Management Tips: Exactly How Strong Of A Manager Are You?

Whether you start a business or are promoted to a position in a company where other employees are reporting to you then, overnight, you have become a manager!

When I started the title insurance firm Hallmark Abstract Service, I have to admit that my prior experience managing others had for the most part been limited to raising three great kids. So in that regard, having watched them grow-up into fine young adults, I consider my management skills to be excellent.

But, aside from our personal lives, managing employees can be tricky and requires a skill-set that is often not innate but instead one that must be learned.

And the learning curve is most certainly a steep one as for some the skills required to be an excellent manager can often run contrary to their basic instincts.

For example how does one earn the loyalty of employees, create an environment within the firm of enthusiasm and drive for whatever the product is or instill a passion for thinking outside of the box when it comes to business development and client retention?

As one who has experienced the challenges above and many more in addition to those, it is a never ending learning process indeed!

These are some tips courtesy of Tanmay Vora.

And while these snippets certainly don’t provide all of the answers, they do provide some excellent food for thought!

The Philosophy Of Management

This note sums up the underlying philosophy of management and leadership. The key however is to know how to earn these things. That, according to me, is the #1 challenge of leadership today.

What the world needs now… – John Wenger at Quantum Shift 

Being nice is not just about more effective teamwork; it’s related to doing what we can to establish what Margaret Wheatley has called “islands of sanity” in a world that may feel increasingly mean-spirited and ugly.  At the risk of sounding a bit of a little old-fashioned,  there is nothing wrong, and everything right, with bringing more kindness into our lives (that includes our working lives).

This brilliant piece by John Wenger talks about something we so badly need today in society, families and organizations – genuine compassion, care and love. A must read!

The Serendipity of Streams – Breaking Smart

If the three most desirable things in a world defined by organizations arelocation, location and location, in the networked world they are connections, connections and connections.

Our perception about reality is formed and altered by the streams we follow. This essay sheds light on how these social streams of updates, information and knowledge coupled with our own ways of consuming them are altering how we solve problems.

Culture, Careers Drive Employment Brand – Josh Bersin  

As IT and business leaders, CIOs bear responsibility for finding ways to offer their people opportunities for learning and continual reinvention. This means letting employees take developmental and stretch assignments, providing a great deal of project-based work, and rewarding managers not only for execution but also for coaching and development. A focus on culture, development, and leadership can pay off in more ways than one can imagine.

So much research we have proves that softer issues like culture, leadership and development are vital for getting and engaging the right talent and yet when we see around, we know we have a long way to go.

I See You – Squawk Point

Trust is the lubrication that allows organisations to tackle tough problems.  It helps them weather the storms of uncertainty.  It is also theglue that keeps a team from despair and fragmentation.  It keeps an organisation aligned when other forces are trying to pull it apart.

This excellent short post by Walter McIntyre outlines the essentials of “I See You” Management – a great way to build mindset of acceptance, understanding and trust!

The photo and management philosophy tips come by way of Tanmay Vora here. If you don’t subscribe to his website you most definitely should!

Michael Haltman is President of Hallmark Abstract Service in New York and a Director of Heroes To Heroes Foundation.

He can be reached at mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com or at 516.741.4723.