Managing a team is very much like juggling several balls at once. Drop one ball, and it spoils the whole pattern.

Unfortunately, this is an easy mistake for managers to make, as they spend too much time on one responsibility at the expense of others that are just as important. This is where a management model like Action Centered Leadership™ helps you monitor the balance between the key areas for which you’re responsible, helping you avoid dropping any balls along the way.

In this article we’ll look at what Action Centered Leadership is, and we’ll explore how you can use it with your team.

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_48.htm?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mtpage

Leaders have to place strategic changes, initiatives, and goals into a broader organizational context, or they risk losing good talent, burning out managers, and wasting money on programs that don’t pay off. People have to see why what they’re doing has to change, why they should suddenly be moving in a new direction.

https://hbr.org/2015/11/to-lead-change-explain-the-context

Micromanagers take perfectly positive attributes – an attention to detail and a hands-on attitude – to the extreme. Either because they’re control-obsessed, or because they feel driven to push everyone around them to success, micromanagers risk disempowering their colleagues. They ruin their colleagues’ confidence, hurt their performance, and frustrate them to the point where they quit.

Luckily, though, there are ways to identify these overzealous tendencies in yourself – and get rid of them before they do more damage. And if you work for a micromanager, there are strategies you can use to convince him or her to accept your independence.

First, though, how do you spot the signs of micromanagement?

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_90.htm?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mtpage

We have to work hard if we want to be successful in our careers, and this can often involve working long hours. (This is not necessarily a bad thing if you’re ambitious, and if this is what you want to do.)

As well as this, many people put in extra hours to meet project deadlines, to clear a backlog of work, or to study.

Some people also work long hours so that they can be seen as “good workers.” For instance, they might think that their reputation will take a hit if they’re not working late like everyone else.

Whatever the reason for putting in the extra work, your performance can suffer if you don’t have strategies in place to manage stress and fatigue, get the most out of the additional time that you’re putting in, and enjoy work and life in general.

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/long-work-hours.htm?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mtpage

Research has shown that while creative people are adept at coming up with new ideas, they can also be more likely to engage in morally questionable behaviors. In a set of studies, Francesca Gino at Harvard Business School and Dan Ariely at Duke University found that creative thinkers are better at rationalizing dishonesty than uncreative thinkers. “Thinking outside the box” can lead to acting unethically.

https://hbr.org/2015/11/why-creative-people-are-more-likely-to-be-dishonest

At work, in whatever role or industry, most people deal daily with others who need their help, support, advice or expertise. Precisely how they deliver that “help” determines its success and also has an impact on the relationship they build with the person they are helping.

John Heron’s framework provides a model for analyzing how you deliver help. His model identifies six primary categories or styles of helping intervention.

Based on studies in counseling, his categories became widely used to study and train health and education professionals. However, more recently, business professionals – managers, supervisors, coaches, consultants, sales people – have used the model to learn and improve how they interact when helping their employees, team members, clients, and customers.

This article helps you understand Heron’s model, so that you can use it to improve your business and management communication skills and so improve the outcome of the help you offer.

https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/HeronsCategories.htm?

Developing your team is an important part of your job, whether you’re a new team leader or an experienced manager. And it doesn’t apply only to new hires. People need training and support throughout their careers, both as individuals and as teams, to develop their skills and continue to work effectively. In this article, we’ll look at several areas of team development, and explore some practical tips and tools to help you get the best out of your people and achieve your objectives.