Bonus Zingers: More Posts Managers Must Read

Here are 4 more posts I encourage you to read. Two of them will enhance your management development and two of them will give you a better perspective on what you do.

Click on the author’s name to read the full post:

Bud Bilanich reminds us of the simple yet significant importance of talking with the people we lead: John Kelly is one of the best leaders I know.  He meets with the people who report to him for one hour every week.  Before he got promoted, he had 12 people reporting to him.  That’s 12 hours out of every week.  John tells me that those were the best, most productive 12 hours in his week, because he had meaningful, substantive conversations with his people.

Chris Bailey encourage us to build a learning culture with learning circles: Pack a Problem and a Yippee!
Each person in the circle must be prepared to bring two items to each meeting. The first is a problem. Even better than a problem is a mistake, but this takes some comfort with the group so don’t expect this at the outset. The second item is a Yippee!, which is an example of something that went well. It’s important that learning be a balanced process where both good and bad are reviewed and then celebrated.

Stanley Bing offers us a quiz to determine our comfort and skills in giving presentations. I always get a bang out of Bing. Here is the second question in his assessment: When a big meeting is coming up, one that will involve a number of presentations from a range of people…

a.I hide inside my BlackBerry, furiously typing with my thumbs, head down, until all the others have volunteered for every available slot. Afterwards, I change my undies.
b. I listen for a topic I could do well at and put up my hand for it. If no appropriate topic appears, I try to get a pass.
c. I wait until the end of the meeting, then sign up to do a presentation on something about which I have no knowledge or interest.
d. I make sure I’m doing ALL the presentations. They’re mine! Mine!

Dwight Shrute may be a fictional character from The Office but that does not stop him from writing his blog,  Shrute-Space. Here is his warning to children on Halloween: Please do not come to Schrute Farm attempting to “trick or treat.” There will be no treats available for you. Also, if you plan to “trick,” be advised that Schrute Farm is private property and any actions with bad intentions will be dealt with as an immediate threat to farm security. You will be maced or bludgeoned and you will be delivered to the doorstep of the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office. See how much you like getting your treats in jail, kids.

Photo Credit: Clock number 4 by http://flickr.com/photos/lwr/451107312/