Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Dan Oswald, CEO of Simplify Compliance, writes about management, leadership, and the workplace. Occasional guest articles are written by other leaders and C-Suite executives from BLR.
by Dan Oswald Being a good manager is a delicate balancing act. You have certain responsibilities, and the buck often stops with you. Assigning tasks, monitoring progress, and measuring results come with the territory. Look “manager” up in the dictionary, and you’ll find it described this way: “a person who has control or direction of […]
by Dan Oswald The day after the 2012 presidential election, a colleague forwarded to me an interview with Michael Siegel, the author of The President as Leader. The interview was conducted by the Washington Post’s Tom Fox and centered around the top attributes of a great leader. In the interview, Siegel points to four leadership […]
I’m not very big on surprises. Years ago, for my 40th birthday, my wife threw me a surprise party. A lot of thought and planning went into it. Friends and family flew in from across the country. I had no clue what she was up to, so when I walked in the back […]
The other night, I got a thoughtful, heartfelt message from a colleague reminding me and others to take time to tell our loved ones exactly how we feel about them. You see, days earlier, his mother had suffered a stroke, and he had spent the time since at her bedside. His message was that we […]
Two of my colleagues forwarded me a recent New York Times article about the temptation of managers to reward employees who work long hours instead of those who produce results. Maybe they were trying to send me a not-so-subtle message! The article cited a study published in 2010 in which researchers found that employees who […]
If you’ve read many (any?) of my writings, you may have gathered that I’m a sports fan and often use sports-related stories to make a point. This week is no different. Earlier this NFL season, I, like many football fans, suffered through the debacle that was the replacement referees. I’m sure you recall those ill-prepared […]
The other day, I had the opportunity to reflect on some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a manager. Most of them were learned the hard way, and I have the scars to prove it. I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes over the course of my career, but I’ve also learned […]
Babe Ruth was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His record of 714 home runs remained unbroken for decades until Hank Aaron finally surpassed him. The Babe was the idol of sports fans but, in time, age took its toll, and his popularity began to wane. Finally, the Yankees traded him to […]
Early in my career, I worked for a boss who, every time he returned from vacation, measured the productivity of his staff by the number of reports and memos he had waiting from each person. It didn’t take long for his staff to realize if you wanted to impress upon him that you had worked hard […]
A great man once said, “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” The man credited for uttering those words? Dr. Seuss. But how right was the author of those wonderful children’s books? In my estimation, he hit the nail on the head. I was on the phone the other day with a […]