Robert Tanner

An important tool managers can use for process improvement, change management, staff development, and managerial effectiveness is a Lessons Learned Analysis.

Conflict resolution is a critical skill for business professionals. There is no one right conflict resolution strategy, however. There are five approaches.

By following a 7 step, coaching model, managers can build an effective working relationship with their difficult employees and motivate them to improve.

Humans are motivated to satisfy five basic needs. These needs are arranged in a hierarchy. Abraham Maslow explains how we seek to satisfy these needs.

There are 4 very different generations in the workplace: the Veterans, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y workers. Managing them is complex.

For organizations, the rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. Effective change occurs when leadership understands four critical truths.

Ask any manager who gives the same reward to a group of employees and she will likely report that some employees were more enthused than others. Motivation is differential and a hit-and-miss motivation strategy has limited organizational return. For this reason, managers must have a diverse strategy to motivate their employees.

The flood of change organizations face brings both good and bad news. The bad news is that the rapid rate of change will not subside. The good news is that John Kotter's Eight Step Model for Leading Change remains a viable approach—even in these difficult times. The first step of Kotter's model is Creating a Sense of Urgency. Creating a sense of urgency alerts the organization that change must occur and it begins the preparation for change.

Organizational change does not come easy. With the rate of technological growth, our Information Age, and the global economy, change is now the normal state of business. As many as two-thirds of organizational total quality management efforts fail. Senior sponsors of change management initiatives often blame failure on employees and middle managers who resist change. More often, however, senior leaders and managers over-estimate how much change they can force on the organization.

Middle management is a difficult place to occupy. It is often the place where careers are either broken or made. In fact, many business professionals find middle management roles more difficult than entry level or senior level management positions. The middle manager is not really in charge of setting direction and whatever direction is set must be done by working through others. Being a middle manager is difficult, but it is not an impossible!