertainment and Technology)
• Buzz Out Loud - CNET's Molly Wood and Tom Merritt discuss top stories and happening in the Tech World
• Wall Street Journal Tech News Briefing - From the WSJ, a business focused review Tech Companies and Strategies

Weekly Feeds:

• Business Week Cover Stories- Great Show Every week well worth listening to
• Manager Tools - Mark Horstman and Michael Auzenne provide and excellent weekly show that will help both the experienced manager as well as the first time manager. Well worth checking out.
• This Week in Tech TWIT - Leo Laporte and others discuss the week in tech
• Management Craft - Lisa Haneberg interviews authors and others from the Management Space
• Between the Lines - ZDNET - Dan Farber, David Berlind and Larry Dignan discuss Tech news with a nice skeptical twist
• HBR Idea Cast - Harvard Business School show about business problems and solutions
• In the Trenches - George Starcher is carrying on for Kevin Devin and focuses on the System Admin and Network Admin Space
• Windows Weekly - Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte discuss the Microsoft space
• PaulDotCom Security Weekly - Paul Asadoorian, Larry Pesce and Twitchy discuss security issues and vulnerabilities. This is a great show to listen to to get your weekly dose of security info.
• The M Show - John Wall produces a weekly 10 minutes show about business, news and Boston.
• Marketing Over Coffee - This is a new podcast featuring John Wall and Chris Penn from Podcamp fame.
• Hanselminutes - Show featuring Scott Hanselman with great content and delivery. If you like Hanselminutes you will love .NET Rocks ...
• .NET Rocks! - Carl Franklin and Others discuss development tool on the Windows Platform

Weekly Video Feeds:

• Best Damn Tech Show - Flemo, Sir Adam Plante, Rand, Smitty and almost forgot Dr Drew - Check them out
• IT Idiots - Are you a visual learner ? Is so The ITIdiots site is the place to go. You can watch as they configure a server or step thru Virtualization. Great site, with great content.
• Business Week Video - Business Week has made a nice transition to the web delivering great Web, Audio and Video content
• Revision3 - Some Tech but much more
• Scriggity - No Tech, Just Life

Technorati : Management, Podcast, Technology, Video

I was listening to Hanelminutes (Scott Hanselman and Carl Franklin) and they really got me thinking. I almost passed on this cast called "How to be a better developer in six months". I am not a developer, but I wanted to hear their thoughts on how to become a better developer, and it got me thinking about how I could I be a better Technical Manager.

Scott and Carl identified a number of different tasks that you could do to be a better developer in six months:

Reading books on tools, languages and development practices; Reading other Developers Code; Writing Code; Teaching; Speaking; Getting involved in the Development Community; Listening to Podcasts; and finally Hiring an Intern (Similar to teaching).

As I said, this really got me thinking about how I could improve as a Manager and a Technical contributer. I certainly agree with reading more and listening to Podcasts and Webcasts. There is so much information available on the Internet that can help you dig into a topic or become more familiar with a topic, whether that is a technical topic, a managerial topic or any topic.

Scott also mentions reading other peoples code and writing code as two examples for developers. I see this a refining the functions that a developer performs and would recommend that everyone could benefit from this basic premise by learning, practicing and refining what we do on a daily basis.

Teaching, speaking and hiring an intern, are strategies that work for Scott, but may not be readily available to everyone. Of the three, teaching is probably the task that most folks could do, and for those those folks that do not have someone to teach or share information with then writing, blogging or joining a community is a great alternative.

I think we all could improve what we do on a daily basis, and podcasts like Scott's provide examples of what we could do and leave you asking the question, "How could I improve what I do in six months ?"

Technorati : management

A lot of my reading is about Leadership and Management topics. I came across this great post by Jim Stroup of the Managing Leadership blog called Good Grief. Jim focuses on the impact to a team or organization when a manager focuses solely on the workplace and does not take into consideration a balanced work life and home life.

Here is a sample .....

Many managers would prefer being able to devote their full attention to the administration of non-human assets and factors in their businesses. These are easier to understand and manipulate, and they usually don't give you grief about it. But the fact is, most of the grief "human assets" give their managers is of the latter's own making.

As short while ago, Inc.com reported the results of a study which showed that "bad behavior" is caused by problems with work-life balance issues, and is not prevented by standard disciplinary measures. To be honest, such results suggest errors in research design and data interpretation. One should be cautious about taking at face value a group's attribution of its own bad behavior to the alleged shortcomings of another group (management) or of policy.

Nevertheless, the study does raise questions about the influence of managerial action or policy on staff morale and productivity. While I disagree that bad behavior is caused - or averted - by specific workplace policies, productivity and morale can be.

Of the various factors related to managing people, the one this subject touches on is the managerial duty to remove impediments to performance. It is not necessarily a manager's role to provide employees a balanced life, but it is an obligation to remove barriers - including those that are related to work-life balance issues - to peak employee performance.

To read the entire post follow this link .....

Technorati : leadership, management

There are many characteristics of an Effective Manager, and just as there are many different types of managers, each with a unique style, there is not one formula, list, or book that you can go to that will definitively define the role of a manager along with the characteristics of being an effective manager. However, that should not stop us from seeking more information on how to become more effective and how to improve our managerial skills, and with that in mind, I have outlined the characteristics that I feel are important to be an effective manager. I have also included a number of links within each characteristic which reference additional material on each topic.I started with the Role of the Manager, and move onto the characteristics that I feel help shape an effective manager

Role of a Manager:

The role of a manager is different from company to company and position to position. In most cases the manager has a group of employees to direct, in pursuit of organizational based goals. As a manager you have multiple priorities and areas of focus, and depending on the position, the requirements and the industry, the one difference is areas of focus. While managers have to deal with all priorities across multiple areas of focus, many managers focus more on strategy and business matters, while others focus more on process and projects and others focus more on their people and team-building.

You see this focus when you read different thoughts, viewpoints and opinions on managing. In my current role, more of my focus has been on the people and team-building aspects as well as the process and project priorities. That does not mean that I do not focus or work on strategy and business issues, it means that team-building, process and project management had been my focus for a while and has been more of a priority than strategy and business issues.

Here are some other interesting viewpoints on the Role of a Manager .....

• http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/50-advice-for-new-managers-part-1/

• http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/52-advice-for-new-managers-pt2/

• http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/the-role-of-the-manager.html

• http://www.management-resources.org/universal.php?c=11&a=123

• http://www.managementblog.org/archives/2004/11/20/role-of-the-manager/

6 Characteristics of an Effective Manager:

1) Be a Leader and Lead by Example

Actions speak louder than words. Managers may rule, but leaders are followed. You need to demonstrate that you are a leader by your actions, which will help you to build influence.

Here are some other interesting viewpoints on Leadership and Leading by Example .....

• http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-leadership/11344-1.html

• http://www.instigatorblog.com/10-essential-business-leadership-skills/2007/04/16/

• http://www.schulersolutions.com/how_to_lead_by_example.html

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2007/06/13/are-you-demotivating-your-employees/

2) Effective Communications

These days, Effective Communications is a business requirement, and without strong effective communication, management becomes difficult or impossible.

Here are some other viewpoints on Effective Communications ....

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_management

• http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/whitepaper.aspx?&docid=95378&promo=100511

• http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/whitepaper.aspx?docid=263731

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/category/communication

3) Provide Feedback

Managers need to provide both positive and negative feedback, focusing on actions and behaviors. Always stick to the facts and observed behaviors when delivering feedback.

Here are some other viewpoints on Providing Feedback ...

• http://www.manager-tools.com/2005/07/giving-effective-feedback/

• http://www.susanfee.com/coaching/tips/GivingFeedbacktoSensitiveEmployees.htm

• http://ezinearticles.com/?Without-Effective-Feedback-Employees-Will-Continue-To-Perform-Poorly&id=382015

4) Be Fair

Managers need to be fair when establishing rules and processes.

Here are some other thoughts on Fairness ...

• http://www.hr.umich.edu/greatplaces/fairness.html

• http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-employee-ethics/2975409-2.html

• http://www.businesspundit.com/50226711/how_to_be_a_good_leader_be_fair.php

• http://www.gameproducer.net/2006/12/15/3-practical-tips-for-better-leadership/

5) Be positive, Negativity Kills

As a manager, you need to be a positive influence. Everyone, especially team members, watch you and take their cues from you, so be honest and positive. Negative comments are a reflection on you and your team, so if you do not have something good to say then do not say anything.

Here are some other thoughts on having a Positive Influence ...

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2007/06/13/are-you-demotivating-your-employees/

• http://careersavvy.typepad.com/career_savvy/2007/02/positive_influe.html

• http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2003/august/i_ids3.html

• http://www.schulersolutions.com/how_to_lead_by_example.html

6) Promote Teamwork

Teamwork is about working together as a team. Factors the help or hinder teamwork are communication, trust, commitment and change. Managers need to understand these factors within each group, and provide both positive and negative feedback to team members in order to maintain and improve teamwork.

Here are some other viewpoints on Promoting Teamwork ....

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/category/teamwork/

• http://search.bnet.com/search/Leadership+and+teamwork.html?t=0&s=0&o=1

• http://smartlemming.com/blog/index.php/2007/06/23-ways-to-be-happy-at-work-17-share-knowledge/

• http://www.bnet.com/2410-13059_23-64253.html

I recently discovered a new site that concentrates on Management Resources for managers. The site is BNET.com and there is a lot of rich Management content here. I had seen the BNET Icon on many of the ZDNet blogs and mistakenly clicked it one day and was pleasantly surprised with the site and it's content.

A great example of their content is their feature on "Master your Multitasking" written by David Allen.

If you're not familiar with David Allen, you'll probably be hearing more about him soon. Allen is a personal-productivity expert with legions of fans and a bestselling book under his belt, and he's poised to break through to mainstream corporate America. In the meantime, his GTD (Getting Things Done) program is already changing the way people think about work flow. BNET explored the Allen mythos to find out who he is and why his followers swear by his techniques. We also explain how to get started using his program, talk to Allen himself, and interview three senior managers who use GTD to make their staffs more productive.

Update: CNET interviewed David Allen at the 2007 Under the Radar conference.
Watch the video.

Take a look at David's Video which concentrates on refining your focus and concentration on the tasks that need to get done as opposed to time management.

Technorati : Management

Technology and Management Topics

I know my posts have dropped off lately, however other factors from family to work and the Patriots have consumed my time in the last month. It is not for a lack of topics to write about as I have been digging into a couple of technologies, and pulling together thoughts on others. I have been reading a lot about OpenID and single sign-on and have a number of thoughts and strategies surrounding OpenID and it's impact both inside and outside the Enterprise. Cloud Computing is another technology that is starting to get some hype, and in many ways it may be useful to the Enterprise but not in the manner that is being talked about now.

I am also still very interested in Enterprise 2.0 and SOA from both a deployment perspective and a support perspective. And finally, Management. I am always looking to learn how I can improve as a manager and recently came across a new Management Blog that looks interesting. The blog is called Damn Good Manager and is worth checking out and contributing if so inclined.

Technorati : Technology OpenID SOA Management

Manager Tools Resources

Although I have mentioned the Manager-Tools podcast multiple times, I have not referenced them in a while. However, this week, I listened to 3 very timely casts on how to set annual goals. Both Mark and Michael do a great job outlining the area's to focus on when identifying goals, and really concentrate on measurable and time bound goals. They also give us food for thought around soft goals and strategies, and although this is a long series, there are quite a few topics that will help us identify, measure and meet our annual goals.

Here are the links to each annual goal post which include a podcast in each link.

How to set annual goals: Part 1 of 3

How to set annual goals: Part 2 of 3

How to set annual goals: Part 3 of 3

If you are in a managerial role and have not visited Manager-Tools, I encourage you to do so. There is a tremendous amount of rich content here. They cover topics from giving and receiving Feed-Back to Body-Odor. They also give many great examples and strategies that deal with difficult situations, and it is refreshing to listen to others talk about how they have dealt with these situations.

If you are considering investigating Manager-Tools, here is a good place to start .... Manager Tools Basics

Technorati : Management Leadership

Listening to Audio Books

I apologize for the lack of posts here, I recently changed positions which has kept me fairly busy. I have been coming up for air on the weekends and plan on resuming my posting. I am in a new environment with a new set of challenges and technologies to learn. What a difference in work environments. I left a very structured and rigid Healthcare organization for an open collaborative academic institution. It's a real breath of fresh air.

Most of you that know me, know that I am a big fan of Podcasts. I am still listening daily but have expanded my scope to include audio books. This new trend started after listening the "MIT Sloan School of Management Podcast" called "Tough Choices" by Carly Fiorina. Carly spoke to MIT Sloan students in October 2006 and spoke of her experiences at Lucent and HP. Listening to Carly talk about real examples surrounding Ethics, Leadership, and Managing through change was compelling enough to make me search out the full edition of Carly's book "Tough Choices". I looked at both audible.com and Itunes and Itunes had a better price. I downloaded the full edition of Tough Choices last week and spent the weekend listening to it. This week I pulled down "The Google Story" and have identified a dozen other books that look compelling enough to pull down and listen to.

I do not have the time to sit down and read a book like this over a weekend, however I was able to listen to Tough Choices over the span of two days because I could listen while doing errands and working around the house.

If you are interested in learning more about this, check it out, AudioBooks at Itunes or Audible.com.

Technorati : Technology Management

The Little Book of Leadership

Here is a slideshow called the Little Book of Leadership. Plenty of food of thought here from 40 different leaders.

| View | Upload your own

Technorati : Management, leadership

Weekly Content Consumption

In 2005 when I started listening to Podcasts, my focus was purely technical. Then I discovered Manager-Tools and Management Craft added Management and Leadership podcasts to my weekly rotation. In the last year I have expanded my listening choices to a bunch of non-technical podcast that focus everything from Boston events to Business events. I listen every evening on my way home from work, when I do errands on Saturdays and when I do yardwork and chores around the house. I have also started watching more Video from a variety of sources on the Internet, mostly focusing on business and technical topics.

I find that listening every week helps me to stay current with Technology and exposes me to the new trends in computing. Back in July of 2006 I outlined the Podcasts that I listened to on a regular basis and identified the podcasts that I listen to on a daily and weekly basis. That list has changed a little and I wanted to share with you what I am current listening to and encourage you to check out these podcasts and video-casts.

Daily Feeds:

• KenRadio World Tech Roundup - Ken Rutkowski and Andy Abramson talk about the MET News (Media, Entertainment and Technology)
• Buzz Out Loud - CNET's Molly Wood and Tom Merritt discuss top stories and happening in the Tech World
• Wall Street Journal Tech News Briefing - From the WSJ, a business focused review Tech Companies and Strategies

Weekly Feeds:

• Business Week Cover Stories- Great Show Every week well worth listening to
• Manager Tools - Mark Horstman and Michael Auzenne provide and excellent weekly show that will help both the experienced manager as well as the first time manager. Well worth checking out.
• This Week in Tech TWIT - Leo Laporte and others discuss the week in tech
• Management Craft - Lisa Haneberg interviews authors and others from the Management Space
• Between the Lines - ZDNET - Dan Farber, David Berlind and Larry Dignan discuss Tech news with a nice skeptical twist
• HBR Idea Cast - Harvard Business School show about business problems and solutions
• In the Trenches - George Starcher is carrying on for Kevin Devin and focuses on the System Admin and Network Admin Space
• Windows Weekly - Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte discuss the Microsoft space
• PaulDotCom Security Weekly - Paul Asadoorian, Larry Pesce and Twitchy discuss security issues and vulnerabilities. This is a great show to listen to to get your weekly dose of security info.
• The M Show - John Wall produces a weekly 10 minutes show about business, news and Boston.
• Marketing Over Coffee - This is a new podcast featuring John Wall and Chris Penn from Podcamp fame.
• Hanselminutes - Show featuring Scott Hanselman with great content and delivery. If you like Hanselminutes you will love .NET Rocks ...
• .NET Rocks! - Carl Franklin and Others discuss development tool on the Windows Platform

Weekly Video Feeds:

• Best Damn Tech Show - Flemo, Sir Adam Plante, Rand, Smitty and almost forgot Dr Drew - Check them out
• IT Idiots - Are you a visual learner ? Is so The ITIdiots site is the place to go. You can watch as they configure a server or step thru Virtualization. Great site, with great content.
• Business Week Video - Business Week has made a nice transition to the web delivering great Web, Audio and Video content
• Revision3 - Some Tech but much more
• Scriggity - No Tech, Just Life

Technorati : Management, Podcast, Technology, Video

How could I improve what I do in six months

I was listening to Hanelminutes (Scott Hanselman and Carl Franklin) and they really got me thinking. I almost passed on this cast called "How to be a better developer in six months". I am not a developer, but I wanted to hear their thoughts on how to become a better developer, and it got me thinking about how I could I be a better Technical Manager.

Scott and Carl identified a number of different tasks that you could do to be a better developer in six months:

Reading books on tools, languages and development practices; Reading other Developers Code; Writing Code; Teaching; Speaking; Getting involved in the Development Community; Listening to Podcasts; and finally Hiring an Intern (Similar to teaching).

As I said, this really got me thinking about how I could improve as a Manager and a Technical contributer. I certainly agree with reading more and listening to Podcasts and Webcasts. There is so much information available on the Internet that can help you dig into a topic or become more familiar with a topic, whether that is a technical topic, a managerial topic or any topic.

Scott also mentions reading other peoples code and writing code as two examples for developers. I see this a refining the functions that a developer performs and would recommend that everyone could benefit from this basic premise by learning, practicing and refining what we do on a daily basis.

Teaching, speaking and hiring an intern, are strategies that work for Scott, but may not be readily available to everyone. Of the three, teaching is probably the task that most folks could do, and for those those folks that do not have someone to teach or share information with then writing, blogging or joining a community is a great alternative.

I think we all could improve what we do on a daily basis, and podcasts like Scott's provide examples of what we could do and leave you asking the question, "How could I improve what I do in six months ?"

Technorati : management

Balance of Work Life and Home Life

A lot of my reading is about Leadership and Management topics. I came across this great post by Jim Stroup of the Managing Leadership blog called Good Grief. Jim focuses on the impact to a team or organization when a manager focuses solely on the workplace and does not take into consideration a balanced work life and home life.

Here is a sample .....

Many managers would prefer being able to devote their full attention to the administration of non-human assets and factors in their businesses. These are easier to understand and manipulate, and they usually don't give you grief about it. But the fact is, most of the grief "human assets" give their managers is of the latter's own making.

As short while ago, Inc.com reported the results of a study which showed that "bad behavior" is caused by problems with work-life balance issues, and is not prevented by standard disciplinary measures. To be honest, such results suggest errors in research design and data interpretation. One should be cautious about taking at face value a group's attribution of its own bad behavior to the alleged shortcomings of another group (management) or of policy.

Nevertheless, the study does raise questions about the influence of managerial action or policy on staff morale and productivity. While I disagree that bad behavior is caused - or averted - by specific workplace policies, productivity and morale can be.

Of the various factors related to managing people, the one this subject touches on is the managerial duty to remove impediments to performance. It is not necessarily a manager's role to provide employees a balanced life, but it is an obligation to remove barriers - including those that are related to work-life balance issues - to peak employee performance.

To read the entire post follow this link .....

Technorati : leadership, management

Characteristics of an Effective Manager

There are many characteristics of an Effective Manager, and just as there are many different types of managers, each with a unique style, there is not one formula, list, or book that you can go to that will definitively define the role of a manager along with the characteristics of being an effective manager. However, that should not stop us from seeking more information on how to become more effective and how to improve our managerial skills, and with that in mind, I have outlined the characteristics that I feel are important to be an effective manager. I have also included a number of links within each characteristic which reference additional material on each topic.I started with the Role of the Manager, and move onto the characteristics that I feel help shape an effective manager

Role of a Manager:

The role of a manager is different from company to company and position to position. In most cases the manager has a group of employees to direct, in pursuit of organizational based goals. As a manager you have multiple priorities and areas of focus, and depending on the position, the requirements and the industry, the one difference is areas of focus. While managers have to deal with all priorities across multiple areas of focus, many managers focus more on strategy and business matters, while others focus more on process and projects and others focus more on their people and team-building.

You see this focus when you read different thoughts, viewpoints and opinions on managing. In my current role, more of my focus has been on the people and team-building aspects as well as the process and project priorities. That does not mean that I do not focus or work on strategy and business issues, it means that team-building, process and project management had been my focus for a while and has been more of a priority than strategy and business issues.

Here are some other interesting viewpoints on the Role of a Manager .....

• http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/50-advice-for-new-managers-part-1/

• http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/52-advice-for-new-managers-pt2/

• http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/the-role-of-the-manager.html

• http://www.management-resources.org/universal.php?c=11&a=123

• http://www.managementblog.org/archives/2004/11/20/role-of-the-manager/

6 Characteristics of an Effective Manager:

1) Be a Leader and Lead by Example

Actions speak louder than words. Managers may rule, but leaders are followed. You need to demonstrate that you are a leader by your actions, which will help you to build influence.

Here are some other interesting viewpoints on Leadership and Leading by Example .....

• http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-leadership/11344-1.html

• http://www.instigatorblog.com/10-essential-business-leadership-skills/2007/04/16/

• http://www.schulersolutions.com/how_to_lead_by_example.html

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2007/06/13/are-you-demotivating-your-employees/

2) Effective Communications

These days, Effective Communications is a business requirement, and without strong effective communication, management becomes difficult or impossible.

Here are some other viewpoints on Effective Communications ....

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_management

• http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/whitepaper.aspx?&docid=95378&promo=100511

• http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/whitepaper.aspx?docid=263731

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/category/communication

3) Provide Feedback

Managers need to provide both positive and negative feedback, focusing on actions and behaviors. Always stick to the facts and observed behaviors when delivering feedback.

Here are some other viewpoints on Providing Feedback ...

• http://www.manager-tools.com/2005/07/giving-effective-feedback/

• http://www.susanfee.com/coaching/tips/GivingFeedbacktoSensitiveEmployees.htm

• http://ezinearticles.com/?Without-Effective-Feedback-Employees-Will-Continue-To-Perform-Poorly&id=382015

4) Be Fair

Managers need to be fair when establishing rules and processes.

Here are some other thoughts on Fairness ...

• http://www.hr.umich.edu/greatplaces/fairness.html

• http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-employee-ethics/2975409-2.html

• http://www.businesspundit.com/50226711/how_to_be_a_good_leader_be_fair.php

• http://www.gameproducer.net/2006/12/15/3-practical-tips-for-better-leadership/

5) Be positive, Negativity Kills

As a manager, you need to be a positive influence. Everyone, especially team members, watch you and take their cues from you, so be honest and positive. Negative comments are a reflection on you and your team, so if you do not have something good to say then do not say anything.

Here are some other thoughts on having a Positive Influence ...

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2007/06/13/are-you-demotivating-your-employees/

• http://careersavvy.typepad.com/career_savvy/2007/02/positive_influe.html

• http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2003/august/i_ids3.html

• http://www.schulersolutions.com/how_to_lead_by_example.html

6) Promote Teamwork

Teamwork is about working together as a team. Factors the help or hinder teamwork are communication, trust, commitment and change. Managers need to understand these factors within each group, and provide both positive and negative feedback to team members in order to maintain and improve teamwork.

Here are some other viewpoints on Promoting Teamwork ....

• http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/category/teamwork/

• http://search.bnet.com/search/Leadership+and+teamwork.html?t=0&s=0&o=1

• http://smartlemming.com/blog/index.php/2007/06/23-ways-to-be-happy-at-work-17-share-knowledge/

• http://www.bnet.com/2410-13059_23-64253.html

New Management Site

I recently discovered a new site that concentrates on Management Resources for managers. The site is BNET.com and there is a lot of rich Management content here. I had seen the BNET Icon on many of the ZDNet blogs and mistakenly clicked it one day and was pleasantly surprised with the site and it's content.

A great example of their content is their feature on "Master your Multitasking" written by David Allen.

If you're not familiar with David Allen, you'll probably be hearing more about him soon. Allen is a personal-productivity expert with legions of fans and a bestselling book under his belt, and he's poised to break through to mainstream corporate America. In the meantime, his GTD (Getting Things Done) program is already changing the way people think about work flow. BNET explored the Allen mythos to find out who he is and why his followers swear by his techniques. We also explain how to get started using his program, talk to Allen himself, and interview three senior managers who use GTD to make their staffs more productive.

Update: CNET interviewed David Allen at the 2007 Under the Radar conference.
Watch the video.

Take a look at David's Video which concentrates on refining your focus and concentration on the tasks that need to get done as opposed to time management.

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