Mistake #8 – Failing to Make the Tough Decisions As the leader of your business, there are many people counting on you. There are some problems that only you, as the leader, can solve, and they simply will not get …
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Desmond Clancy
Corporate Training Manager
Patterson Companies
Mistake #7 – Leading the Group A common mistake made by managers is assuming they can lead the group. The group being led is certainly the outcome you are working towards, but to build your leadership strategy based on economies …
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Mistake #6 – Hire Too Quickly, Fire Too Slowly As busy as you are, having the “right people on the bus” is important to your business. A common mistake managers make is acting too quickly on hiring decisions based on …
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Mistake #5 – Creating the Perception of Favoritism As a manager, you will connect with some employees better than others. While this is perfectly natural, these connections can lead to friction with other members of the team, as they can …
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Mistake #4 – Failing to Set Goals and Expectations It’s simple…when people don’t have a complete and accurate understanding of their goals and expectations, they are less productive. Research tells us that approximately 80% of performance issues are due to …
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Mistake #3 – Not Delegating One of the biggest challenges for leaders is “letting go” of tasks and responsibilities that could be more efficiently handled by members of the team. As a business owner and/or manager, you are always managing …
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Mistake #2 – Lack of Feedback It is imperative that you consistently provide feedback to your team. People want to know how they are doing. As a manager, you need them to know how they are doing. People want to …
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Initially, I was going to direct this blog series at “new” managers by capturing some of the mistakes they make and distilling them down to those that are most common. After writing an initial draft, I shared what I had …
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For many people, the terms “management” and “leadership” are interchangeable. While I believe there is some overlap, these two concepts are mostly mutually exclusive and are markedly different skills. While few people excel at both, both are critical to one’s …
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Most employees want to know how they are doing. As a manager, you need them to know how they are doing. When they are doing their job well, they want their manager to acknowledge their contribution. When they are not …
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People learn during “teachable moments.” As a manager you need to be there to catch them performing well or performing poorly so you can capitalize on that opportunity. However, it is not enough just to “catch them.” People will only …
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Most people’s reaction to their manager saying “Could you come here for a minute? I would like to give you some feedback” is not a positive one. That’s because many managers fail at one of the most basic (notice I …
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A constant challenge for any manager is managing the performance of employees. We evaluate their technical proficiency, their ability to engage customers and their ability to work as a part of a team. When our employees come up short of …
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Building culture within the workplace means more than just creating an enjoyable place for your staff to work. A strong culture creates an atmosphere in which the attitudes and behaviors of the people that make up your team, office or …
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Being an effective communicator is critical to being successful in any profession. The single most important communication skill one can possess is, at best, taken for granted and for many, ignored: listening. For many, listening is simply waiting for your …
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The success of any business is largely determined by how motivated its employees are to effectively and efficiently carry out the primary responsibilities of their role. Motivated employees are engaged, committed and productive. Motivation is the key to creating an …
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