Even if you have abandoned your dieting resolutions in record time this year, you could still resolve to take the actions below--small management actions that will help you build and develop the team you need for weathering tough times.

1.  Listen more than you talk.
One quiet but effective leader puts it this way: "As long as I am the one doing the talking, I am not learning anything new. I am only hearing what I already know." 

2.  Don't confuse efficient communication with effective communication.
Spend "face time" with your employees to develop and preserve good working relationships. Save e-mail for fact-based, not feeling-based content. 

3.  Solicit good ideas through a two-step process.
Accommodate the pace of both quick-processing thinkers and those who take their time. Ask twice, but in different ways. "Pre-ask" by circulating an agenda or e-mail a couple of days ahead of time. Then ask in the meeting...and watch those ideas pour forth!

4.  Don't flip-flop on plans.
Having the flexibility to adapt to new information about a plan is one thing; but changing your mind all of the time is quite another. Staff who work for flip-floppers feel yanked around and disregarded. 

5. Delegate, delegate, delegate.
Of course it's faster to do it yourself. But good delegation is a one-off task that improves productivity, frees up your time, and helps develop your employees to take on more responsibility.

6. Give people plenty of lead time on assignments.
If you want less re-work, correction and conflict, give people enough time to do things well. A few may work better under pressure, but most will not. 

7. Respect the chain of command.
You probably recall what it feels like to have someone go over your head. Don’t do it to your employees, no matter how good a reason you think you have.
 
8.  Get back to people with answers when you say you will.
Telling employees you have been “too busy” to get back to them won’t cut the mustard with most people, since they themselves are absurdly busy also. Make a realistic commitment in the first place and, if need be, revise it.
 
9.  Provide regular performance feedback.
Quick, specific praise or coaching will save you and your employees from Performance Review Hell, the awkward and painful experience of talking about a performance matter months after the fact.
 
10.  Lead fat-free meetings.
Meetings should be fat-free, but not fun-free. Take time for the jokes and casual banter that make work life tolerable, but start on time, end on time, and make your meeting goals clear from the outset. 

 
Channeling Your Inner Leader 

From Tips, Tools & Tactics, vol. 1, no. 1

Here's a factoid I heard recently: 86% of employees who voluntarily leave their jobs say they do so because of "a bad boss." Few of us would put ourselves into that category, but it's probably safe to say that--very, very occasionally--someone else might do so.

  

One thing most of us can do to become better at managing others is to stop talking so much! Did you realize the typical manager does almost 80% of the talking in discussions with employees? (So much for employee empowerment.)
 

Try this simple tactic: Each time you talk with one of your employees, spend 20% more time asking questions. Writer David Rock in his book, Quiet Leadership, suggests you can teach employees to think proactively by asking leading questions such as, "If you were to take on this project, how do you see yourself proceeding?" or "What are some of the challenges you anticipate at this point?"

This tactic does more than just get employees to talk. It actually teaches them to take more ownership. Which is exactly what managers always say they want. In other words, it makes better employees--AND better bosses.

When Employees Complain Endlessly

From Tips, Tools & Tactics, vol. 1, no. 1

Picture this scene: you just sat down to lunch after a pretty successful morning when you see a particularly tiresome colleague walking toward you. It's too late to escape, so with resigned politeness you offer him a seat. Right away he starts in: "You won't believe what Becky said to me about the IRIS project. I've had it with her sniping. She obviously has it in for me." And so on.
 

Geez, you're thinking, it's always the same thing with Jim; he never stops complaining. If the target isn't Becky, it's someone else.

What can you say? First, know what not to say: Don't try to make Jim feel okay by adding your own complaints about Becky. Second, don't try to correct his view. That will only reinforce Jim's behavior AND prolong his tirade.

Instead, show slight concern (think "empathy lite") and ask him what he thinks he should do about the problem. Your comments might sound like this: "Hmm...(concerned frown). How're you going to handle this?"

If you can pull this off, you will see what an amazingly effective tactic it is. You will be subtly helping your coworker own his problem and the responsibility for addressing it (You may have noticed that most people who complain excessively are routinely substituting talk for action). You also avoid giving advice that may work for you but not necessarily for Jim. In addition, you avoid trashing Becky. If you're really lucky, Jim may even stop complaining to you.