The Cranky Middle Manager Show #251 The One Minute Negotiator- George Lucas
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #211 Don’t be THAT boss- Mark Wiskup
Posted on 18. Oct, 2009 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to Mark Wiskup about his new book-“Don’t Be That Boss- How Great Communicators Get the Most Out of Their Employees and Their Careers”. We also look at someone who shouldn’t have been THAT king, and quote Turks about listening skills. Not just another training workshop today boys and girls…..
The incredibly energetic Mark Wiskup talks to us about good bosses communicate, and bad ones just give orders…
Show Notes
0:00 Hello everyone, a bit late but still hanging in here. Today we talk to Mark Wiskup about the communication skills managers need to be effective, and typically we dedicate this show to Raynald of Chatillon who knew absolutely nothing about that and lost his head as a result. We also revisit an old vaudeville joke with a point… you know what bad bosses do, DON’T DO THAT.
3:50 The quote of the week is from the Turks…or so I’m told but I’m always suspicious. It was probably Seth Godin, he claims credit for everything these days. What is your listening/pondering/speaking ratio?
4:15 Welcome to Mark…. so what boss do you NOT want to be? A boss who totally leaves out of the equation that you have to connect with your employees. They don’t have to love you but they do have to be willing to listen to you.
7:00 Here’s a hard lesson for all of us… being right has very little to do with being a boss. It’s your ability to influence and convince others. That’s not data, that’s communication. Oh, and communication is more than just transmission of messages.
10:46 Good heavens something we haven’t talked about before- managers dealing with vendors and why good communication is so critical in that relationship.
14:11 We often believe in if/then… IF I nag enough people WILL do whatever the heck it is I want. Yeah, how’s that working for ya?
17:40 How do we maintain communication that works when we aren’t around…it’s simple. Ask them personal questions and at least pretend to care about the answer. Seriously. If you’re not willing to put in the effort, don’t complain when you can’t connect.
22:50 When you’re talking to an employee or vendor and they’re complaining… spend some time to find out what they want in place? Drop the business speak and define what you want.
Mark’s Resources
Execution, by Larry Bossidy
Anything by John LeCarre
Big fan of Mark’s and love his newest book – Don’t Be That Boss. Thanks for including our newsletter in the resources.
Gini Dietrich
CEO
Arment Dietrich, Inc.
Ah-ha moment: “being right has very little to do with being a boss.” Of course, I know that’s true about my bosses, but never really thought about it as far as my own leadership is concerned. Guess that brings me back to one of my favorite axioms of the difference between a manager and a leader. So I maybe I already knew that, but I like how Mark made a point about it being something that has to be worked at, consciously making an effort to connect.
You’re right… the notion of consciously making an effort is maybe the single biggest factor in success or failure as a leader. Let’s face it…. if you KNOW you’re acting like a moron, you’re less likely to continue such behavior. Good to hear from you as always.