81 Challenges Smart Managers Face Book

Preface -

Introduction -

Management Quiz -

List of Challenges -

Chapter One: Attitude Challenges -
- Controlling Your Ego
- Being Responsible to Employees Rather Than For Them
- Treating Employees the Same, Yet Differently
- Letting Go of Prejudices and Judgments
- Making Yourself Truly Indispensable
- Knowing You Need to Keep Improving
- Working with a Coach or Mentor

Chapter Two: Self-Management Challenges -
- Relying on Technology While Keeping the Human Touch
- Focusing on What You Want
- Knowing When to Involve Others
- Setting the Right Example
- Having a Consistent Management Style
- Managing Your Stressors
- Letting Go of Old Emotional Baggage
- Getting Out from Behind Your Desk
- Maintaining Balance

Chapter Three: Planning Challenges -
- Gauging Information and Analysis
- Setting Accurate Goals and Forecasts
- Assuming Unforeseen Consequences
- Estimating the Resources and Time Necessary for a Successful Plan
- Reducing Crisis Management through Strategic Planning and Strategic Doing
- Promoting Strategic Direction

Chapter Four: Hiring Challenges -
- Finding Good Employees
- Refusing to Hire Under Pressure
- Hiring Attitudes and Not Skills
- Conducting an Effective Interview Process
- Establishing Clear Employee Expectations

Chapter Five: Delegating Challenges -
- Trusting Your Employees
- Delegating Results Rather Than Processes and Methods
- Setting Clear Parameters and Expectations
- Giving Authority with Responsibility
- Refusing to take it Back After You Have Delegatedit

Chapter Six: Feedback Challenges -
- Handling Employee Mistakes and Failures
- Giving Both Positive and Negative Feedback
- Giving Enough Positive Recognition and Appreciation
- Inspecting What You Expect
- Conducting Regular Reviews
- Having a Systematic Review Process
- Implementing Training with Effective Coaching

Chapter Seven: Motivation Challenges -
- Motivating Employees
- Setting a Clear Direction and Focus
- Empowering Employees
- Fostering a Fun and Rewarding Culture and Environment
- Holding People Accountable
- Rewarding the Right Behavior
- Maintaining a What Instead of a Who Culture
- Being an Encourager
- Creating a Motivating Climate and Culture
- Rewarding Performance rather than Tenure or Position
- Maintaining a Safe Corporate Culture
- Getting Ownership to Projects and Goals

Chapter Eight: Coaching Challenges -
- Playing Fair at Checkers
- Having and Maintaining Consistent Standards

Chapter Nine: Training Challenges -
- Investing in Employee Development
 - Seeing Training as an Investment Rather Than a Cost
- Using Outside Resources for Training
- Developing Curriculum-Based Training
- Inspecting the Training for Positive Outcomes

Chapter Ten: Leadership Challenges -
- Defining and Personalizing Your Leadership Style
- Making Consistently Good Decisions
- Sharing the Wealth
- Following Your Own Rules Even Thought You're the Boss
- Maintaining Integrity at all Times
- Staying in Touch With Reality
- Believing that Leadership is Earned
- Making Change Your Partner
- Eliminating Sacred Cows
- Creating a Top-Down and Bottom-Up Organization
- Being Able to Admit You Didn't Do It, Say It, or Get it Right

Chapter Eleven: Teambuilding Challenges -
- Maintaining Effective People Skills
- Mastering the Teambuilding Basics

Chapter Twelve: Meeting Challenges -
- Achieving Closure in Meetings
- Setting and Following Clear Meeting Objectives
- Conducting Effective Meetings

Chapter Thirteen: Communication Challenges -
- Sending Consistent Top-Down Messages
- Seeing Disagreement as Valuable
- Validating Employees
- Encouraging and Listening to Bottom-Up Feedback
- Listening Even When You Disagree
- Understanding the Importance of Perception
- Managing Your Expectations

Let's Summarize -

It's Your Turn -

Management Quiz Answers -

Recommended Reading -