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Management Resources

There is a bigger difference between management and leadership than most people realize.  Not all leaders make good managers and vice versa.  Whereas leadership is about providing clear direction through strategic thinking, decision making, and planning.  It is about the macro.  Management is about executing leadership initiatives through directing, organizing, coaching, and holding people tactically accountable.  It is about the micro.  A good manager knows his/her people well and is committed to their success individually and collectively.

Balancing Compassion and Accountability: Can You Do Both?

Accountability is a leadership imperative. Had a good conversation with a client today about the tension that sometimes exists as a leader when you have a company/department to run while also caring about the individual circumstances of your employees. Compassion and accountability may seem like opposing forces in our interactions with others, especially in the

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97 Reasons Why Business Growth Stalls

Growth is hard work.  For the past 27 years, I’ve worked as an executive coach, Vistage Chair, trainer or management consultant with hundreds of organizations. They have varied in size from just under $1M to well over $1B. Some have grown aggressively while some have grown more methodically, and others have struggled to grow at

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Moving From A Buddy to Boss

Moving from being a buddy to a boss can be a difficult transition. As a boss, you are responsible for the performance and well-being of your team, and you may have to make difficult decisions that affect their lives. This can be stressful and challenging, but it can also be rewarding and fulfilling. One of

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    Recommended Reading

  • The Four Disciplines of Execution

    Chris McChesney

    Read Ed's Book SummaryView the Book

    For fans of Good to Great and The First 90 Days, The Four Disciplines of Execution is the book “every leader should read” (Clayton Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School, and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma) for creating lasting organizational change. A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller with more than 500,000 copies sold, The Four Disciplines of Execution will radically change your business. 4DX® is not […]

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  • Myself and Other More Important Matters

    Charles Handy

    Read Ed's ExcerptsView the Book

    One of the world’s most influential living management thinkers, Charles Handy has year-after-year been listed alongside business gurus including Peter Drucker and Tom Peters in the prestigious Thinkers 50 list. His views on management — and life — have inspired and enlightened others for decades. Now, in Myself and Other More Important Matters, the bestselling author […]

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  • The Manager’s Handbook: 104 Solutions to Your Everyday Workplace Problems

    Business Management Daily

    The editors of Business Management Daily have compiled dozens upon dozens of hints and tricks for those tasked with leading employees to greatness. If you’re in management, you’ll consult this handbook weekly, perhaps even daily. Whenever a problem crops up, your handbook will be at your fingertips. And as you become a better problem-solver—and a […]

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    Favorite Articles

  • How to Talk to Your Team About a Decision You Disagree With

    When you’re part of a company’s management structure, there will be moments when you’ll have to represent a decision your bosses made that you don’t agree with to your team. Carrying the proverbial flag on behalf of the powers-that-be won’t feel good, but that’s part of the job. Barring a decision or action that is […]

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  • Overcoming Your Fear of Giving Tough Feedback

    A lack of constructive feedback is detrimental to your team, depriving them of mentorship and growth opportunities. And workplaces marked by poor communication and unclear expectations are breeding grounds for low trust and disengagement. Giving feedback is essential to being an effective leader. In this article, the author offers five ways to overcome your fear […]

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  • Investing in middle managers pays off—literally

    In a new analysis, we found that strong middle managers aren’t just nice to have for all the reasons we note; they are a business imperative. Organizations with top-performing managers yield multiple times the total shareholder returns (TSR) of those with average or below-average managers over a period of five years. In this article, we […]

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    Helpful Websites

  • Growth Institute

    Professional development resource/community for leaders looking to scale their business.

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  • Leadership-Tools

    The purpose of this page is simply to share some insights into how and why our website was started. Back in September of 2002, the vision for Leadership-Tools.com was born out of a strong desire to share the many benefits of high quality leadership tools and resources; tools that have helped me in so many […]

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  • The Easy Guide to Employee Performance Planning

    Performance planning is a great way to give a sense of direction to the employees and create a space for them to grow in their career.  In this guide, we will discuss what is performance planning and the process. Some useful templates are also provided. You can edit these online; simply click on the template to […]

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    Video Favourites

  • Five Tips for Better One-on-One Meetings

    One-on-one meetings are among the best opportunities for relationship-building that we’re afforded at work. But when run badly, they can feel like an unproductive use of people’s time. Mistake No. 1: viewing these check-ins as another task list item to check off. With planning and forethought, you can take your one-on-one meetings to the next […]

  • The Four Disciplines of Execution

    Great summary of the book: The Four Disciplines of Execution. 4DX® is not theory. It is a proven set of practices that represents a new way of thinking essential to thriving in today’s competitive climate, making this 2nd Edition a book that no business leader can afford to miss. The 2nd Edition provides more than 30 percent […]

  • The Puzzle of Motivation

    Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.

    Reading Excerpts

  • The Effective Manager

    The Effective Manager By: Mark Horstman Book Summary and Excerpts   CHAPTER 1 – Who Is an Effective Manager? Everyone has experienced both good and bad managers. What makes them that way? Is it what they do? How they think? Their personality? What they feel? Where they went to school? Think about this for a […]

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  • Myself and Other More Important Matters by Charles Handy

    Click for hard copy Chapter One – Are You Sure? The two zones of work and friendship operate best when they don’t overlap, because the perceptions of who we are do not become confused. The truth is that we all behave differently, in a way are different people, in different circumstances. Those who claim that […]

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  • HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across

    Managing Up and Across Excerpts   SECTION ONE – MANAGING UP Managing Your Boss: This relationship can be problematic for two reasons. First, a boss plays conflicting roles: supporter and evaluator, which can create confusion. Second, people often bring their past experiences with authority into the relationship, which can create unnecessary complications.   Don’t presume […]

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Interested in learning more about leadership?

Ed’s books on Leadership, Life and Business will elevate your knowledge and give you the confidence to apply it to your personal and professional life.