Podcasts · Business

Manager Tools

Manager Tools

300 episodes

Tired of management theory? Want to learn specific skills to help improve your management performance? Then Manager Tools is the podcast for you! Manager Tools is a weekly business podcast focused on helping professionals become more effective managers and leaders. Each week, we discuss specific actions for professionals to take to achieve their desired management and career objectives. Manager Tools won Best Business Podcast Award in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012 as well as the People's Choice Award in 2008. Find more at http://www.manager-tools.com/

Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. How To Present At A Conference - A Checklist - Part 2

    At some point in your career, you're going to get to, or have to, present at a conference. There are some special considerations, and here they are.

  2. How To Present At A Conference - A Checklist - Part 1

    At some point in your career, you're going to get to, or have to, present at a conference. There are some special considerations, and here they are.

  3. The Hip Pocket Presentation

    Most managers don't know it, but if they want to further their career, they must always have a presentation in their hip pocket, ready to be given on no-notice. That's why it's called the Hip Pocket Presentation.

  4. The Love Speech

    For many years at our Effective Manager Conferences, Mark ended the day by giving what we came to call, "The Love Speech." Love matters in managing others. Here it is, for the record, for those who never got to hear it…

  5. What To Do When You Get Promoted - Part 2

    Promotions are exciting - congratulations! And now you have some work to do, but we will tell you exactly what and why and how.

  6. What To Do When You Get Promoted - Part 1

    Promotions are exciting - congratulations! And now you have some work to do, but we will tell you exactly what and why and how.

  7. Career Insurance For Your Directs - Part 2

    We recently re-released a Hall of Fame Career Tools cast about Building Your Network. That's only one part of a series of things everyone must do to manage their own careers. Everybody needs "Career Insurance." And too…

  8. Career Insurance For Your Directs - Part 1

    We recently re-released a Hall of Fame Career Tools cast about Building Your Network. That's only one part of a series of things everyone must do to manage their own careers. Everybody needs "Career Insurance." And too…

  9. Google's Project Oxygen

    We have mentioned, usually only briefly, Google's "Project Oxygen' for many years, in many podcasts. Now we tell the story - in part because we were there.

  10. The Black Widow Mistake - Part 2 (Hall of Fame Guidance)

    The Black Widow Mistake is named after the red, angular figure eight markings on the abdomen of the dangerous female black widow spider. The mistake that many aspiring executives make is to start narrowing their…

  11. The Black Widow Mistake - Part 1 (Hall of Fame Guidance)

    The Black Widow Mistake is named after the red, angular figure eight markings on the abdomen of the dangerous female black widow spider. The mistake that many aspiring executives make is to start narrowing their…

  12. See One, Do One, Teach One

    The way most managers develop their team is haphazard and neither efficient nor effective. How can we not develop our teams when doctors learn thousands and thousands of procedures, diagnoses, and surgeries in such…

  13. The Four Hidden Dangers of Not Delegating - Part 2

    Too many managers fail to delegate sufficiently. In many cases, managers don't know how or what to delegate. But even when some managers have a sense of what and how, they don't delegate. This is often because they…

  14. The Four Hidden Dangers of Not Delegating - Part 1

    Too many managers fail to delegate sufficiently. In many cases, managers don't know how or what to delegate. But even when some managers have a sense of what and how, they don't delegate. This is often because they…

  15. Proactive Reporting And The Bricklayer - Part 2

    As managers get more responsibility, and potentially promotions to Senior Manager, they start feeling squeezed between the demands from above and the demands of running their org. The increases in requests for…

  16. Proactive Reporting And The Bricklayer - Part 1

    As managers get more responsibility, and potentially promotions to Senior Manager, they start feeling squeezed between the demands from above and the demands of running their org. The increases in requests for…

  17. How To Go On Vacation - Part 2 - HOF 2025

    Part 2 of our Hall of Fame guidance on how to plan for and take an effective vacation.

  18. How To Go On Vacation - Part 1 - HOF 2025

    Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to plan for and take an effective vacation.

  19. 20th Anniversary Cast

    Welcome to a special episode of Manager Tools. Today, you're listening to the live recording of our 20th anniversary podcast, captured in front of a fantastic audience of managers and leaders just like you.

  20. Building Your Bench - Chapter 1 - Part 2

    Too many managers rely on HR to bring them candidates for their hiring needs. HR is a necessary part of sourcing candidates, and it's important to work with them. But there is often a disconnect, because they don't…

  21. Building Your Bench - Chapter 1 - Part 1

    Too many managers rely on HR to bring them candidates for their hiring needs. HR is a necessary part of sourcing candidates, and it's important to work with them. But there is often a disconnect, because they don't…

  22. HR May Not Be Your Friend - Part 2

    Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have…

  23. HR May Not Be Your Friend - Part 1

    Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have…

  24. The World's Best Feedback Organization

    If feedback is so important to high performance - and it is - it makes sense to study if and when and how the very best athletes get feedback about their performance. While there are 500 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies -…

  25. Everybody Has Too Much Work To Do! - Part 2

    Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. Theree's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the…

  26. Everybody Has Too Much Work To Do! - Part 1

    Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the…

  27. The Hidden Purpose Of Interviewing - External Validation - Part 2

    Part 2 of our guidance on why interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.

  28. The Hidden Purpose Of Interviewing - External Validation - Part 1

    Interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.

  29. Working Hard - Chapter One - The Myth And The Basics - Part 2

    It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work.…

  30. Working Hard - Chapter One - The Myth And The Basics - Part 1

    It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work.…

  31. Introducing The Effective Senior Manager Conference

    Learn about our Effective Senior Manager Conference: its purpose, its agenda, its topics. If you’re a manager and are thinking about your career as a Senior Manager and even Executive, you need to learn why the job is…

  32. Internal Hiring Process - Chapter 1 - Development Feedback

    Interviewing internal candidates is different than interviewing external candidates. Internal interviews are not just efforts to fill positions, but also part of professional development for your organization.

  33. Swimming Upstream - Chapter One - Your Boss's Calendar - Part 2

    Part 2 of our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role,…

  34. Swimming Upstream - Chapter One - Your Boss's Calendar - Part 1

    Our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately…

  35. Why Scheduling Is The Most Important Component of One On Ones - Part 2

    Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling…

  36. Why Scheduling Is The Most Important Component of One On Ones - Part 1

    Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling…

  37. Why Is Negative Feedback So Hard? - Part 2

    Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they’re not as hard as the manager thought they…

  38. Why Is Negative Feedback So Hard? - Part 1

    Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they’re not as hard as the manager thought they…

  39. The Simple Quarterly Performance Review

    Most managers think that performance reviews are their most significant contribution to performance management and improvement. But that’s wrong. Frequent feedback is the greatest tool we managers have to improve…

  40. The Purpose of Feedback - Part 3

    Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it’s…

  41. The Purpose of Feedback - Part 2

    Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it’s…

  42. The Purpose of Feedback - Part 1

    Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it's…

  43. A Basic Team Culture Model For Managers - Part 2

    In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll…

  44. A Basic Team Culture Model For Managers - Part 1

    In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll…

  45. Assumptive Goal Setting - HOF 2024

    Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to think more creatively about annual planning goals.

  46. How to Set Annual Goals - HOF 2024

    Our Hall Of Fame guidance on how to start setting annual goals, and why we do not like "SMART" goals.

  47. The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 2

    The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 2

  48. The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 1

    The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 1

  49. How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones - Part 2

    How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones

  50. Delivering the Performance Review - HOF 2024

    Our Hall of Fame guidance on delivering a performance review.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.