Communication

Leading Teams: Enforcing policies you don’t like

January 1, 2004
No managers like to enforce policies they don’t support themselves. But doing so is an essential skill for team leaders.

Help workers ask for what they need

January 1, 2004
Every manager’s dealt with demanding and unreasonable employees. But every manager’s also dealt with workers whose demands are reasonable — but who are afraid to ask the boss (that’s you) for what they need. Here are some ways you can help:

Practice the four R’s of ‘power listening’

January 1, 2004
Power listening is listening with empathy, putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, and responding with what you understand the other person has said. The best way to become a power listener is to develop the specific skills of active listening, especially the “four R’s”:

Set meeting agendas that work

January 1, 2004
A well-prepared agenda can make all the difference in making meetings productive. Some pointers:

Managing workplace conflict wisely

June 1, 2003
Conflict resolution may be the single most common supervisory task faced by managers and team leaders. Here’s some proven advice to help you create a team that moves forward and can manage its own conflicts.

How to tell team to rework a project

November 1, 2000
It’s difficult to tell solid performers that their hard work on a project isn’t quite good enough. How do you ask team members to take another crack at a project without demotivating them?

Communicate better: 3 tips

August 1, 1998
Try these techniques to drill home an important point to your staff.

The art of defending yourself

August 1, 1997
While it’s often true that the best defense is a powerful offense, that’s not enough. You also want to keep cool and present yourself as a confident, fair-minded executive. Here’s how.