Free Resources for Managers & Supervisors.
Managing people comes with plenty of moments where you wonder, “What am I supposed to do here?” After decades of leading, coaching and working with nonprofit teams, I've learned a few things worth sharing.
Practical ideas, tools and advice to help you manage people, build stronger teams and lead with confidence.
Articles & Insights.
Bullies at Work – Who Should Fix the Problem?
I just finished reading a letter to the editor of our local newspaper complaining about workplace bullies. The writer was…
Paula MacLean
Progressive Discipline – Part 3 Correct Employee Performance Issues with a Written Warning
If an employee’s performance does not improve following a verbal warning, the supervisor or manager may decide to issue a…
Paula MacLean
Progressive Discipline Part 2 Correct Employee Performance Issues Using a Verbal Warning
The following points should be used as a guide only. You must also consult your agencies policies and procedures or…
Paula MacLean
Progressive Discipline Part 1 – Getting Positive Results When Using Formal Discipline
Progressive Discipline refers to the use of increasingly more serious forms of intervention with an employee who is not performing…
Paula MacLean
Managing Generational Diversity – 7 New Rules That Can Help!
I am a Baby Boomer – born between 1945 and 1964. When I was growing up, there were lots and…
Paula MacLean
Two Types of Performance Issues
There are two types of performance issues and also two reasons that an employee may not perform according to an…
Paula MacLean
The Ten Things that Makes a Supervisor GREAT
After more than thirty years as a line supervisor, manager and senior executive, I learned a few things about working…
Paula MacLean
Five Common Denominators of Great Supervisors
In my 30+ years working in human services the positions I’ve held are a story about how the work gets…
Paula MacLean
So What’s With This Younger Generation Anyway?
The Internet was alive this week with another round of stories about Generation Y and the struggle many appear to…
Paula MacLean
One Magical Question to Assess “Job Fit” When Interviewing
May readers of this blog are involved in hiring, supervising and sometimes even firing employees. When was the last time…
Paula MacLean
Giving Feedback to Your Boss
Even when asked, giving feedback to your boss can be a bit touchy. The first thing that may run through…
Paula MacLean
Learning to Write SMART Goals
Whether you are considering your own personal or professional goals or are developing goals for an employee you supervisor, for…
Paula MacLean
Leaders At All Levels Must Be on the Same Page
“I just left a meeting during which a manager told us to do something that was exactly the opposite of…
Paula MacLean
A Fast Way to Create New Job Descriptions
For human resource professionals, the business of creating new job (or position) descriptions or revising existing ones is a fine…
Paula MacLean
Hire Slow and Fire Fast – Part 2
Last week’s blog focused on the folly of the “slow hire” concept and debunked the myth that hiring quality talent…
Paula MacLean
Hire Slow and Fire Fast – A New Human Resource Management Strategy – Part 1 of 2
Human resource management books are full of buzz words. The latest phrase to hit the page is “Hire Slow and…
Paula MacLean
Creating Employee-to-Employee Learning
You may have heard about a little company called Google. They are ranked with Apple, Zappos and several other web-based…
Paula MacLean
Part 2 How to Help Teams Benefit from Crisis
When faced with a crisis, managers should make time to ask people (individually or in small groups) what they are…
Paula MacLean
Don’t Overlook the Value of Crisis to Improve Teams – Part 1
Most managers and supervisors spend a portion of every working day solving problems, dealing with upset people and generally trying…
Paula MacLean
Delegation: If You Want it Done Right … Ask the Right Person
When I stand in front of a group of people about to teach “delegation”, I ask the group to complete…
Paula MacLean
Do Your Employees Trust You?
Confidence in a leader’s intentions and abilities is crucial to accomplishing anything at work. Another words for this is “trust”.…
Paula MacLean
Managers can be targets of harassment by employees!
One aspect of bullying that receives little attention is when managers are bullied by employees. This has been called “upward…
Paula MacLean
Before you Multi-Task – Consider What Brain Science Has to Offer
As an author of several human resource books, I’m often asked about strategies for effective time-management. Some people have more…
Paula MacLean
7 Things that Characterize Women Leaders
In a recent article for Fast Company, Ekaterina Walter outlined the seven “traits that unite women in power”. What struck…
Paula MacLean
10 Tips for Working With Generation Y Employees
Unless you happen to be a Gen Y reader of this newsletter, you may be one of the many managers…
Paula MacLean
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