Manager’s Toolbox

Management guru Peter Drucker wrote over twenty years ago, “We have a dearth of leadership”. He prophesied the lost art of servant leadership that we face today..

By keeping you focused on small actionable objectives, you can accomplish the daily goals which translate into long-term goals. These are some of the best-recommended productivity tools for you to try..

Asking questions to gather knowledge is a major learning method for employees at all levels of an organization, and it a major responsibility of the manager to help them..

The new hire comes in for the first day on the job, resolved to do a great job, to make a difference, to prove that the company made a great hiring decision, and to make a great first impression to everyone in the company. So, with a deep breath, she gets out of her car … Read more

It’s never fun having to lay off workers, particularly those who are loyal and have been with the company for a long time. However, there are things you can do to handle the situation more effectively, and to ensure you don’t end up with laid-off employees who are badmouthing the company to everyone they speak … Read more

Whether you’re a teacher or an administrator, you have the ability to help your school by cultivating leadership skills and becoming a formal or informal leader. .

There are a lot of articles bemoaning the fact that employees aren’t engaged. These articles explain why employees may disengage from their organization. They don’t necessarily identify a framework to help those organizations become and remain attractive to their employees. According to Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones in their book, Why Should Anyone Work Here?, … Read more

Starting with a lean Key Performance Indicator (KPI) methodology is the simple and practical way for the beginner, the busy, and the budget-constrained to measure what matters for business performance. Ultimately, I will always advocate that a robust performance measurement methodology is critical for every organisation to master. If we can’t know how well what … Read more

Does company loyalty exist anymore? The definition of company loyalty has certainly changed over the years..

Each type of motivation entails a different set of characteristics. Here are some of the most important ones..

If a company is to be truly effective, the organizational chart should be upside down with the leader at the bottom..

The saying goes; absence makes the heart grow fonder. While that may be true in some cases, another old saying is also true: Out of sight, out of mind. Both hold shades of truth for any of us wanting to communicate more effectively with people when we are separated by space. More often though, the second … Read more

My mother always said, “To end well, you must begin well.” Of course, she was talking about how you separated clothes for the washing machine or how you chose vegetables at the market. But it’s also true when it comes to creating a resilient, sustainable workforce. The questions you ask in the recruiting phase will … Read more

A great place to start improving your management skills is by developing the ability to empathize with others. Many years ago I worked in an organization that was very task focused (to say the least). Whenever we tried to introduce some training or new processes that weren’t task related (e.g. interpersonal skills or management skills … Read more

Working with a dysfunctional team is one of the most difficult situations a manager can face. Faith Monson provides some useful tips to defuse a toxic workplace..

What exactly is respect and how does it differ from courtesy? Find out in this article by Dr Laura Olcelli and Robert Ace..

People cannot be made to change their behavior. However, there are techniques that you can use to better deal with them when they are exhibiting difficult behavior..