Recognising When Resistance to Change Reflects a Legitimate Concern
Not all resistance to change is simply discomfort with change itself. Here’s how to tell when pushback is actually pointing at a real problem.
Management Skills
Management Skills
Management Skills
Recognising When It’s Time to Abandon a Plan That Isn’t Working
Persistence is genuinely valuable, but not every plan deserves it. Here’s how to recognise when abandoning a plan is the wiser choice.
Management Skills
Making Decisions When the Situation Is Still Evolving
Some decisions genuinely can’t wait for the situation to fully settle. Here’s how to decide well while circumstances are still genuinely changing.
Communication, Leadership, Management Skills
Delivering Feedback That Lands as Useful, Not Personal
The same feedback can land as a helpful signal or a personal attack depending on how it’s delivered. Here’s how to make it genuinely useful.
Management Skills
Setting Expectations With a New Direct Report Early
Clear expectations set early prevent far more problems than they solve after the fact. Here’s how to set them well with a new direct report.
Management Skills
Managing a Team You Inherited, Not Built
An inherited team comes with existing dynamics, habits, and history a manager didn’t create. Here’s how to lead it well rather than fight against it.
Management Skills
The Art of the Performance Improvement Plan Done Right
A performance improvement plan done well is a genuine tool for real improvement, not just a step toward termination. Here’s how to do it right.
Management Skills
Managing Someone Who’s About to Resign
The period between a resignation announcement and departure deserves genuine care, not disengagement. Here’s how to manage it well.
Management Skills
Calibrating Standards Across a Growing Team
A growing team risks genuine inconsistency in standards without deliberate calibration. Here’s how to keep quality and expectations aligned as you scale.
Management Skills
The Manager’s Role in Compensation Conversations
A manager’s role in compensation conversations is genuinely more nuanced than simply delivering numbers decided elsewhere. Here’s how to navigate it well.
Management Skills
Managing a Team Across Multiple Time Zones
A team spread across time zones needs genuinely deliberate structure to function well. Here’s how to manage it without exhausting anyone unfairly.
Management Skills
When to Formalise a Process Versus Keep It Flexible
Formalising too early stifles genuine adaptability, and too late creates real inconsistency. Here’s how to judge the right moment to formalise a process.
Management Skills
Handling a Direct Report Who Goes Over Your Head
A direct report bypassing you to your own manager stings, and how you respond matters more than the incident itself. Here’s how to handle it well.
Management Skills
Managing Someone Who’s Better at the Job Than You Are at Managing Them
Managing someone whose technical skill exceeds your own is genuinely uncomfortable, and it’s also common. Here’s how to do it well without pretending otherwise.
Management Skills
The One-on-One Meeting: What Most Managers Get Wrong
The weekly one-on-one is one of the highest-leverage tools a manager has, and most managers quietly waste it on status updates. Here’s how to actually use it well.