Coaching secrets, becoming a better coach

What are your strategies for becoming a more effective coach?
Your Rant: I’ve got an employee who has a lot of potential. How can I help her to do a better job? 
911 Repair:
Did you hear about the German man who woke up very early one morning, stark naked, in the middle of the street? [...]

Making Human Resources a strategic asset

 What is your strategy for making Human Resources more strategic?
Your Rant: After years of complaining about HR, I was recently transferred into the belly of the beast. Any advice?
911 Repair,
The Commodore Hotel was a popular place for journalists to stay during the Beirut Civil War. However, checking in to this hotel in a war zone [...]

What employees wish their boss knew

What would you like your boss to know? 
Your Rant: I have 10 employees who are working for me and they all seem to be moving in slow motion. What can I do to get them to perform better?
911 Repair:
The U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the “armed” robbery conviction of Deshon Odom. Sure he was [...]

Real talk. Improving your workplace conversations

What’s your strategy for improving your workplace conversation? 
Your Rant: I’m a new supervisor and I get the sense that people only tell me what they think I want to hear. What can I do to hear what they really think?
911 Repair:
I was traveling in France and needed a cash machine. I stopped one [...]

Can I be an effective boss?

What’s your strategy for being a great boss? 
Your Rant: I really want to be a better boss than the ones I had earlier in my career. They were rotten. How can I do a better job?
911 Repair:
Daniel Dady’s defense when he was accused of stealing $150,000 in jewelry? He didn’t need the money since [...]

Bob Nelson on recognizing employees

DEAR READERS: We’ll explore the topic of employee recognition with Bob Nelson, the world’s top expert on recognition and the author of the humongous best seller ‘1001 Ways to Reward Employees’ (Workman Publishing, 2005) and ‘The 1001 Rewards & Recognition Fieldbook’ (Workman Publishing, 2002).
WW: What are the top reasons that companies don’t recognize their employees?
BN: [...]

How to get the most out of the people who report to you

Dear WW: Most business books offer just conjecture about how to be a better boss. Is there any advice out there based on real research? JUST THE FACTS
Dear FACTS,
I recently took a flight on Northwest Airlines. Instead of boarding by row, after letting first class and frequent flyers board, Northwest opened up boarding to [...]

Giving feedback so it can be heard

What are your strategies for giving feedback? 
Your Rant: I’ve always struggled with how to criticize someone. Can you give me advice on how to make this less explosive?
911 Repair:
I’ll make a bet with you. I’ll give you a $1 if you’ll parallel park your car on a busy street blindfolded. Of course you’d never accept [...]

Help I need employee buy-in!

What’s your strategy to get the most out of employees?
Your Rant: My team simply does the minimum to get by. I need them to work much smarter than this. What can I do to light a fire under them? NOT BOUGHT IN
911 Repair:
Did you hear about British garbage collector Tim Byrne? Hs is so committed [...]

Can anyone manage a sales team?

What’s your strategy for managing a salespeople?
Your Rant: I’ve never had to manage salespeople before. They strike me as a different breed, so please tell me what I need to know to be successful.
911 Repair:
Recently, I learned an amazing trick that many people have turned into an art form. When asked a question [...]