Home / Reports and Articles / Managing People

Part II: What They Should Be Teaching In Management Training

Lessons from the Manager's Boot Camp
Brought to you by RainmakerThinking, Inc.

This is the second in a seven part newsletter series in which we are sharing lessons directly from the intensive manager's boot camp we run in companies all over the world. In Part I of this series, I shared our list of the ten hardest things about managing people, according to thousands of responses to our pre-boot camp email in which we ask managers, "What's the hardest thing for you about managing people?" If you want to review that list, check out that back issue.

Here in Part II, I want to share with you the solutions to these challenges that we've been developing and teaching in the boot camp. Here's what "they" should be teaching in management training (and we do!):

1. It's OK to be the boss.
2. It takes guts to take charge... but you don't have to be a jerk to be strong.
3. It's better to be hands-on than hands-off.
4. There's no such thing as time management (before you can manage others, you have to start  managing yourself).
5. Learn to talk like a performance coach.
6. Customize your management to every person you manage.
7. Accountability is a process, not a slogan.
8. Tell people what to do and how to do it.
9. Monitor and measure performance honestly every step of the way.
10. Documentation really is critical.
11. Confront performance problems immediately, like a ton of bricks.
12. Do more for some people and less for others.
13. Managing people is a day to day negotiation. You have to be flexible.

Click here for more information from RainmakerThinking, Inc.