When it comes to accountability, it’s not enough to chant the slogan around the office and hope people get it. Asserting that you’re the type of boss who holds people accountable isn’t enough to do the…
Nate works as a manufacturing manager in a major company that makes truck steering systems. To do his job, he regularly collaborates across the organization, whether it’s with purchasing or quality or engineering. One of his…
There are volumes of research that have attempted to distinguish between leaders, managers, and supervisors: Leaders focus on the big picture, managers focus on details, and supervisors focus on carrying out the details. Leaders inspire, managers…
One of the most insidious pieces of advice in modern management is to “stay out of your employees’ way” and “let them do their best work”. The intention is to display trust in the people working…
Despite how unique your management challenges may seem, the common denominator is likely unstructured, low-substance, hit-or-miss communication. When things are going wrong in a management relationship, that is usually at least part of the cause. What…
After huge recent fluctuations in the job market—and despite ongoing downsizing, restructuring, and reengineering—unemployment is at record lows and employers are facing more severe talent shortages than any time since we at RainmakerThinking began our workplace…
Whether you are hiring young people on the high end or the lower end of the talent spectrum, my guess is that you need to increase your supply of new job applicants. How can you do…
These are some of the things that today’s young people are telling us in interviews: “They act like their power is unquestionable, but anyone can be cancelled overnight.” “My boss doesn’t fully trust me to work…
Our research shows that when things are going wrong in a management relationship, almost always, the common denominator is unstructured, low substance, hit-or-miss communication. With the added complications of managing some combination of remote, hybrid, and…
Remote work is not going away. The hybrid workforce is here to stay. Some people are choosing to work from home indefinitely. Many are working some combination of from-home and in-office. “Remote management” is now a…
