Category: Management

Last update on

Creating an Employee Performance Review and Feedback Workflow

Resilience is my number 1 hiring trait.  As a manager, you will have ups and downs with your employees, and your feedback should reflect this. It's not about harshness or power play, mind you. Receiving critical feedback may be absolutely devastating for juniors and many introverts.  However, your options are very limited and you don’t want to do any of the following that might only jeopardize the entire company: Stick to praising (missing out on improvements) Prolong tough times until it becomes unbearable Sugar-coat problems Look for a replacement because a civilized conversation is unlikely Deliver feedback and receive a… Continue Reading
Last update on

The 4 P’s of Employee Relations and Conflict Management in the Workplace

Workplace conflict costs $359 billion in paid hours or 385 million working days annually. This is according to the “Workplace Conflict and How Business Can Harness it to Thrive” report. There were news articles about Apple employees having concerns about the ‘rigid’ rules in hybrid working, while Google’s people were frustrated about the ‘two tiers’ remote working. No wonder why in the month of April 2021, the Great Resignation started happening. Given the diverse range of expenses related to workplace conflicts, it becomes imperative for organizations to prioritize conflict prevention, early intervention, and constructive resolution strategies. By fostering a positive work… Continue Reading
Last update on

11 Better Ways to Manage Teams Without Tedious Meetings

As a firm evangelist of the values of asynchronous communications, I’m strongly opinionated when it comes to meetings. Meetings are not all evil. I’ve covered some workarounds for meetings (when necessary) and several reasons to set up a meeting. But beyond that, meeting creep is so prevalent—especially in the context of remote/hybrid environments—that productivity and work satisfaction are almost non-existent right now.  According to a study led by Microsoft, virtual meeting hours increased by 252 percent. As a result, today’s experts (including me), are full of suggestions for improving meetings or simply how to avoid them. In the coming 3… Continue Reading
Last update on

Managing Interruptions And Boosting Work Performance During Crisis

Digital businesses were forced to move fully remotely during the social isolation of COVID-19. But this is one of the worst experiments of "testing out remote working." Employees experience different dynamics at home. Kids are home-schooled (or babysitters are no longer available). Social contacts are non-existent. The biological weapon creeping out there keeps everyone alert. So do you still think coronavirus is the best social experiment for assessing a distributed company? Remote Work In COVID-19 Times Enter the world of interruption science. Different studies under interruption science report that interruption during productive hours may take 15 to 45 minutes for… Continue Reading
Last update on

7 Reasons Why It is Difficult to Manage New Projects (Or Inherit an Old One)

What makes projects so difficult to manage? As a project manager, you need to assess the culture, your role, your team, how problems escalate, what your responsibilities are and how to tackle edge cases (delays, problematic team members, running out of budget, handling scope creep, disagreeing with a client, etc.) And within the right environment, everyone follows the company mission statement and the core principles of the organization. This will turn your decision-making process into a quantifiable, well-oiled machine, which should facilitate the team and get the work done. Project management is, in theory, the activity of ensuring a project’s… Continue Reading
Last update on

Strategies In Managing A Software Development Team

Prior to launching my own web development agencies over 10 years ago, I’ve jumped between the role of a senior developer and a manager multiple times – including leading and managing a software development team role. My first stunt in management was back in 2007. We were building a Java-based distributed software for a telecom group operating in multiple countries. I spent a year and a half with the company as a developer before joining the project along with our Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and a couple of other developers. The CTO and I spent several months working closely together… Continue Reading
Last update on

The Business Guide to Intrapreneurship

Intrapreneurship, credit: TechCharge With the boom of entrepreneurship out there, there has been a distinct separation between corporate work and starting a business of your own. However, most folks are not familiar with what intrapreneurship is, due to it getting far less coverage than it should be. What Is An Intrapreneur? As Murray Newlands shared for Inc.: The distinction between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs can be seen as a difference in the level of focus. While an entrepreneur should see the company as a vision from starting point to end; the intrapreneur is a facet of this broader vision. The intrapreneur… Continue Reading