When it comes to knowing how to manage well, even the best leaders need a little advice.

In this monthly column, Dr. Alice Waagen offers insight into topics ranging from “how to deal with a micro-manager,” and “lessons on how to gracefully fire an employee,” to “how to hire the right employees so you don’t have to let them go.”

“In the last three decades that I’ve been in the workforce — as an employee, manager, and now a business owner who trains managers — I have come to understand that the key to success is to stay open to new and better ways of doing things. None of us is perfect. But those who strive to better their work lives, and their lives in general, will be the best managers because they will want the same for their employees and their company.”

As Mahatma Gandhi said: “It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”

If you have questions for Alice, or would like to publish any of her columns in your publication or on your blog, send her an email at alice@workforcelearning.com. Your thoughts and feedback are welcome.

May 2012: The Secret to Motivating Your Staff

Question: Tell me how to motivate my staff. Isn’t that something a good manager is supposed to do?

Alice Waagen says: No. No. No. You cannot motivate another person. Motivation is an internal state that each and every individual has or lacks based on numerous, personal conditions. What you can and must do as a leader in your organization is to create and foster those conditions that will positively support a person’s work.

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April 2012: The Challenge of Change

Question: Please help me with a nagging personality issue I have with one of my direct reports. Two years ago I was hired to lead a customer service team in a mid-sized professional services firm. One of my staff members is overly negative, dismissing any new ideas as failures before we even get a chance to implement them. She has been with the firm for more than 18 years and this job is the only professional job she has ever held. But I am trying to revamp the department, bring in new ideas and basically rebuild processes to make them more streamlined and supported with new technology. How do I get her to get with the program?

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March 2012: You’ve just been issued at RIF order and don’t know where to start. First tip: Don’t take the chicken’s way out.

Question: Help me out here. I just learned that my company will be laying off about 15% of the workforce over the next few months. I’ve been told that I will be responsible for reducing my department’s staff by 10 people, and need to come up with the Reduction in Force (RIF) list by the end of next week. I’ve never done this before—and, quite frankly, I am totally overwhelmed. Can you offer some advice?

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February 2012: When it comes to managing well, it pays to escape to another world

Good managers know when to take a break—and when to encourage their staff members to, as well. One great way to educate your mind, warm your heart, and feed your soul, is to pick up a good book.

In fact, it’s a delightful diversion that I indulge in all too infrequently. I’ll drive myself over to the public library and wander the stacks until a single book calls my name.

It’s always a random book, nothing that I am hunting for or know that I need to read. It never ceases to amaze me that, more often than not, the book my fingers find is exactly the perfect book that teaches me something that I need to learn.

Click here to read all about it.

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January 2012: How to fix a severe case of broken relationships.

Question: I have been a manager for the past five years of a small marketing department within a mid-sized corporation. I am a pretty “Type A” personality and drive myself and my team kind of hard.

I thought they were all okay with this but was devastated last week when I was called into Human Resources and told that a formal complaint had been filed against me as an abusive boss. Three of my staff members accused me of temper tantrums and abusive language.

So now, I am being forced to go to anger management training to keep my job—but I am tempted to just up and quit management all together.

What should I do?

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December 2011 — Management Rule of Thumb: Good questions are more important than good answers.

Why? Because answers provide closure to issues that are puzzling us. Questions open the possibility of new information, new direction, and new creative thought. Focus on generating questions, not answers, as a way to grow and learn.

What is a Rule of Thumb? Woodworkers used the width of their thumbs (one inch, almost exactly) as a measuring rule. Brewers used their thumbs to measure the temperature of batches of beer before the invention of thermometers. And Sir William Hope’s 1692 work, The Compleat Fencing-Master, cites: “What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art.” Click here for more Rules of Thumb.

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November 2011: Some of my staff works hard, others hardly work. How can I fix this?

Question: I am a project manager in a software development firm. Most of the work we do is in project teams that last from between 6 to 18 months. As a manager, I have 6 developers who report to me as their administrative manager.

In that capacity, I approve their leave and provide feedback for performance reviews. Providing performance feedback is a challenge since they are all assigned to different project under other project managers. To make matters more confusing, I mange three projects staffed by people who don’t report to me and for which I have no input into their performance reviews. What can I do?

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October 2011: When someone says one thing then does another the big challenge is to find out why she is not being honest with you in the first place.

Question: I have an employee who is a genius at what I call “passive resistance.” When she has an assignment that she does not want to do, she’ll say yes to my face but then drag her feet on getting the work done. Another tactic she uses is to try to get others to do the work for her. Or, she takes vacation or calls in sick right before she has a big deadline, then asks for an extension. How can I get her to deliver on what she agrees to do?

Alice Waagen: Let’s start with your responsibility for the relationship. Ask yourself these questions.

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September 2011: Are you struggling with your management decisions?

Question: I work in an organization where there are a lot of political games and maneuvers. I don’t have anyone that I trust to keep my issues confidential.

Alice Waagen says: Your question is exactly the reason that I call management the loneliest job in the world. I don’t care if you are a front-line supervisor or a senior vice president, you really can’t trust an internal advisor with issues and concerns about your people management.

I strongly advise anyone in a management position to build a personal advisory team. Consider them your private board of directors.

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August 2011: Are You Having a Hard Time Talking About Your Future with Your Manager?

Question: My manager seems reluctant to have career discussions with me.

Every time I ask to meet and talk about my next career step she says she is too busy now and we’ll talk next month. This has been going on for the better part of the year. What can I do?

Alice Waagen: Some managers may have had a bad experience in the past having career discussions.

Your manager may be reluctant to meet, thinking that you simple want to ask for a promotion or a salary increase.

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July 2011: Deciphering Job Descriptions

Question: I am looking to make a job shift internally in the next 6 months, but it is hard for me to tell how much of the work requires long hours or weekend work or if I can telecommute for part of the time. How can I find out more detail about the job beyond the posted description?

Alice Waagen: One of the most overlooked yet incredibly valuable tools in any job search is the informational interview. An informational interview’s purpose is in its name: you are looking to gather information, not to apply for any job openings.

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June 2011: Eight ways for young professionals to stay on top of their game.

Question: I just landed my first job in a major corporation since graduating from college this year. Do you have any suggestions on how to succeed in the corporate world—without really trying? (I am a GenY, after all.)

Dr. Alice Waagen says: Use the following eight tried and true tips to ease the transition from college to corporate life. Remember, it is all about personal management. So make smart decisions and choices, and think ahead so you are proactive. Most importantly—don’t worry. We have all been there.

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