management
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How to Tell if Your Team Is Really Agile Agile teams run like a well-oiled machine, so it’s important to take a look at your group and assess just how agile it really is. What fixable problems might you be experiencing that are jamming up the system, causing the process to run slower than it needs to? |
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When to Disclose Bad News to Employees An issue that often arises in organizational change is when to tell employees about something they're likely to view as bad news. Sometimes managers are forced to keep bad news to themselves, but if that's not the case, it's better—and more honest—from the employees' perspective to share it earlier. |
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The Challenge of Being the Intermediary Within every team, people have different methods of tackling problems. Some strive to solve a problem within its bounds, while on the other end of the spectrum, others redefine the problem. Smack in the middle: the intermediary. Though it's tough, this role is important in bridging the two sides. |
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How to Criticize with Kindness The word "criticize" has such a negative connotation that it seems like a contradiction to talk about doing it with kindness. But being nice when giving feedback will make someone you disagree with more receptive to listening to your perspective. And that approach can help minimize conflict at work. |
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Unlimited Vacation Policies: Pro or Con? The idea behind offering unlimited vacation seems to be to build trust by giving salaried employees flexibility about time off and a greater chance of achieving a good work-life balance. But it's too soon to say whether such a policy actually works. Would you take advantage of unlimited vacation? |
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Who Is Responsible for Happiness? No one can take full responsibility for another person's happiness. However, a manager can create an environment in which a team can thrive, and that leads to happy environments. Being a servant leader means you don’t micromanage; you manage for outcomes. Is team happiness part of your culture? |
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“Post-Heroic” Leaders and Agile Teams Self-organizing agile teams still need management, but they need a different kind of management from the autocratic style many teams in nonagile organizations have. A "post-heroic" leader is able to shift from an authoritative manner to a collaborative one as needed to optimize team performance. |
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Two Tales of Sloppy Service (and Their Very Different Outcomes) This story details two tales of sloppy service—but they have very different endings. In one case, the company representative refuses to acknowledge error or make up for inconvenience, but in the second, the rep apologizes and goes above and beyond to make it up. Which do you think retains customers? |
