Manager Tools
Manager Tools is a weekly business podcast that helps professionals become more effective managers and leaders. Each episode provides specific actions for listeners to take to achieve their management and career objectives. The podcast has won multiple awards, including Best Business Podcast in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012, as well as the People's Choice Award in 2008.
Episodes
Culture - Chapter 3 - Performance!
There's always a lot of talk by a lot of so-called experts about culture. That's because they define culture any way they want. That way they can say whatever they want. But some cultures are better than others, regardless of any definition those experts apply.
Give Positive Feedback Just For Doing Their Job! - Part 2
The vast majority of things that happen in your organization are good. Otherwise your company would go out of business. But most managers think their job (and it's a part they hate) is to give negative feedback. They have it backwards. The road to be able to give negative feedback and have it be effective is through positive feedback. And we're putting too high a bar on what behaviors deserve fe
Give Positive Feedback Just For Doing Their Job! - Part 1
The vast majority of things that happen in your organization are good. Otherwise your company would go out of business. But most managers think their job (and it's a part they hate) is to give negative feedback. They have it backwards. The road to be able to give negative feedback and have it be effective is through positive feedback. And we're putting too high a bar on what behaviors deserve feed
Sourcing And Your Bench
If you have a good network, with some of those in your network on your bench, you can shorten your hiring process and increase the chances of a successful hire.
How To Work With Competencies
There's an organizational tool, almost always used by Human Resources, called competencies. Even though it's a fairly popular model for thinking about professional development, it's a terrible system we don't recommend. But if you have to use competencies, here's how.
Presenting Mistakes - Chapter 2 - Rigidity
One of the most common presenting failures is being too rigid in one's preparation and delivery. If you're not well prepared, and therefore flexible, your rigidity can cause your message to not be persuasive.
Company Change With A Promotion Is Unlikely - For Managers - Part 2
Many professionals think that one way to keep their career moving upwards is to change companies. Unfortunately, this is a relatively rare occurrence.
Company Change With A Promotion Is Unlikely - For Managers - Part 1
Many professionals think that one way to keep their career moving upwards is to change companies. Unfortunately, this is a relatively rare occurrence.
Teaching Your Directs How To Interview - Chapter 1 - Basics - Part 2
The Manager Tools Interview Process recommends having your direct reports interview candidates who would become their peers. Here's how to teach your directs to be Effective Interviewers.
Teaching Your Directs How To Interview - Chapter 1 - Basics - Part 1
The Manager Tools Interview Process recommends having your direct reports interview candidates who would become their peers. Here's how to teach your directs to be Effective Interviewers.
Presenting Failures - Chapter 1 - Front Of The Room Behaviors
Too many managers, and the majority of execs, too, are TERRIBLE at presenting. But getting good at presenting is just like getting good at managing. Since everyone else is so terrible, all you have to do not be terrible. And that means doing a lot of small, simple things the right way.
Top 10 Hiring Mistakes - #6 - The Warm Body Problem
There is a 3-Body Problem in Classical Mechanics. That one cannot be solved. But hiring managers are also afflicted with *The Warm Body Problem.* But this one is easily solved.
Job Requirements - Beware The Ratchet!
You may not realize it, but your company makes it increasingly harder to find qualified candidates without intending to. How does it do that? With The Hiring Requirements Ratchet. Why does it do that? Because it can, and it has a short memory.
Fill The Vacuum! - Communicate Your Vision - Chapter 1
If your people say they don't know what's going on strategically, or operationally, **it's your fault.** You can fill that void with your own vision and communications.
Network Building - The St. Jude Rule
Do you know what it's like to lose a job? Get fired? Get laid off? If you don't, that's good. But more people who go through it wish more people who haven't did a better job of helping. When it happens to you, it's easy to feel lonely and afraid. St. Jude - the Patron Saint of Lost Causes - tells us what to do for those going through those hard times.
Building Peer Relationships - Part 2
When you're a manager, you're thinking of your team all the time. But remember you're a part of a team, too: your boss's team. You need to work on having good relationships with your peers so your boss can achieve her goals.
Building Peer Relationships - Part 1
When you're a manager, you're thinking of your team all the time. But remember you're a part of a team, too: your boss's team. You need to work on having good relationships with your peers so your boss can achieve her goals.
Top Ten Hiring Mistakes - #7 - Being Swayed
One of the most common mistakes of managers when hiring - it made our Top 10 list! - is being swayed by their directs into hiring someone that they weren't that impressed by. They always regret, they often write to us. Here's how to not fall prey to one of the most common hiring mistakes.
The Difference Between Line And Staff Leadership
Managers today are constantly besieged by requests and demands from above their level. But just because someone is "above" you in the org chart doesn't mean they can easily task you and your team. Here's how to make that a little easier.
Three Current Modern Management Scams - Part 2
This cast serves as a compendium of the biggest management scams of the 21st century. We have covered these topics extensively. But we know there are close to 2,000 podcasts so they might be hard to find.
Three Current Modern Management Scams - Part 1
This cast serves as a compendium of the biggest management scams of the 21st century. We have covered these topics extensively. But we know there are close to 2,000 podcasts so they might be hard to find.
Why Does HR Make It So Hard To Fire People? - Part 2
For over half a century, managers have been complaining: "HR won't let me fire this guy." This myth - and yes it is a myth - is so common that experienced managers teach it to new managers, and it affects entire firms' performance management systems much for the worse. The reason so many managers can't fire people is not because they can't. It's because they don't want to do it the right way, and
Why Does HR Make It So Hard To Fire People? - Part 1
For over half a century, managers have been complaining: "HR won't let me fire this guy." This myth - and yes it is a myth - is so common that experienced managers teach it to new managers, and it affects entire firms' performance management systems much for the worse. The reason so many managers can't fire people is not because they can't. It's because they don't want to do it the right way, and
How To Be A Positive Interviewer - Part 2
Too many managers make the mistake of thinking they have to be a "tough" interviewer. They think that interviewing is adversarial. They think they need to apply pressure to see how candidates react. But in fact, positive interviewing is much more effective, both in terms of outcomes and in terms of offer acceptance rates.
How To Be A Positive Interviewer - Part 1
Too many managers make the mistake of thinking they have to be a "tough" interviewer. They think that interviewing is adversarial. They think they need to apply pressure to see how candidates react. But in fact, positive interviewing is much more effective, both in terms of outcomes and in terms of offer acceptance rates.
Top 10 Hiring Mistakes - #8 - Unprepared - Part 2
If you want managing to be easier, learn to hire better. We've been saying it for two decades now. We normally put out positive guidance, about what to DO. In this series of casts, though, we address common misconceptions and mistakes most managers make when hiring. This guidance is about lack of preparation, which is an epidemic among managers. You can't be good at hiring if you're not good
Top 10 Hiring Mistakes - #8 - Unprepared - Part 1
If you want managing to be easier, learn to hire
Management Is An Organizational System
One of the most common things professionals say about managing is that they have a personal 'style.' But does that make sense? Is it reasonable to expect that with all the systems organizations employ, they should leave out how to manage others?
Development Plans Are Dumb (Hall of Fame Guidance)
Development plans for directs are constantly talked about. You've read about them in the business news, especially for less experienced employees. They're recommended by HR. They don't work!
Assumptive Goal Setting - HOF 2025
Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to think more creatively about annual planning goals.
How to Set Annual Goals - HOF 2025
Our Hall Of Fame guidance on how to start setting annual goals, and why we do not like "SMART" goals.
One On Ones - How Much Personal? (Hall of Fame Guidance)
Many managers are worried about talking about personal topics in One On Ones. They shouldn't be - it doesn't happen that often... and it's a sign of trust, too.
My Boss Doesn't Support Company Guidance
A manager is always obligated to support the organization, even if he or she disagrees with what the organization is doing. But what happens when your boss doesn't do that? Here's what to do.
Delivering the Performance Review - HOF 2025
Our Hall of Fame guidance on delivering a performance review.
Preparing Performance Reviews - HOF 2025
Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to prepare for performance reviews.
The Executive's Two Responsibilities (MT)
Executives and managers both have two core responsibilities that inform all else that they do. But the two key responsibilities are different between managers and executives. Managers manage; executives lead.
How To Present At A Conference - A Checklist - Part 2
At some point in your career, you're going to get to, or have to, present at a conference. There are some special considerations, and here they are.
How To Present At A Conference - A Checklist - Part 1
At some point in your career, you're going to get to, or have to, present at a conference. There are some special considerations, and here they are.
The Hip Pocket Presentation
Most managers don't know it, but if they want to further their career, they must always have a presentation in their hip pocket, ready to be given on no-notice. That's why it's called the Hip Pocket Presentation.
The Love Speech
For many years at our Effective Manager Conferences, Mark ended the day by giving what we came to call, "The Love Speech." Love matters in managing others. Here it is, for the record, for those who never got to hear it in person.
What To Do When You Get Promoted - Part 2
Promotions are exciting - congratulations! And now you have some work to do, but we will tell you exactly what and why and how.
What To Do When You Get Promoted - Part 1
Promotions are exciting - congratulations! And now you have some work to do, but we will tell you exactly what and why and how.
Career Insurance For Your Directs - Part 2
We recently re-released a Hall of Fame Career Tools cast about Building Your Network. That's only one part of a series of things everyone must do to manage their own careers. Everybody needs "Career Insurance." And too many managers don't educate their directs on what they have to do to be successful with their own careers management.
Career Insurance For Your Directs - Part 1
We recently re-released a Hall of Fame Career Tools cast about Building Your Network. That's only one part of a series of things everyone must do to manage their own careers. Everybody needs "Career Insurance." And too many managers don't educate their directs on what they have to do to be successful with their own careers management.
Google's Project Oxygen
We have mentioned, usually only briefly, Google's "Project Oxygen' for many years, in many podcasts. Now we tell the story - in part because we were there.
The Black Widow Mistake - Part 2 (Hall of Fame Guidance)
The Black Widow Mistake is named after the red, angular figure eight markings on the abdomen of the dangerous female black widow spider. The mistake that many aspiring executives make is to start narrowing their development at the same time that their executive role requires them to be thinking more broadly, including outside the organization. It can put a stop to your upward development.
The Black Widow Mistake - Part 1 (Hall of Fame Guidance)
The Black Widow Mistake is named after the red, angular figure eight markings on the abdomen of the dangerous female black widow spider. The mistake that many aspiring executives make is to start narrowing their development at the same time that their executive role requires them to be thinking more broadly, including outside the organization. It can put a stop to your upward development.
See One, Do One, Teach One
The way most managers develop their team is haphazard and neither efficient nor effective. How can we not develop our teams when doctors learn thousands and thousands of procedures, diagnoses, and surgeries in such little time? See One, Do One, Teach One. It's faster, and it works well if you're willing to delegate and give lots of negative feedback.
The Four Hidden Dangers of Not Delegating - Part 2
Too many managers fail to delegate sufficiently. In many cases, managers don't know how or what to delegate. But even when some managers have a sense of what and how, they don't delegate. This is often because they don't know the hidden dangers of NOT delegating!
The Four Hidden Dangers of Not Delegating - Part 1
Too many managers fail to delegate sufficiently. In many cases, managers don't know how or what to delegate. But even when some managers have a sense of what and how, they don't delegate. This is often because they don't know the hidden dangers of NOT delegating!
Proactive Reporting And The Bricklayer - Part 2
As managers get more responsibility, and potentially promotions to Senior Manager, they start feeling squeezed between the demands from above and the demands of running their org. The increases in requests for information from above take time to prepare for. The answer is to make your team's reporting more proactive.
Proactive Reporting And The Bricklayer - Part 1
As managers get more responsibility, and potentially promotions to Senior Manager, they start feeling squeezed between the demands from above and the demands of running their org. The increases in requests for information from above take time to prepare for. The answer is to make your team's reporting more proactive.
How To Go On Vacation - Part 2 - HOF 2025
Part 2 of our Hall of Fame guidance on how to plan for and take an effective vacation.
How To Go On Vacation - Part 1 - HOF 2025
Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to plan for and take an effective vacation.
20th Anniversary Cast
Welcome to a special episode of Manager Tools. Today, you're listening to the live recording of our 20th anniversary podcast, captured in front of a fantastic audience of managers and leaders just like you.
Building Your Bench - Chapter 1 - Part 2
Too many managers rely on HR to bring them candidates for their hiring needs. HR is a necessary part of sourcing candidates, and it's important to work with them. But there is often a disconnect, because they don't know your work or needs as well as you do. Effective managers build a bench of possible candidates, and hire from their own bench whenever they can.
Building Your Bench - Chapter 1 - Part 1
Too many managers rely on HR to bring them candidates for their hiring needs. HR is a necessary part of sourcing candidates, and it's important to work with them. But there is often a disconnect, because they don't know your work or needs as well as you do. Effective managers build a bench of possible candidates, and hire from their own bench whenever they can.
HR May Not Be Your Friend - Part 2
Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have an "HR Business Partner," they work for someone else, and probably support other managers. This isn't inherently bad, but a smart manager knows to work with them, while understandin
HR May Not Be Your Friend - Part 1
Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have an "HR Business Partner," they work for someone else, and probably support other managers. This isn't inherently bad, but a smart manager knows to work with them, while understandin
The World's Best Feedback Organization
If feedback is so important to high performance - and it is - it makes sense to study if and when and how the very best athletes get feedback about their performance. While there are 500 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies - truly rarified air - there are only 32 starting players at each position on each NFL team. There are more than 10 times more of the very best CEOs in the entire world than the very
Everybody Has Too Much Work To Do! - Part 2
Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. Theree's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the way it's supposed to be.
Everybody Has Too Much Work To Do! - Part 1
Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the way it's supposed to be.
The Hidden Purpose Of Interviewing - External Validation - Part 2
Part 2 of our guidance on why interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.
The Hidden Purpose Of Interviewing - External Validation - Part 1
Interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.
Working Hard - Chapter One - The Myth And The Basics - Part 2
It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work. But it is a MYTH that “working hard” simply means working more hours. In fact, working more hours, in the long run, is NOT the way to think about “working hard.” In this series of gu
Working Hard - Chapter One - The Myth And The Basics - Part 1
It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work. But it is a MYTH that “working hard” simply means working more hours. In fact, working more hours, in the long run, is NOT the way to think about “working hard.” In this series of gu
Introducing The Effective Senior Manager Conference
Learn about our Effective Senior Manager Conference: its purpose, its agenda, its topics. If you’re a manager and are thinking about your career as a Senior Manager and even Executive, you need to learn why the job is different, and how to succeed.
Internal Hiring Process - Chapter 1 - Development Feedback
Interviewing internal candidates is different than interviewing external candidates. Internal interviews are not just efforts to fill positions, but also part of professional development for your organization.
Swimming Upstream - Chapter One - Your Boss's Calendar - Part 2
Part 2 of our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately preparing them for greater leadership opportunities.
Swimming Upstream - Chapter One - Your Boss's Calendar - Part 1
Our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately preparing them for greater leadership opportunities.
Why Scheduling Is The Most Important Component of One On Ones - Part 2
Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling them is actually more important than having weekly One On Ones. Why is that? Our data show why. And directs tell us why when we ask them. And for those who are just getting started, w
Why Scheduling Is The Most Important Component of One On Ones - Part 1
Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling them is actually more important than having weekly One On Ones. Why is that? Our data show why. And directs tell us why when we ask them. And for those who are just getting started, w
Why Is Negative Feedback So Hard? - Part 2
Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they’re not as hard as the manager thought they would be. And very few managers who do Manager Tools One On Ones never stop.
Why Is Negative Feedback So Hard? - Part 1
Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they’re not as hard as the manager thought they would be. And very few managers who do Manager Tools One On Ones never stop.
But feedback is a different story. We would guess that around half of Manager Tools managers don’t ever f
The Simple Quarterly Performance Review
Most managers think that performance reviews are their most significant contribution to performance management and improvement. But that’s wrong. Frequent feedback is the greatest tool we managers have to improve performance. In fact, performance reviews aren’t even really part of the performance improvement efforts managers engage in. Performance reviews are an organizational system that is prima
The Purpose of Feedback - Part 3
Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it’s well received, it works, and frankly, it’s easy to get addicted to giving it.
The Purpose of Feedback - Part 2
Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it’s well received, it works, and frankly, it’s easy to get addicted to giving it.
The Purpose of Feedback - Part 1
Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it's well received, it works, and frankly, it's easy to get addicted to giving it.
A Basic Team Culture Model For Managers - Part 2
In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll start conflicting with each other.
A Basic Team Culture Model For Managers - Part 1
In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll start conflicting with each other.
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