Manager Blog - What's New On The Happy Manager

Apr 21, 50 Blogs That Will Make You a Better Manager

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 10:19:31 GMT

Many thanks to top ranking website Online MBA which has added the Happy Manager to its list: 50 Blogs That Will Make You a Better Manager. "These blogs offer a look into great ideas for growing and improving in your role as a manager, creating a better workplace and getting more results from the people you manage." We couldn't have put it better ourselves! You can read what they say about us, and about the 49 other management blogs they recommend, by following this link. Thanks Online MBA.

Apr 10, Finding your voice in the middle of an Organisation

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:24:43 GMT

The other week Anthony spoke at a middle manager conference set up by one of our public sector clients. The title of the talk was: Middle Vision, redefining the role of middle managers. Anthony used as a start point some of the ideas from our recent blogs. The middle of an organisation can be a very difficult place to be, often characterised by the feeling of being stuck in the middle, neither one thing or the other. So he started by emphasising the difficulties of the role of managing in the middle, before moving on to explore the potential and power of middle managers. One area particularly struck Anthony from the presentation and from comments in the discussion sessions. Anthony had emphasised the power of middle vision: the ability to translate and interpret organisational vision to the front line. This ability is a crucial role middle managers play, because they are far enough away from the front line to see the bigger picture, yet near enough to translate it into a tangible reality. This we think is a distinctive voice that middle managers can have. Finding your voice suggests: 1 Middle mangers have something valuable to say 2 That there is something distinctive in the way middle managers are able to translate and interpret organisational vision 3 A collective recognition of the value and worth, to find your voice as a group of middle managers is to find your value 4 Middle managers need to talk to each other about their sense of where the organisation is going and how that translates in to action 5 Middle managers should find the right forums in their organisation to express their voice. In the open discussion that followed, it was interesting to hear the feedback from the tables of ideas about meeting informally and cutting across silo structures, about feeling more empowered and releasing the energy and resource they have in the middle of an organisation. The middle of an organisation does need to be re invented and the valuable insight and ideas released and expressed: the middle needs to rediscover its voice.

Mar 1, Improving Change?

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:03:39 GMT

Some one once said: "All improvement is change, but not all change is improvement." Effective change needs a clear purpose or else it runs the risk of being a change that doesn't improve things. Whilst the purpose of a change will always be specific and rooted in a particular context, purpose can often be grouped into one of the following four broad categories. 1. Survival – This is often about “fire-fighting”. Change is imposed out of necessity and something has to be done urgently to preserve or protect the organisation. 2. Adaptation – Adapting is when an organisation starts to adjust in a timely manner to external and internal needs to change. Change is introduced to just about cope with the need to change. 3. Getting better – In this category the focus moves towards changing in order to improve and be better at what you do. It is about getting better at how we do things in a pro-active manner 4. Thriving– this is a position of being responsive. The focus of change becomes more about getting better at getting better. Able to respond quickly to changes and being versatile in meeting customers’ expectations When the purpose of change is being experienced more as survival and adaptation, then change is often necessary but difficult to achieve. Ideally organisations should move to building capability so that change becomes more pro-active and about getting better and thriving, rather than surviving. To do so will require a responsive organisation which is in touch with its customers and its wider context. Such organisations have structures and processes which allow them to respond quickly and effectively to external changes, and to better meet the needs of their customers and the communities the organisation serves. So its worth thinking about how you can make improvement the focus of change. To do so will need greater clarity about the purpose of change and more emphasis on creating conditions where you are more likely to be able to thrive and be responsive, than react and merely survive.

Feb 15, The Enriched Middle

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:01:16 GMT

Rather than an expanding or entrenched middle (as we discussed in our previous blogs) it's time to think of middle managers as a rich source of ideas and creativity; an enriched middle. Changes in the organisation have to go through the middle if they are to be successful. Therefore the middle of the organisation is crucial to its effectiveness. For this to happen there will need to be a new dialogue about the role of middle managers to re-focus what middle management could or should be about. This we think will need two questions to be answered: 1. How do organisations make the most of the talent they have fulfilling these pivotal roles? 2. What do middle managers themselves need to do, in order to make the most of their potential? To create an enriched middle, the organisation needs to look differently at its middle managers, and middle managers need to find their voice to better shape their organisation.

Feb 13, The Entrenched Middle

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:27:01 GMT

Some managers can feel as though they are stuck in the middle of the organisation which rapidly becomes an entrenched middle. This can be every bit as damaging as allowing an unchecked, expanding middle ( a topic we covered previously on our blog). What is behind this particular condition? Here we discuss two possibilities: 1. Middle managers can feel pressured and frustrated. They may feel caught in the middle, between what is happening above or below them in the organisation. 2. Stuck in the middle between the rust to burn-out continuum. Middle managers can feel pressured and frustrated when they are charged with doing things they either don’t believe in, or haven’t been a part of deciding or creating. They can feel caught between the tensions created between the top of an organisation and the front-line; tasked with implementing strategies they may not have had any say in creating. Increasingly finding themselves stuck in the middle, between senior managers who feel the middle isn't implementing the strategy, and font-line staff who think middle managers are not listening to their perspective. On the other hand managers can be stuck in the middle either from job burn-out or from stepping back and going through the motion; rusting on the job. A burnt-out manager will lack drive, energy, initiative, creativity, resilience and optimism. In other words, they will become entrenched in the middle. This can often lead mangers to the other end of the continuum: doing too little - rusting in the job. This condition is variously referred to as: ” retiring on the job”, ”presenteeism”, or face time. Whereas burnt-out managers might still try to put in the hours or the effort, rusty managers have deliberately taken their foot off the gas. Perhaps, they have had their fingers burned by working too hard for too long, or have not received the support or acknowledgement they deserved. Whatever causes someone to turn to the rusting end of the continuum, the outcome is still an entrenched muddle every bit as ineffective as burn-out. Neither position is particularly attractive, both represent a sad reflection on the organisation. Clearly there is a need for middle managers to find the middle ground, so that there is time to: 1. recuperate and reflect at work, and 2. work hard on challenging worthwhile work activity Have we created an impossible job for middle maangers? Neither an entrenched nor an expanding middle are satisfactory. How can we re-define the role of middle managers so that it is a more enriching?

Feb 8, The Expanding Middle

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:42:26 GMT

In our recent blog: re-inventing Middle Management, we called for a fresh look at the role of middle managers. Here we look at one of the problems with the middle of an organisation: its tendency to expand. Over time the middle of an organisation can grow to larger than it needs to be. This can happen for several reasons, notably though due to a well-known principle, Parkinson’s Law: It is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. (Cyril Northcote Parkinson) The issue here is that some middle managers define their role (and their importance) by the number of people they manage. They then try to justify their position by increasing the size of their department or unit. This approach can easily escalate to an “empire-building” mind-set as other units are seen as rivals. Left unchecked, an empire-building culture can accelerate the growth of an inefficient muddle. Without proper focus, definition and support, this kind of organisational middle can be wasteful and inefficient. Unfortunately the typical response is not to re-focus the middle, it’s to re-structure and reduce. This may lead to some short-term resource gain but far too often the real result is the loss of middle manager capability and potential. In our next blog we will look at a second problem with the middle of organisations: the entrenched middle.

Feb 6, Re-inventing Middle Management

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:02:54 GMT

Middle managers have received a bad press. Several surveys point to difficulties in the “middle” of an organisation. In the midst of questions about the effectiveness of middle managers, and cost reduction restructures that inevitably hit the middle hardest, perhaps the middle manager is on borrowed time? Alternatively, have we created an impossible job for our middle managers, at the same time discouraging innovation and knowledge creation? Middle managers have variously been negatively associated with: 1. Building their own empires 2. Acting as a "permafrost" preventing vision from becoming reality 3. Paper pushing bureaucracy 4. Relays, passing information up and down the organisation 5. Being the reason senior managers feel that change has not occurred Old arguments perhaps need to be dropped. Is it time to see middle managers as pivotal to organisational effectiveness? We think it is time to think differently about middle managers. There has been a plethora of negative imagery to describe (or decry) the role of middle managers. So, perhaps the correct response is to use some positive imagery to reframe perceptions of the role. In reality, they are central to the success of any organisation. Middle managers are: 1. At the core or heart of the organisation. 2. Close to the “heart-beat“ of the organisation – close to what makes it tick. 3. The creative centre, where solutions can be crafted and implemented. 4. Crucial energy sources, helping to build and maintain momentum. 5. Critical change agents, uniquely placed to bridge levels in the organisation. Perhaps it's time to re-invent middle management, seeing them at the creative core of the organisation.

Jan 31, Shaping Change Positively

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:30:21 GMT

When a change is proposed in the workplace, our first thoughts invariably turn to how we think it will affect us. From the start, change seems to be personal, so our own initial response to change is important. If we’re not really aware of this it can easily take us down a difficult path, simply because of the initial assumptions we have made. Being aware of how we react to change, and the choices we have, are the first steps towards shaping change positively. So with change try to: 1 Recognise your initial reaction to the change, and test the implicit assumptions you have made. 2 Think of change from a different perspective - see it through other peoples eyes. 3 Ask your self how you can respond positively to the change. 4 Engage in shaping change - there is often much that can be done to make change more positive than it at first might seem. Often change happens for reasons beyond our control, or because of factors that are external to the organisation or our team. Whilst the reason behind the change might be beyond our control, our response isn't. We always have a choice with change, and there is usually more potential to shape change than we might initially think. Too often we allow changes to shape us rather than being proactive and choosing to help shape the future in a positive way. As American writer and futurist, Alvin Toffler perceptively remarked: “It is true that if we do not learn from history we may have to re-live it, but if we do not change the future we may have to endure it – and that could be worse”

Jan 16, Do More with Less

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:30:21 GMT

Managers are increasingly being asked to do more with less. How though do you achieve this? A good place to start is with three principles that need to come together to set the context for doing more with less. They can be summed up as the Eff words. 1. Effective - Having a definite or desired effect. Doing the right things. 2. Efficient - Productive with minimum waste or effort. Doing things right. 3. Effortless - Seemingly without effort; natural, easy. Doing things easily. A fundamental principle of doing more with less is to combine each of these words. Effectiveness is the main aim, doing the right things always takes precedent over doing things well. Only then do you consider efficiency. Efficiency is about doing the right things well. Finally effectiveness and efficiency come together when they are done with minimum of effort, applying the resources required to achieve organisational goals. Elegant and simple processes are integral to being effective and efficient. So to begin finding ways to do more with less ask these three questions: Why are we carrying out this activity? How well are we doing things? How can we simplify what we do?

Jan 12, Not just getting things done, getting the right things done.

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:05:48 GMT

In a recent workshop with a group of managers we looked at something that often causes confusion. Dealing with confusion caused by other people or events is one thing, but try not to confuse effectiveness with efficiency. This is often one of the main issues with poor use of resources and something all managers should be able to address. Be honest, how much time and effort would you say is wasted on efficiency, even if this is done in the name of effectiveness. How often do we accumulate activities, routines and processes, over time, which we then need to check regularly just to see how efficiently they are being performed. But when do we stop to ask: is this the most effective way of doing something? Efficiency begs the question: how are we doing something. Effectiveness begs a much better question: why are we doing it? Doing things right might result in efficiency, but too much focus here can stop you being effective by doing the right things.

Jul 20, Team Building Resources

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:06:52 GMT

Welcome to the Happy Manager's page of team building resources. A rich supply of practical and inspirational resources to help you find a better way to build a team. Whether you're seeking team building ideas or products to help you lead a team effectively, there will be something for you in this growing growing collection of links to our free downloads, our own products, and a range of relevant products from our affiliate partners.

Jul 20, Time Management Resources

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:50:12 GMT

Welcome to the Happy Manager's page of time management resources. A rich supply of practical and inspirational resources to help you find a better way to manage your time. This page contains a growing collection of links to relevant products from our affiliate partners.

Jul 18, Employee Personal Development Resources

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:08:42 GMT

Welcome to the Happy Manager's page of employee personal development resources. A rich supply of practical and inspirational resources to help bring out the best in you and the people you manage. This page contains a growing collection of links to our free downloads, our own e-guides, and a range of relevant products from our affiliate partners. All to help with your and your employee personal development.

Jul 14, MBA Starting Salaries: It's Pay-back Time!

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:49:39 GMT

Let's face it, MBA starting salaries are pretty important to anyone interested in gaining that qualification. Quite rightly so, considering the investment any MBA student makes in time, effort and finance. So where do you go to find useful, reliable information to inform your decision about committing to an MBA?

Jul 11, MBA Program Rankings: Issues and Insights

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:50:34 GMT

MBA program rankings are used widely by prospective students and employers, but these ranking lists have also generated a good deal of controversy. As useful as such lists may be, they should always be used with an element of caution. Here we discuss some of the issues you should be aware of when consulting MBA ranking lists.

Jul 8, MBA Business School Ranking Criteria

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:46:35 GMT

What exactly is an MBA business school ranking? Thinking about an MBA's rank can be a useful exercise when you're trying to decide which program is best for you, but are these rankings really that straightforward? Independent ranking systems can help inform your decisions but it's important to think carefully about what each ranking system means. In this article we look at three of the most popular ranking systems and the differences in their criteria and focus.

Jul 8, MBA School Rankings

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:29:04 GMT

MBA school rankings have gained significant popularity and importance as a way to compare different business schools and their MBA offers. To help you with your search for the right MBA for you, we've written several pages of useful tips and links. This page introduces you to MBA school rankings and gives you links to three of the most popular lists.

Jul 6, Business School Executive MBA Explained

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:03:49 GMT

What differentiates a business school executive MBA from any other kind of MBA? Deciding to study for any such course is a big decision, requiring an even bigger investment and commitment. So it's important to make sure you choose the right one. In this article we discuss how an executive MBA differs from a traditional MBA, and how you can make sure you get the best from the executive program.

Jul 5, Most Read Pages on the Happy Manager

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:29:31 GMT

Find our most popular pages with our regularly updated list of most read pages. Here's a list of last month's most popular pages.

Jul 1, Management Consulting Leadership Training Development....What are Businesses Looking for in a Provider?

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:12:07 GMT

Management Consulting Leadership Training Development....What are businesses looking for in their training providers? There can be few decisions more important for a business than finding the right help in developing their leaders and managers. After all, managers are central to the growth and health of an organization.

Jul 1, Stages of Team Building: What are the Problems?

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:12:06 GMT

What are the common problems found during the different stages of team building, and how do you avoid them? Find the answers in our e-guide: The Problems with Teams. 30 pages of team building ideas, insights, tips, and tools.

Jul 1, Management Concepts Training Courses Programs: From MBA Programs to Leadership and Management Training

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:09:45 GMT

Management concepts training courses programs - this is our collection of articles, tips, tools and resources for managers interested in keeping up to date. Whether you're already studying, thinking of applying for a program, or just keen on developing management skills yourself, there is something here to help.

Jun 30, Developing Management Skills: Focus on the 8 P's of Effective Management

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:47:22 GMT

Developing management skills is perhaps one of the most critical activities facing any organization. Yet it can also be one of the most complicated, given the diversity of the average manager's work. How do you go about developing the broad range of skills managers need to be effective? Start with a focus on the 8 P's of Effective Management.

Jun 29, Team Building Exercises: 15 Ways to Build a Better Team

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:07:09 GMT

This guide contains a selection of team building exercises designed to help you build a better team. The exercises can be used for a variety of purposes such as: introducing ideas; fostering team bonding; developing teamwork skills. They are conveniently grouped to help you with teams at each of the four team development stages.

Jun 29, Team Building Essentials: Time for a Team Health Check?

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:18:59 GMT

This e-guide uses 10 team building essentials for our structured, systematic Team Health Check. Teams will only grow and flourish when they are properly managed and cared for. Where this is neglected, the result will eventually be ill-health. This e-guide has been designed to help you create and maintain a healthy team. It will show you how to evaluate the current state of your team's health and how to deal with your findings.

Jun 28, Leadership and Professional Development: Be in the Know

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:42:39 GMT

At the heart of leadership and professional development is the idea of building a core of knowledge that becomes an essential part of your expertise. Most of us are familiar with the kind of knowledge to be gained from management and leadership courses, or MBA programs. However, alongside this type of knowledge there is other wisdom which, though perhaps more applied and tacit in nature, is equally important for leaders and managers.

Jun 27, Effective Management Skills: Making it Happen

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:56:50 GMT

Effective management skills must first and foremost be about getting things done. Here we discuss 5 key management skills, and end with the real secret to getting things done as a manager.

Jun 25, Team Building Exercises Ideas, Tools and e-guides

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:19:44 GMT

Team building exercises ideas, tools and e-guides is our great value offer. Four e-guides to help you: Build a Better Team; manage the Problems with Teams; conduct a Team Health Check and Team Building Exercises. Plus our free bonus gift!

Jun 21, Management and Leadership Development Training: It's More Than Course and Classes...

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:01:31 GMT

Think for a moment about your own management and leadership development training. Was it based largely on a formal course or qualification? It is ongoing, whether through more courses or by on-the-job-training or development? Both are essential for professional ability and growth. In this article we discuss 6 ways to get the most from your management and leadership development training.

May 31, Business Management Education: Re-thinking Our Approach

Tue, 31 May 2011 14:32:44 GMT

Do we need to re-think our approach to business management education? Is it time for more conventional thinking about business management education - lectures and case study discussions - to be turned on its head? Read on to find out how.

May 23, Vision Statements: Can They Cause More Problems Than They Solve?

Mon, 23 May 2011 19:09:08 GMT

Can vision statements cause more problems than they solve? One problem with vision statements is that they are a view of what is not yet there - and staff may therefore think of them as too distant, unreal or irrelevant. Assuming they think of them at all! Yet vision, is exactly what is needed in organizations, to lift aspirations above the mundane, to articulate and picture what could be and what should be. Find out 5 ways to make your vision compelling.

May 19, Managing Change in the Workplace: Producing Value

Thu, 19 May 2011 15:12:54 GMT

Managing change in the workplace is perhaps one of the most important management tasks. The real importance of managing change is in producing value, both for the organizations you work for, and for the people you manage. That's why this 'producing value' category includes sections on: Change Management; Project Management; and Time Management.

May 19, What we can do for you

Thu, 19 May 2011 15:12:54 GMT

What we can do for you on the Happy Manager. Few things are more important than developing good management and leadership skills; it's one area that really shouldn't be left to chance! So we have written the Happy Manager site to help you invest in your own development. The site takes a fresh look at better ways to manage. It is an excellent resource for those who want to create the conditions where work is a dynamic, enriching activity for all - managers, colleagues, customers, shareholders and wider stakeholders.

May 19, Personal professional development plan resources

Thu, 19 May 2011 15:12:54 GMT

Anyone aiming to be a happy manager needs a personal professional development plan. So, if you want to create yours, our 'developing' pages are the best place to start!

May 19, What is leadership? Leading on the Happy Manager

Thu, 19 May 2011 15:12:53 GMT

What is leadership? We think leadership means shaping, so here you'll find plenty to help shape your understanding of leadership - theory and practice! We bring together ideas that have helped shape the existing world of work, and those which are now starting to shape the future.

May 17, Importance of motivation? It's at the heart of performance!

Tue, 17 May 2011 13:33:33 GMT

What's the importance of motivation? We think it lies at the very heart of management. The 'motivating' category contains three sections dealing with this critical management skill: Motivation at Work; Motivational Stories; and Motivational Quotes.

May 17, Services to Business: What the Happy Manager can do for your organization

Tue, 17 May 2011 11:06:22 GMT

What are our services to business? Important as it is, do you really have time to search for informed, stimulating, challenging, management and leadership development resources? Well that's where the Happy Manager comes in - we'll do that work for you. Partnering with the Happy Manager will help you maximize your management development investment.

May 14, Managing Personal Growth and Professional Expertise

Sat, 14 May 2011 11:52:25 GMT

Managing personal growth and professional expertise can be a time consuming business. That's why the Happy Manager contains a series of categories to help you find useful ideas, information and tips as easily as possible.

May 13, Happiness is a serious problem. Why? Because it's not just good for you, it's good for business!

Fri, 13 May 2011 13:53:39 GMT

Here's why happiness is a serious problem: it's not just good for you, it's good for business! The 'Being Happy' category contains three sections dealing with happiness and well-being: About Happiness; Happiness at Work; and Sress Management.

Apr 19, Personal Value Development: You're Worth It!

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:36:37 GMT

Your personal value development begins with a simple premise: your development is your responsibility. Here are some tips to help you make your own development a priority, rather than leaving things to chance.

Apr 14, How to Become Happier at Work? With 'How to Be a Happy Manager: 15 Essential Tips!'

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:13:34 GMT

How to become happier at work? Well if you're a manager you can find out in our new e-guide: How to be a Happy Manager. In 15 concise tips, this guide shows how happiness is good for managers, the people they manage, and the organizations that employ them.

Mar 8, Free Performance Appraisals Guide: It's All About Performance

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:48:03 GMT

Download our free performance appraisals and management guide: It's All About Performance. Start improving your performance management right now! We'd like to offer you this taste of our quality management resources - absolutely free!

Mar 8, Performance Appraisal Tools: The Performance Management Toolkit

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:05:51 GMT

Would you like to learn how to carry out productive performance appraisals? Then look no further! Conducting a Performance Review is our 33 page, step-by-step e-guide, packed with practical insights, tips, and 8 performance appraisal tools.

Mar 8, Performance Appraisal Methods: 15 Performance Management Tips

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:05:50 GMT

Some of the most effective performance appraisal methods are brought together in our e-guide, 15 Performance Management Tips. This guide is essential reading if you want some great ideas to apply, with concise but vital tips to help raise performance levels.

Mar 8, Good Management Skills - the Key to Managing Your Own Performance

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:05:49 GMT

This e-guide is designed to help you develop good management skills. Performance management isn't just about helping others to perform. It;s also about your own performance. We all know that managing effectively can be hard work - demanding and a balancing act. But if you're going to manage the performance of other people, you need to ensure your performance is up to the task!

Mar 8, Employee Motivation Factors - the Key to Motivating Employees to Perform

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:05:48 GMT

Managing the mix of employee motivation factors is a critical step to improving performance in your teams. That's just what our e-guide: Motivating Employees to Perform will help you to do. 37 pages packed with practical insights, tips, and 10 performance motivation tools.

Mar 8, Basic Management Skills? Develop Your Performance Management Skills!

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:05:48 GMT

Mastering some basic management skills is the secret behind being good at managing performance. This guide is a resource to help you identify the specific skills needed to manage performance, and to help you develop them quickly and effectively.

Feb 19, SWOT Analysis.

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 09:17:06 GMT

What is a SWOT analysis? If you want to understand the business you are in, SWOT is one of the best known tools to help you do that. Here we explore what it is and how to use it.

Feb 19, PESTLE Analysis.

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 09:16:15 GMT

What is PESTLE analysis? PESTLE is one of the best know management tools. Here we explore what it is and how to use it to help understand the environment in which your organization operates.

Feb 11, Performance Management Articles

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:11:18 GMT

Looking for performance management articles, tools and tips? Here is our growing range of resources designed to introduce some essential ideas on performance management. Plus a few more to help you reflect on how you currently think about performance at work.