Archive for April, 2009

In the UK and many other countries, employment tribunals have more than doubled in the last 5 years.

how so?

Well, television is increasing reality and people see The Apprentice and celebrity chef programs on TV. People who do well are almost always represented as walking about, pointing and shouting at others (and quite often swearing and being rude also) to get the job done.

But that’s television – it’s not management…

It’s meant to entertain the viewing public and remember they don’t want to hear theories and explanations – they want to be entertained.

So how to be a better manager with all this bad advice around? Here are 3 thoughts to ponder.

1. Listen more. Talk less.

You will be able to make better decisions with all the facts and people will be happy (or happier) if they can see the manager has listened. Solutions will be more readily accepted if staff have had an input. And don’t forget – it’s your staff who actually do the job…

2. Learn to prioritise

Unfortunately, not everything can be important all the time. Just because something isn’t important to you – it doesn’t mean it’s not important to the person involved. So you need to be able to (tactfully) say to people that you won’t be dealing with that particular issue today, tomorrow, this week, ever… Without shouting abuse at them…

3.Get UP TO DATE  information

Too many managers rely on “gut” or what they think – not the facts. After all stopping to check the facts and figures doesn’t make for good TV does it. And after all, most TV programs must be fitted into a 1 hour slot, so spending time expanding the story lines means less advertising revenue…

Finally, recognise TV management programs for what they are – TV programs….