The Cranky Middle Manager Show #312 The Future of the MBA Ken Starkey
Rosa Say’s HÅ‘ike‘ike
Posted on 18. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in General
I want you to check out this offering from Rosa Say, who graced our podcast a couple of months ago. She kindly asked me to participate but the dreaded day job got in the way. While I couldn’t contribute, I would love you to read what folks who’ve been our guests had to say. Folks like Brendan Connelly, the Slacker Manager, and Lisa Haneberg at Management Craft.
A HÅ‘ike‘ike is best explained by Rosa, but it’s a year-end collection of blogs and postings from people she’s dealt with this year. Lots of good stuff and maybe some future guests.
Mahalo, Rose. Next year for sure…..
Wayne
Is Work the New Religion?
Posted on 14. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in General
This appeared in The Guardian Newspaper, written by Ian Wylie. It’s worth reading and thinking about. Personally, I hope work is NOT the new religion, only because I can’t imagine who’d play God… besides me, of course, and I’m working on that. Balance, people!
Research by consultancy Penna suggests a quarter of British workers are so passionate about their job they believe it defines who they are and gives their life meaning. For a significant 12%, work is the single biggest provider of “community and belonging”. A fifth have built up a close network of friends through their workplace, a figure that rises in London, where the workplace is an even more important social agent. A quarter of directors say they get more meaning from work than at home or socially. Another poll says more than 90% of employees would rather find a new job than love this Christmas.
British workers spend 60% of their waking hours in work, but many put in long hours because they want to, rather than out of economic necessity. The workplace, instead of the home, is where they make friends, feel supported and find opportunities to “make a difference”.
Older workers – those in their 40s and 50s – were brought up on a live-to-work ethic: work harder, work longer, earn lots of money. In contrast, surveys suggest younger workers focus on quality, not quantity of work. They take it for granted that they will be paid well. But they want work to mirror their values, too.
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 26 Managing Performance
Posted on 09. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in Podcast
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 26
Today we salute a Canadian hero…. well, two of them if you count our guest Ajay Pangarkar who’s going to talk about managing the performance of our employees.
0:00 Welcome to the show. I am making a solemn oath to try and get Tom Peters on the show. He is by far the most requested guest and (we’re shocked to discover) we can’t get within a million miles of him. Does anyone know him? What do we have to do to get Tom Peters on this show????? If you know him or have any ideas Email Me or leave me a voicemail on Skype at wayneturmel .
1:50 This show is dedicated to Sam Steele of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or Northwest Mounted Police as it was then… okay it’s Canadian history, but don’t doze off. Here’s a great example of doing more with less and managing performance.
4:15 Our quote of the week is from Samuel Butler… a quiet guy which didn’t help HIS performance review any
5:15 Welcome Ajay Pangarkar from Central Knowledge . We start with a loaded question- why don’t we get the performance we expect?
10:00 Objectives aren’t always clear….. shocking isn’t it?
14:00 Ajay tells us a personal story of poor performance management…. I love a good war story, don’t you?
19:00 Sometimes we’re too worried about the daily tasks and checklists
25:00 A discussion about balanced feedback. Easy to say, we all know we should do it, but how are we doing????
You know the drill by now… here are some resources
American Society for Training and Development
International Society for Performance Improvement
Check out Judith Hale’s books
If you’re new to the show, check out our archives- there have been some great shows I think you’d like to revisit….check out the archive
6 Years Or You’re Stuck???
Posted on 06. Dec, 2005 by Wayne in General
I’m WAAAY Overdue….
Philadelphia, PA, September 12, 2005—By the sixth year in the middle-management level, most companies in the United States have already decided whether a middle manager has senior-level potential or has become a “career” middle manager, according to a new study from Management Recruiters International, Inc. (MRI), the world’s largest search and recruitment organization. In the United Kingdom, however, the timeframe is even more accelerated, as the study revealed that most middle managers have only four years to advance to the senior level. The study, which interviewed 200 Human Resource directors or senior executives in the United States and 200 Human Resource directors or senior executives in the United Kingdom, also determined that “career” middle managers are seen as critical to the success of the company.
On average, a middle manager remains in the same position for 6.3 years before being promoted to senior management in the U.S.; while in the U.K., middle managers will spend an average of 4.7 years at that level before being promoted. However, in both countries, if these employees do not make the jump to senior management within that same time period, most surveyed companies said they would be considered “career” middle managers. The study also found that after six years in middle management, in both the U.S. and U.K., the opportunities for advancement to the senior level are greatly reduced. Therefore, middle managers who aspire to senior positions must carefully evaluate their career choices at this time, including the possibility of moving on to a new company, to determine how to best meet their goals.