Behind Closed Doors

management, MPD

Organizations Are Not Families, Part 1

I read Joe Berkowitz’s story in Fast Company, John Oliver Was Right: It’s Time To Confront The Dustin Hoffmans In Your Life. There’s a link to a video excerpt in which Hoffman discusses the idea that the people felt like a family. Mr. Berkowitz says this: There is no template for how to be a good […]

agile, MPD

Creating Agile HR, Part 7: Agile Feedback and Coaching

What can we make more “agile” in HR? Aside from an agile approach to recruiting and hiring, we can make feedback and coaching much more iterative and incremental. Add in collaborative feedback and coaching, and appreciations, and it starts to look like an agile approach to “managing performance.” Performance “Management” is Really About Power In

agile, MPD

Creating Agile HR, Part 6: the Agile Compensation System

I wrote about career ladders in Creating Agile HR, Part 5: Performance Management, the Career Ladder. Once you have a career ladder, it’s easy for everyone to understand the criteria for a given level. That means you can use an “agile” approach to manage compensation. Compensation is part of career management. Career management includes: Recognition (what

agile, MPD

Creating Agile HR, Part 5: Performance Management, the Career Ladder

One of the big roles of HR is to shepherd the assessment of people and their fit for their jobs. That’s called “managing performance.” Managing performance is about: Creating and curating a career ladder for all jobs. That’s exempt (salaried), non-exempt (hourly), and all management. Manage salary parity. HR might help a manager learn how to provide feedback and coaching. (I

management, MPD

Do You Value Management?

I’ve met many managers who were in the wrong position. Sometimes, it was the Peter Principle. Sometimes, it’s managers who have been founders or who have been technically great and got promoted into management positions. Because they are so intelligent, and because they do not read about management, they don’t know or don’t care about

conference, MPD

AgileIndyConf Slides Posted: Agile Managers Essence of Leadership

I spoke at AgileIndyConf last week. I had a blast. Met lots of great people from Indianapolis, got to hang with people like Christopher Avery (@christopheraver), Ron Jeffries (@ronjeffries), Chet Hendrickson (@chethendrickson), Angela Harms (@angelaharms), Mike Kelly (@ michael_d_kelly), Joe Astolfi (@joeastolfi), and many more. (If I missed you, please add yourselves in the comments

management, MPD

Management Myth 6 Posted: I Can Save Everyone

Have you been in a position where you–or your manager–wanted to save a difficult employee? Maybe you felt as if you bent over backwards to save an employee? Don’t do it. In this myth, Management Myth #6, I Can Save Everyone, I confront the myth that every employee somehow has a place at every organization.

management, MPD

Becoming a Leading Manager

My most recent post, We Cannot Choose Between Management And Leadership, has struck a chord. That’s the good news. The bad news is I have not defined enough terms. Okay, I’ll attempt that now. And, thank you, gentle readers, for hanging in there with me, waiting for my crazy travel schedule this spring. Many Kinds

Books, MPD

Great Review of Manage Your Project Portfolio

Inez has a great review of Manage Your Project Portfolio. What resonated with me was: this book gives a more complete view of what is at stake when dealing with project portfolio management and will really help organisations to move forward faster with implementing and improving this key business issue of the 21st century, the

management, MPD

Take a Shower, Please

I was talking with a new manager recently, and she was explaining what she had to tell a new employee (a co-op, but an employee). “I told him he had to be here by 9am every day he works. He can eat lunch from 12 to 1, and then he should be back at his

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