Great Manager Newsletter - April 3, 2024
The Challenge of Middle Management
On this day in 1973, the first mobile phone call was made in New York City by Martin Cooper to the Bell Lab offices in New Jersey. My question: did the person at the Bell Lab offices let it go to voicemail?
Adding a new feature - trying to put a little levity into the newsletter. See the Business Laughs section.
Let’s get started.
1 Big Thing
The Challenge of Middle Management
Studies show how crucial it is to put great emphasis on equipping staff members at all levels - and particularly middle managers because they are the ‘human connectors’ within organizations - with emotional intelligence skills.
Why it Matters… We need to change the way we select who gets to be managers by focusing on emotional skills rather than technical skills and also encourage it among all workers.
Watch This
Parkinson's Law: Manage your time more effectively
Parkinson's Law states this: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Essentially the more time you have to complete something, the longer it will take you to finish it. And the less time you have to complete your goal, the more likely it is that you'll complete it in proposed time. But if a goal or a task does not have a specific deadline set, it will most likely never get done. In this video you'll learn how to use the Parkinson's Law to your advantage and manage your time more effectively thanks to it.
By the Numbers
$322 Billion
$322 billion of turnover and lost productivity cost globally due to employee burnout. This is a real issue that is causing organizations a lot of money and hurting a lot of people.
Words of Wisdom
Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out.
― Ronald Reagan
Business Laughs
Discussion Topics
What are the current challenges you're facing in your respective teams?
What I'm working on this week....
I’m continuing to try to build the audience for this newsletter.
I’m also working on recovering from all the chocolate Easter Eggs I ate over the weekend.
Go be a Great Manager!