I want to make sure you can keep up with me, so I’m sharing my contact info with you:

Contact Phil Gerbyshak

Follow Phil on Twitter

The Management Expert – Help for New Managers (I’m moving all my old articles with me)

Social Media Maximizer – My personal site for those interested in social media and connecting with their audience more.

Phil Gerbyshak on Facebook

Phil Gerbyshak on LinkedIn

I’d also like to offer a quick thanks to

Bren Connelly, for starting the idea of a Slacker Manager;

David Zinger, my writing partner for the first half of my slacking adventure;

Liz Strauss, for introducing me to the fine folks at b5 Media;

b5 Media, for the opportunity to showcase my writing here on Slacker Manager;

And of course, to everyone who has ever left a comment, linked back, sent me an e-mail or otherwise connected with me and encouraged me. Your impact on my life will never be forgotten.

Keep looking for the slack in your management,
Phil Gerbyshak

Photo credit to Phil Gerbyshak

Post from: EveryJoe

Goodbye Slacker Manager

In God We Trust…All Others We Monitor

At the time, I thought it was the way things were. You trusted people, but you monitored them.

And now, as a manager, I guess that is the way things are.

I trust my team to do things…but I review their work to make sure it’s done right.

I attend meetings where people say they’ll do the right things…but then we check in at the next meeting to make sure they got done.

I expect my team to take care of customers, but then I ask them how we’re doing whenever I see them.

Now that I think about it, I trust but monitor just about everything with my team.

Do you trust but monitor or am I just a micromanager?

Image source from Phil Gerbyshak’s personal collection

Post from: EveryJoe

Trust But Monitor

• Part 1 with Phil Gerbyshak and Rick Cecil
• Part 2 with Phil Gerbyshak and Rick Cecil
• Part 3 with Phil Gerbyshak and Rick Cecil
• Rick’s reflections on the series

I share these with you in case you want to know more about who I am, what makes me tick, beyond just “Phil the Slacker Manager.” It’s honestly the most I’ve ever shared of myself in an interview. Rick’s style was very conversational, and I shared some really interesting stuff.

I share it with you because though I try my best to be a good manager, I still make plenty of mistakes.

Can you relate to that?

If you don’t care about any of that, I’ll leave you with 3 other things:

• Win a free copy of The Carrot Principle by commenting on this post
• Win a free copy of The Richest Man in Town by commenting on this post
• Win a free copy of Dog Poop Initiative by commenting on this post

Photo credit to Phil Gerbyshak. This picture is from quite a few years back, but it is still one of my favorites! Happy birthday to my brother who turned 33 yesterday!

Post from: EveryJoe

A little more about Phil Gerbyshak

I am thankful for those who came long before me, who paid a VERY high price for the freedoms I now take for granted every day.

Specifically, I am thankful for:

• Freedom of religion, press and expression – I am thankful for this freedom more than any. It allows me to write this blog and not worry about being out of bounds. I am thankful for this because it allows me to explore my religion, and it allows me to express myself in any way I feel best.
• Freedom to vote – If I don’t like the folks in office, I can work to get someone else elected and place my vote for whomever I wish.
• Freedom for cruel and unusual punishment – I am thankful if I commit a crime, I can’t be hung up by my thumbs in the town square.

Check out the whole constitution and think about what you are thankful for.

US Constitution No. 1 photo credit to Caveman_92223

Post from: EveryJoe

Thankful for Freedom

Little Things Make a Bigg Difference – I called in to the Bigg Success show last week about the Lone Wolf versus the Lead Wolf, and they included my comment on their show.

Re-charging Employee Morale – Some of my insights into how to re-energize yourself and your co-workers.

The Power of Helping Others Be Great – Lisa Haneberg started the conversation about encouraging your team, and I continued it, sharing some insights into the HOW of encouraging your team. And if you’re looking for management support, tips and tricks, you should join Lisa’s Management Central group. You can interact with a LOT of great management/leadership thinkers there.

Visit Management Central

What are YOU working on that you’d like to share? Please leave a comment and don’t be shy about promoting yourself!

Happy June 1st, courtesy of surlygirl

Post from: EveryJoe

Slacking Off Slacker Manager

One of the most important things I’ve realized is without knowing the right folks, my job can be REALLY hard to do.

I need to get to know my team, for without them, my job is meaningless.

I need to know the teams around me, for without them, work is much harder to get done.

I need to know the HR department, as they help me hire the best, coach those who need coaching, get my benefits on time, and help me when I get stuck on tough issues.

I need to know the rest of the firm, and understand their business and why they do what they do, so I can translate into understandable pieces that my team can use to prioritize their workload.

I need to know folks in the marketplace, so I can keep up with the changing times as an IT manager. It’s why I am part of HDI and why as long as I work in IT, HDI will be a key partner of mine.

And last but not least, I need to know recruiters and staffing partners from companies around the country, to stay on top of hiring trends that affect my industry.

I hope you’ll tune in to the Career Momentum Radio show tomorrow. It will be recorded, so if the time isn’t convenient, you can listen to the recording.

Questions:

If I were to do a periodic show about management topics, would you tune in?

How often would you like me to do a show?

Who would you like me to interview?

What topics would interest you?

Photo of Phil Gerbyshak and Glenda Watson Hyatt from my personal Flickr collection.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tune in to Career Momentum Radio

1. Slacker Manager made the top 10 Leadership Blogs according to Mike Myatt of N2 Growth. Slacker Manager weighed in at #4.
2. Engage 5 over at Employee Engagement with former Slacker Manager co-editor David Zinger. I shared a few sentences about employee engagement. Curious what your thoughts might be about employee engagement.
3. Recession Proof Your Life – I was in Canada recently to share a presentation based on my first book 10 Ways to Make It Great! I shared the slides and information at my personal blog.
4. Twitter – I’ve been slowly growing my network on Twitter, and I frequently share articles I find interesting and helpful. We also have the ability now on Slacker Manager to share articles directly to Twitter. Follow me (I’m @philgerb) and don’t be afraid to click in if you find a particularly helpful post and Tweet it to your network. Oh, and I recommend you use Tweetdeck for your Twitter cravings.
5. My second book is ALMOST on Amazon. Stay tuned for details and an excerpt from it. It’s called Help Desk Manager’s Crash Course, and I think it’s a great addition to anyone’s leadership library, especially if you manage a Help Desk or a call center.

Thanks for reading and for your support.

Photo credit to USACEPublicAffairs

Post from: EveryJoe

Slacker Kudos and Odds and Ends

I am delighted to share I am headed to Chicago for SOBCon, one of the best blogger conferences in the world, put on by Terry Starbucker and Liz Strauss, and featuring folks like:

• Christine Kane
• Chris Cree
• Chris Garrett
• Stephen Smith
• Stephen Hopson
• Brad Shorr

And MANY more amazing folks from around the world. I’m going to learn how to be a better writer, a better blogger, and probably even a better manager, because I am going to soak it all in and have fun!

If you’re going to SOBCon, I hope you’ll find me there. I would LOVE to meet you in person.

If you’re not, I’d encourage you to follow me on Twitter. My handle is @philgerb, and you can follow me by going to http://twitter.com/philgerb and clicking on the follow button. I’ll be posting the best stuff I learn there, in 140 character increments, and putting together articles I can share with you on how to be a better manager. If it’s not germane to management, but it is useful information, I’ll post it on my personal blog at http://philgerbyshak.com

A few questions for you:

Are you going? Leave me a comment and let’s connect!

Are there any great conferences you look forward to each year?

Do you even enjoy conferences?

NOTE: Today is the LAST DAY to win a copy of Coach K’s book. Leave a comment on this post, win a book. It’s that simple :)

Post from: EveryJoe

Going to SOBCon: Are You?

Click Here to take my 3 question survey.

All I want is your honest feedback.

Thanks!
Phil

Post from: EveryJoe

Slacker Survey: Please Let Me Know What You Think

Happy 2009 Slacker Manager readers. May the next 12 months be as amazing as you want them to be.

Take some time and reflect over all that happened the last 12 months, and then realize that your best is yet to come.

Thank you for joining me on this management journey! It’s been an amazing year for me, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Melissa blows in the new year from Hurley Family.

Post from: EveryJoe

Happy New Year 2009