Accountability: conflict arising from lack of; creating, without rewards and consequences; experts and; having a boss’s help with; lack of, for performance; and meetings; for superstars; time management and; when direct reports have other bosses
Action plans: creating realistic; drilling down. See also Contingency planning; Project planning
Action taking, analysis of
Action trees
Activity logs
Adapting and improvising
Advanced management seminars
Anger, addressing
Attitude adjustment, employees who need an
Attitudes: challenges of managing; difficulty defining; expression of; of go-to people; importance of
Audits
Automated menu-driven systems, use of
Autonomy, key to
Autopilot, managing on
Average performers: attention paid to; neglecting; setting aside time for, along with other performers
B
Back-up planning
Benchmarks, setting, in project planning
Best managers, common denominator among
Blamers and complainers
Blind spots, awareness of
Bosses: and getting them on board with your new management style; having other/multiple, problem of
Bottom-line results, improved
Brainstorming sessions: to develop ready-made solutions and create job aids; to identify risk factors for change; as a new manager
Break-takers, chatterbox
Bullying
Business results, achieving, from practicing the fundamentals
Business-outcomes improvement
C
Case study method, teaching application of the
Causes and effects, seeing the connection between
Chain of command: effectively using your; establishing a; focusing the fundamentals on your
Change: constancy of, as a factor in problems; future; leading people through, three pillars of; pace of; pressures from; scope of; toughest type of; and uncertainty, constant, managing in an environment of; unforeseen, as toughest to deal with
Change leadership
Change masters
Character flaws, unfixable
Chatterbox break-takers
Checking in. See Touching base
Checklists, using: derived from emails; for improving quality; in multiple languages; as an organizational tool; for problem solving; as a reminder of expectations
Cliques and ringleaders
“Code of conduct”
Commitment: demonstrated, identifying new prospects for leadership roles based on; renewing your, to being a strong leader
Commitments: delivering on, as go-to people; making specific
Communication: desire for improved; impact of technology on; interpersonal, employees who need help with; lines of, keeping open, importance of; problems with, as the common denominator; shifting, away from team-meeting format to one-on-ones; what often passes for structured or substantive. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Communication habits: changing, over time, method of; gap analysis of
Communication practices: of complainers and blamers; of debaters; of entanglers; expression of attitude in; of porcupines; of stink-bomb throwers
Communication style, changing, example of
Competing assignments
Complacency
Complainers and blamers
Complexity, minefield of
Conflict: between/among individuals on your team; over competing assignments; unresolved
Conflicting rules
Constants, reminding people of
Contingency planning
Continuous improvement: ensuring; mantra of; ongoing, maintaining; working toward
Control, forces outside your. See Forces outside your control
Controlling what you can, focusing on
Conversations: avoiding, about attitude, reasons behind; crucial; routine, improving. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Cooperation and assistance, getting needed
Corporate order
Creative work, employees doing
Cross-functional teams, having responsibility for, effect of, on creating an expertise gap
Crucial conversations
Culture, workplace
Culture and language differences, managing across
Customer service
Customizing jobs
D
Deadlines: missing, addressing; and task requirements, meeting, when direct reports have other bosses
Debaters
Decision making: analysis of; failures at; masters of; and priority-setting; ready-made solutions eliminating the need for
Decision trees
Delays, dealing with
Delegating responsibility, effect of, on expertise gap
Delegation 101
Dialogue, essential. See One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Disengaged employees, renewing management relationship with
Diversity, impact of
Diversity gap, bridging a
Dream job, offering superstars a
Drilling down
E
E-communication practices, bad, addressing
Emailing: before and after meetings; conducting managing conversations by; daily; follow-up; recapping by; too much
Emotional responses, in conversations about attitude
Employee assistance program (EAP) or resources
Employment market
Employment relationships: limited way of looking at; nature of; transactional aspects of, taking care of
Engagement: renewing; rules of
Engaging superstars
Entanglers
Error rate, determining. See also Quality
Existing teams: going from peer to leader of; taking over leadership of, from the outside; welcoming new members to
Expectations: framing, in terms of concrete actions; making clear; making experts complicit in spelling out; refocusing on, for employees dealing with personal issues; setting high
Expertise gap, managing performance despite an
“Extra mile, going the,” getting employees to start making an effort at
“Extra mile” list, creating and using
F
Facilitation, influencing through
False sense of security
Feedback: candid and ongoing, providing; course-correcting; lack of meaningful and ongoing; negative, avoiding, about attitudes, reasons behind; subjective; for superstars. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Feelings, as internal and intangible
Fight-or-flight response
Firefighting: and forces outside of the manager’s control; problem of; reducing time spent on
Firing employees
Flexibility: manager, importance of; providing, for superstars; of schedule/coverage, variation in
Fluid staffing strategy
Followership, teaching
Follow-up discussions. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Follow-up emails, use of
Forced-ranking initiatives
Forces outside your control: blaming; factors involving, inevitable challenges from common; managing despite, challenges of
Formal reviews, issue with
Former employees, staying in touch with
Friendships, when going from peer to leader
Fundamentals of management: as all that you need; applying, importance of; benefit of practicing; coaching managers at every level on; commitment to; as a common denominator among best managers; as a complex and difficult art to practice; described; failure to practice, with excellence; getting back to, obstacles to; mastering, as a lifelong enterprise; staying closely committed to; sticking close to; and the undermanagement epidemic. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
G
Gap analyses
Generation X
Generational diversity, managing
Globalization, impact of
Goals, focusing on: with experts; for people doing creative work; teaching time management and
“Going the extra mile,” getting employees to start making an effort at
Good judgment, teaching
“Good news!” management speech
Gorman, Frank
Go-to people, developing
Great attitude: changing bad communication habits that mar a; clearly defining; effects of; of go-to people; and making it a performance requirement
Ground rules, setting
H
Habits: changing, over time, method of; ingraining bad, through repetition
Headhunters
Hiders
High performers: cultivating and developing; ensuring experts are; habits of; improvement of, with recognition without rewards; increased retention of; lack of recognition and reward for; recognizing and rewarding; setting aside time for, along with other performers. See also Superstars
Highly structured dialogue: defined; details of. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Highly substantive dialogue: commitment to; defined; details of; maintaining. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
High-quality communication. See One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Hit-the-ground-running approach, issue with
Honeymoon period
Human nature, as a factor in problems
I
Improvising and adapting
Incentives, providing
Influence, using, to get cooperation
Information assets, documenting
Information management systems: bad, making the most of; developing new; employees who are not using, dealing with
Initiative, employees taking
Innovation, real
Intelligence gathering
Interdependency: as a constant; distinguishing entangling from; as a factor in problems; growing; managing through
Interpersonal communication employees who need help with
Interpersonal conflict. See Conflict
Interrupters, dealing with
Interruption, management by
Interview-style one-on-ones
J
Job aids, using
Job security
Job shadowing
Judgment, helping employees improve their
K
Knowledge: existing, building on, for real innovation; work, employees who know more than you in terms of
Leadership transitions, frequency of. See also New manager
Leadership vacuum effect of a
Learning: extra layer of, as a new manager from the outside; job-specific, as a new manager from the outside; from mistakes, as a way of learning problem solving, issue with; in order to manage experts, as essential; from work experiences, developing problem-solving skills by
Learning curve, as a new manager
Learning experience, deep-dive, constructing your own
Learning mission
Learning objectives: for new team members; for teaching yourself as a new manager from the outside
Listening: best practices for, teaching; carefully; reinforcing that you are
Logistical hurdles, managing around
Loners
Low performers: attention paid to; ensuring experts are not; hiding out; letting go of; with nowhere to hide; setting aside time for, along with other performers; setting consequences for, having a boss’s help in; turnover of; who leave
Loyalty, value placed on
M
Management approach, calibrating and recalibrating your
Management career track, effect of, on creating an expertise gap
Management challenges, being prepared to face, importance of. See also specific type of challenge
Management 101 fundamentals. See Fundamentals of management
Management relationships: common denominator when things go wrong with; renewing your
Management renewal, challenges of
Management style, renewing your
Manager effectiveness, improved
Managerial demands
Managing Generation X (Tulgan)
Managing people, difficulty of
Mapping: action; process
Mastery
Meetings: initial, ending; making the most of, guidelines for, teaching; mediocre; unscheduled, avoiding interrupters and; by video phone; and what they’re good for. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality; Team meetings
Menu-driven systems, automated, use of
Micro-gap analysis
Micromanaging, being accused of
Military
Mindfulness, practicing
Mistakes, learning from, as a way of learning problem solving, issue with
New leaders: prospects as, identifying; supporting and guiding; temporary, developing. See also Leadership development
New manager: being the, challenges of; bringing together a new team as the; coming from the outside as the; day one as the, critical missions for; establishing yourself as the; going from peer to leader as the; implications of being the, to those you will manage; questions to continue asking yourself as the; starting off strong as the; welcoming new team members as their
New team members, welcoming, to your existing team
New teams, bringing together
Note-taking: encouraging, to improve quality; habit of, benefits from
O
Observable behavior, attitudes as, focusing on
Obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCD)
Onboarding: as a new leader from the outside; as a new manager; of new team members
One-on-one dialogue, high-quality: commitment to, benefits of; customized approach for; defined; details of building and maintaining; first, scheduling your; as key; key players engaging in, with new team members; maintaining; and management renewal; and managing attitudes; and managing despite forces outside your control; and managing performance; and managing superstars; as a new manager; parameters of, discussing, as most important; preliminary schedule for, working on; purpose of building and maintaining; shifting away from team-meeting format to; and teaching self-management; transitioning to. See also Fundamentals of management
Open door policy
Operating procedures. See Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Organization: employees who need to improve their; failures at; masters of
Orientation: added challenge to, as the new manager of a new team; extra layer of, as a new manager from the outside; intensive, on cultural customs and communication; of new team members
“Other boss” problem
Outcomes desired. See Goals, focusing on
Outcomes improvement. See Business-outcomes improvement
P
Paper trails
Parameters, using, for managing creative work
Pay-for-performance initiatives
Peer, going from, to leader
People List, use of
Performance: attitude and; and custom work situations for superstars; documenting conversations about; fundamentals in managing; increased; managing, challenges of; need for managing; problems with, neglecting, example of; taking charge of managing, example of
Performance coach, being the, meaning of
Performance evaluations
Performance improvement plans
Performance indicators, opaque
Performance measurement
Performance measures, clear, starting with
Performance metrics: good, need for; use of
Performance reviews, formal, issue with
Performance standards: clear, starting with; experts and; holding everybody to high, when direct reports have other bosses; for interpersonal communication; refocusing on, for employees dealing with personal issues; reminding everyone of, as part of managing conflict
Performance tracking: automatic, based on numbers, issue with; continuous; lack of, effects of; maintaining; as a new manager; ongoing, based on actual performance, need for; and paper trails; researching; scrutinizing and; when direct reports have other bosses
Playing favorites, addressing, with other employees
Point-by-point emails, sending
Porcupines
Practice drills, doing
Priority-setting
Problem solving: advanced skill in, building; coaching on; employees who need to get better at; failures at; when to use meetings for
Problems: and letting them slide; ready-made solutions to; small, addressing; that you commonly hear from complainers and blamers
Productivity: attitude and; balancing quality with; conflict and; expecting improvement in; increasing, having employees who need to be; maintaining, during waiting periods; and quality, constant tension between; recurring obstacles to, accounting for; tracking, compared to quality
Productivity decline
Project planning
Psychological preparation
Punishment: holding employees accountable without; need for
Q
Quality: attitude and; balancing productivity with; expecting improvement in; improving, having employees who need to be; meaning of; monitoring, as speed increases; obsessive-compulsive behavior vs. attention to details and; and productivity, constant tension between; tracking, compared to productivity
Quality decline
Questions: answering, as they come up; brainstorming, as a new manager; commonly asked, problem with; to continue asking yourself about change; to continue asking yourself as a new manager; good, asking; pointed, asking; probing, asking, when managing experts; right vs. rhetorical; unanswered, addressing
Quick hiring strategy
R
RainmakerThinking, Inc.
Ranking employees
Recapping
Reciprocal go-to relationships, developing
Recognition: need for; providing; when direct reports have other bosses
Reflection, teaching employees to stop for
Reinventing the wheel
Relationship-building, focusing on the shared work in
Relationships: change in, when going from peer to leader; continuity in, issue of; impact of technology on; new, building, need for; reciprocal, with go-to people, developing; of trust and confidence. See also Employment relationships; Management relationships
Remote locations, managing
Repetition, issue with
Replacement behavior, adopting and reinforcing
Replacement players, dealing with
Resource planning
Resource proposals, doing
Resource-needs inventory
Resources, tightly constrained: as a constant; as a factor in problems; managing under; pressure of; retaining superstars despite
Responsibility: delegating, effect of, on expertise gap; as manager
Results: business, achieving, from practicing the fundamentals; effect of attitudes on
Retention: attitude and; increased; of superstars
Retraining, providing
Rewards: disproportionately weighted to productivity; holding employees accountable without; improved performance without; need for; providing; when direct reports have other bosses
Ringleaders and cliques
Rough drafts, use of
Routine conversations, improving. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
S
Schedule: employees unable to live by a, addressing; realistic, making a; variation in flexibility of
Scrimmages, use of
Second opinions, seeking, when managing experts
Self-assessments, use of, during team meetings
Self-management, teaching: challenges of; focus in; is a leadership coup; need for
Self-monitoring tools, use of
Self-profiling assessments
Shared experience, purpose of
Shared work, relationship-building that focuses on
Shooting the breeze. See Touching base
Sneaking out early, addressing
Solutions, ready-made, providing and ensuring use of
Speed demons
Spot-checking work
Standard operating procedures (SOPs): lack of clear and regularly enforced; new, creating; playbooks becoming; providing, for direct reports with other/multiple bosses; superstars annotating; using, in times of change
Start-up situations. See also New teams, bringing together
Stink-bomb throwers (SBTs)
Streamlining processes
Stress
Strong leader: coming on too strong as a, when going from peer to leader; establishing yourself as a; renewing your commitment to being a; starting off as a
Structure, using, to manage people doing creative work
Succession planning
Superstars: and accountability; cost of losing; creating; demand for; engaging; fear of losing; as high standard-setters; investing in; knowing you are going to lose, handling; managing, challenges of; moving, to the next level; neglect of; negotiating with; recognizing and rewarding; rehiring; retaining; return on investment from, continuing to get a, even if they leave; turnover of; typical managerial approach to; value of; and why they leave. See also High performers
Supply chain research
T
Tactical preparation
Talent. See High performers; Superstars
Talking daily. See also One-on-one dialogue, high-quality
Talk-too-muchers
Tardiness, addressing
Team dynamics, shift in, with addition of a new member
Team meetings: brainstorming sessions for; first, introductory sessions for; holding a series of, as a new manager from the outside; inaugural; making the most of; pivoting discussion in; regular; renewal; second, focus of; third, focus of
Team member roles and responsibilities: defining; tangential, effect of, on expertise gap
Team-building: off-site, issue with; onsite, as part of the first team meeting
Teams: cross-functional, having responsibility for, effect of, on expertise gap; new, bringing together. See also Existing teams
Technical career track, effect of, on expertise gap
Technical superstars, developing, as new leaders
Technology: future of; impact of
Telephone use
Third opinions, seeking, when managing experts
Time: drains on, typical; investment of, as a hurdle; reducing, spent on firefighting; setting aside, for managing; spent getting drawn into employee personal issues, repercussions of; spent on formal reviews; tug-of-war over; value of
Time budget, creating a
Time frames, using, to manage people doing creative work
Time logs, maintaining
Time management: employees who have a hard time with; masters of
Time requirements, really understanding, importance of
Time wasters, identifying and eliminating
Time-and-motion studies
Timelines: creating, for resource planning; setting clear, for deliverables
Touching base
Training, lack of
Transactional employment market
Transactional relationship, taking care of the
Transformational leadership
Translation aids, providing
Translators and guides, providing
Troubleshooters
Troubleshooting mode
Trust
Turnover: attitude and; conflict and; of low performers; of superstars
U
Uncertainty: constant change and, managing in an environment of; too much, pressures from
Undermanagement: defined; effects of; indicator of; and where it hides
Undermanagement epidemic
Unfixable behavior
Unfixable character flaws
Unforeseen changes, as toughest to deal with
Unnecessary tasks, addressing
U.S. Armed Forces
U.S. Army
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
U.S. Peace Corps
V
Vicious cycle: breaking free of; staying ahead of, as a hurdle; stuck in, described
Video phone, meetings by
W
“Waiting for Mr. Delay” problem
Watching work
Weak leader, establishing yourself as a
Work: asking others about an employee’s; comparing experts doing similar, as a reality check; creative, defining; focusing on the, in performance coaching; impact of technology on; keeping dialogue focused on the, when addressing personal issues; keeping everyone focused on the common ground of; new team members shadowing employees doing related; shared, relationship-building that focuses on; spot-checking an employee’s; watching employees at
Work experiences, learning from, developing problem-solving skills by
Work knowledge, employees who know more than you in terms of
Workarounds
Workplace: culture of the; friendships in the, and setting boundaries; growing interdependency of the; research on the, findings from