Mind of the Manager

What works and what doesn't in the workplace

by Victor Lipman

Management Lessons From the World's Best Boss

Now that "The Office" has closed its doors, some management counsel inspired by Michael Scott. Embrace your Inner Lunatic... Read More

The World's Most Active Twitter Country?

What country is it? Hint: Its citizens can't use Twitter... Read More

How To Fire Someone Effectively But (Hopefully) With Dignity

No one likes to do it, but sometimes it needs to be done. Management tips on how to fire someone fairly, with less risk and more empathy. Read More

The Disturbing Link Between Psychopathy and Leadership

How prevalent are psychopaths in the ranks of business leadership? Research suggests the incidence is considerably higher than the 1 percent incidence in the general population. Read More

A Quiet Person's Guide to Effective Public Speaking

Three things I can say with certainty: 1) Most normal people start off fearing it. 2) It's one of the most valuable business skills you'll ever have. 3) It's a skill that most definitely can be learned. Read More

10 Business Cliches to Avoid Like the Plague

I love the language of business. I admire its complete unwillingness to acknowledge negativity except in the most oblique and disingenuous terms. My 10 favorite business phrases and what they actually mean... Read More

How to Manage Conflict at Work

Effectively managing conflict is arguably the hardest thing a manager has to do. Most people just prefer not to deal with conflict. But a consistent, rational approach can make a difficult job less stressful. Read More

Why Are Good Managers Hard To Find?

The skill sets that go into making someone an effective manager aren't easy to find rolled into one person. Read More

5 Easy Ways To Motivate - and Demotivate - Employees

One easy way to motivate? Take a genuine interest in the future path of an employee's career. And demotivate? Be "emotionally stingy." Plus others... Read More

The Problem Isn't Telecommuting—It's Management

Telecommuting has great benefits, but recent controversies at Yahoo and Best Buy place a spotlight on the challenges of managing it. Read More

What Business Leaders Can Learn from Point Guards

With March Madness almost upon us, it's a good time to reflect that point guards possess many qualities highly valued in business - including vision, collaboration, team building and risk management. Read More

Simple Steps to Shorter, Saner Meetings

One common problem with meetings is unclear objectives. If you're not exactly sure what you're trying to accomplish, you can be sure it won't happen quickly. Read More

Why Employee Development is Important but Neglected

Research shows development opportunities make a difference in retaining bright young talent. Read More

How Companies Are Preparing For Climate Change

Forward-thinking companies are taking constructive steps steps to anticipate climate change and mitigate its impact. This new but growing discipline is known as Climate Resilience. Read More

New Data Shows Depth of Employee Discontent

Study reveals that fewer than one in four non-management employees is "engaged," or working fully productively. Read More

The Fairness Flaw: Why 'Fair' Managers Often Falter

Is it possible that too much fairness can work against business leaders in their careers? Unfortunately, yes. Read More

What Congress Can Learn From the Shepherdess of Elk River

"When it seemed impossible to deal with people, I found compromise invaluable in working things through. No one likes to deal with a rule-or-ruin sort of person." Read More

The Beauty of Brevity

I've long been a fan of short. Have you ever heard anyone complain... that a meeting was just not long enough? Read More

In Praise of Praise

Companies tend to spend a great deal of time setting up complicated recognition programs. My own perspective is that what is really needed are well-trained managers who provide praise, where appropriate, on a regular basis. Read More

Respect, Not Friendship, is What a Manager Needs

While rapport between manager and employee is always desirable and can help elicit strong performance, if that rapport crosses over into friendship, it can easily compromise a person's ability to manage objectively. Read More

Take Care of Your People and They'll Take Care of You

Even in the worst of times, if your employees believe you genuinely care about their well being, you’ll have the best chance of eliciting their best performance. Read More

One Essential Quality Successful Executives Can't Do Without

One quality that helps guide you through difficult times isn't a sexy one. It's not as cool as charisma or confidence or command-a-room communication skills. But over the long run it may be even more important. Read More

13 Questions to Ask Yourself at the End of Your Career

Did I learn from the mistakes I made, or did I continue to make them? (Being only human, you'll make a few. I made so many, can no longer remember the first 100 or so.) Read More

Small Things Make a Big Difference in Employee Engagement

Here are five small, easy things managers can do - surprisingly often neglected - that can make a positive difference in a manager-employee relationship. Read More

The Simplest Way for Leaders to Gain Lasting Loyalty

As a leader, you're being studied all the time by many, many people. If they sense your scruples vaguely resemble those of a timber rattler, when they finally get the chance they'll undercut you. If you're a person they genuinely admire, they'll follow you anywhere. Read More

A Solid Foundation for Sound Management? Clear Objectives

Confused expectations are the shoals on which manager-employee relationships too often founder. But get these objectives right, and management becomes a considerably easier task. Read More

How To Make Employee Reviews Constructive, Not Demotivating

Annual employee performance evaluations aren't just a one-time, one-hour meeting, but something to substantively prepare for. Significant thought should go into it - not just about top-line results... but what are the key messages you want to convey and what is the overall feeling you'd like the employee to leave the meeting with? Read More

How to Manage Employees With ADD/ADHD

Being easily distracted can naturally interfere with the timely completion of tasks. More frequent check-ins from managers, or computer-based reminders, for example, can help keep projects moving at the desired pace. Read More

The Joy Of Feeling Valued

Time after time I've observed how small gestures of recognition and encouragement can change attitudes from disgruntled to pleased (or at least okay) in the blink of a manager's eye. Read More

An Open Letter to Anyone Ever Laid Off

As one who's at times been in the middle of these operations as a former corporate executive, I can safely say, in the midst of Major Layoff Mode, it's never a purely rational play. It's a jungle out there. It's the random chaos of the universe. It's grinding historic economic forces at work. Most of all, at the end of the day, it's every dog for himself. Read More

Victor Lipman recently retired from the corporate world after 25 years with one of America's largest life insurance companies. He writes about management from a psychological perspective.

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