Careerstone Group Insights Posts Tagged "Management"

How to Be a Great Manager: Five Essential Skills to Master

The primary responsibility of any manager is to manage people, not products or projects. It all starts and ends with your staff or your employees. As Lee Iacocca said, “Managing is nothing more than motivating other people.” That’s absolutely right. Yes, a manager’s job is to…  Read More

How to Interview and Hire the Right Person

Hiring people is hard work. You pore over tons of resumes and meet dozens of candidates. You try to ask the right questions, check references, and do your homework. Still, how do you find the right person? It isn’t an exact science, but you can get it right. Here’s how. Ask the Right Questions…  Read More

How to Build Trust at Work

Trust is an essential component of effective organizations. Trust in the workplace is directly linked to increased productivity, morale, and commitment. It’s essential for building and maintaining workplace relationships, and it’s essential for collaboration and success. Trust is critical…  Read More

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership: The Four Things You Need to Know to Lead Effectively

There are lots of factors for successful leadership in the workplace, but there is one factor that can separate a good leader from a great one, and that’s emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the ability to use your emotions in a positive and constructive way in relationships…  Read More

Extroverted Leaders: Seven Tips for Success

Last week I wrote about introverted leaders and offered seven tips for success. This week it’s all about extroverts and the things they can do to hone their leadership skills. Introversion or extroversion is not about how shy or social you are; it’s about how you derive your energy. An…  Read More

Introverted Leaders: Seven Tips for Success

Are you an innie or an outie? I’m not talking bellybuttons; I’m talking about your leadership style. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Leadership, like personalities, comes in different shapes and sizes. Introversion or extroversion is not about how shy or social you are; it is about…  Read More

Emotional Intelligence: What It Is, How to Get It, and How to Use It

Many things factor into a person’s success: intellect, skill, resourcefulness, knowledge, drive, etc. But there is one factor that most successful people share—a high EQ.EQ is emotional intelligence, the ability to use your emotions in a positive and constructive way in relationships…  Read More

How to Run a Virtual Meeting

Virtual meetings and teleconferences should follow the same set of rules as conventional, in-person meetings. However, there is an obvious difference between in-person meetings and virtual ones, though (you are not in the same room), so I would add these tips for better virtual meetings: Have a very…  Read More

How to Run a Great Meeting: Fifteen Tips to Design and Execute Great, Effective Meetings

We’ve all been there: The people who talk and talk and talk. The pointless digressions and asides. The people who seem to have no place else to be. The time that is sucked forever from our lives. Sadly, that’s the state of most meetings today. Let’s face it. Most meetings are inefficient…  Read More

How to Run an Effective Intern Program

Summer is coming, and for many businesses that means interns. An intern program can be incredibly valuable for your business, but only if it is executed properly. Great intern programs require a great deal of work, thought, and follow through. Many organizations just kind of slap them together, but this…  Read More

Why You Should Take a Vacation

Did you know that more than 1/3 of working Americans will not take their allotted vacation time this year? And if they do, half of the time they take work with them? What kind of vacation is that? What gives?With so much economic uncertainty, plus high gas prices and a tough job market,…  Read More

Bad Apples: Six Strategies to Deal with Nightmare Co-Workers

Every company has at least one bad apple. These are the people who don’t respect the organization or their coworkers, are negative, don’t carry their own weight, or sabotage the work of others.   A bad apple is like a bad virus—their attitude can affect morale, trust, and productivity.…  Read More

How to Hire a Consultant: 10 Tips to Guide You

Here are 10 tips for hiring a consultant, coach, or other workplace/career consultant:   1. Make sure you need a one. Examine your current staffing/situation/skill set and make a calculated decision. What kind of help do you really need? Just because a consultant is expensive doesn’t necessarily…  Read More

Emotional Intelligence at Work

Many different things go into the making of a good leader and a strong individual. Knowledge, drive, ambition, resourcefulness, force of will, intellect, etc. But there is one factor that almost all successful people share - emotional intelligence.Emotional Intelligence is the ability to use your emotions…  Read More

Effective Retention Strategies

We all know how important it is for businesses to find, attract and retain a talented workforce. In today’s world, workers, especially younger ones, change jobs much more frequently than they did 10 years ago. Turnover has a huge financial and organizational cost as businesses struggle to recruit…  Read More

Successful Retreats

The offsite retreat. Some people love them. Some people hate them. And it’s easy to see why. If done well, retreats can be a powerful way to help organizations bring about positive change. If done poorly, retreats can be a waste of time and can actually make things worse.Holding an effective retreat…  Read More

Changing Jobs Within Your Organization

Do you feel like it’s time to move up or across the corporate ladder? Have you ever thought of advancing or changing careers within your company? What if you are a manager and you want to hire an employee from a different department? There is a right way and a wrong way to change jobs and hire…  Read More

Workplace Mentoring

Most successful adults can identify a person who had a significant and positive impact on them. Whether it was a teacher, a coach, a boss, a scoutmaster, or a parent, chances are that someone, somewhere along the line acted as a mentor to you.Today, more and more businesses are embracing the concept…  Read More

Performance Reviews: Why They Matter and How to Make the Most of Them

Love ‘em or hate ’em, whether giving one or getting one, a performance review is one of the most important tools managers and employees have to gauge and improve performance in the workplace. Employee reviews provide a record of employee performance vis-à-vis company expectations…  Read More

A Guide To Better Meetings: Nine Principles of Productive Meetings

When is the last time you said, “I wish I could attend more meetings!” or “That was a great meeting—when can we do it again?!”Recent studies report that managers spend an average of 40%-50% of their working hours in business meetings. To make matters worse, it is reported…  Read More

Difficult Conversations

Avoiding difficult conversations is a common practice both in our professional lives and our personal lives. Telling an employee that their performance is not up to snuff is an unpleasant task for most of us. Confronting a friend about an unpleasant situation promises to be about as fun as a root canal.…  Read More

Managing Teams in the Virtual Workplace: Six Steps for Success

Management is always challenging, but the virtual workplace can add an additional layer of difficulty. Remote or virtual employees often feel disconnected from their supervisor and team members and may become disengaged or less effective in their role. Managers can also struggle with tracking performance…  Read More

Six Common Mistakes Leaders Make During Change and How to Avoid Them

Change is very hard for all involved. During times of organizational change, morale tends to drop and top performers may look for better options. Change is also commonly met with resistance (even good change!) at first and productivity can take a hit. The other truth about change? It is unavoidable.…  Read More

Performance Management: Stop the Annual Madness!

It’s time to rethink performance management. In case you haven’t heard, the traditional “annual performance review” is dead.  And we at Careerstone Group wish it a hearty goodbye and good riddance. Performance Management in the 21st Century should be an ongoing conversation…  Read More

The Danger of Workplace Gossip

It seems so harmless. That little chitchat at the water cooler about so and so. The debate over someone’s relationship with someone else. The speculation about “you-know-who.” Is it chitchat or is it gossip? How can you tell the difference? And who cares? The truth is that there is…  Read More

Your Team's Greatest Challenge Could Be Your Greatest Asset

Personality differences in the workplace are a common source of conflict. People with very different personalities can, for a lack of better words, drive each other crazy. The funny thing is, this can happen even among people with very similar personalities. However, there is a lot of value to having…  Read More

No Turkey Needed! Embracing Gratitude in the Workplace

Let’s face it – we’re terrible at showing appreciation for one another, especially at work. Yes, we buy lunch for our staff at the quarterly meeting, give out certificates for years of service, and even say “thank you” to our team for job well done, but do we really show…  Read More

Suck Ups Need Not Apply

“Let’s be clear: Managing up is NOT about brown nosing, sucking up, or becoming a sycophant. Managing up is about consciously and intentionally developing effective relationships with supervisors, bosses, and other people above you in the food chain. It is a deliberate and strategic effort…  Read More

Stop Reading This - Go Take A Vacation!

When’s the last time you took a complete hiatus from work, and went on vacation? Americans are notoriously bad at taking time off.  Numerous studies show that 75% of Americans forgo using all of their allotted paid vacation days, and among those who do take vacations, 61% continue to work…  Read More

Want to Make Your Presentations Less Scary? Practice these 3 Tips for Success

  “The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.”  - George Jessel Giving presentations at work can be scary. In fact, more people report having phobias of public speaking than they do of any other fear—even…  Read More

Managers: Feedback is a Gift!

Employees of all ages expect some degree of feedback at work. Our latest survey revealed that younger employees might expect a higher degree of feedback from supervisors than their colleagues or supervisors of previous generations.   Of 18- to 34-year-olds living in the United States, only 16% of…  Read More

Write for Success At Any Stage In Your Career!

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne Do you dread writing at work? Do you write, re-write, and then procrastinate some more before hitting the “send” button? Formal proposals, memos, and even internal emails can be stressful and hamper productivity for…  Read More

Be a Change Victor, not a Change Victim!

We all know that in business and in life, one of the only things that remains constant is change. Organizations are constantly undergoing transformations in technology, in management, in internal policies and procedures, and in how they conduct business. Some of these transformations are planned, and…  Read More

Guest Blog Post: Developing Leadership Skills as a Remote Worker

By Nathalie Ronan Despite the challenges that come with working remotely, studies have shown that workplace productivity has remained stable for most workers. Much of it has to do with the employers providing greater flexibility, a reliable infrastructure, and work policy adjustments around…  Read More

Five Undervalued Leadership Traits

Leaders possess the ability to make or break an organization – the way leaders show up impacts company culture, employee engagement, and the success of the team as a whole. While there are many qualities that contribute to great leadership, we frequently hear the same ones over and over again: communication,…  Read More

It’s Time for a Vacation – Plan Accordingly!

Sunshine beams through your office window and the days are getting longer – summer is finally here! This is the perfect time to start planning a vacation or staycation and use that coveted paid time off. While taking time off work offers many physical and mental health benefits, most Americans let…  Read More

Effectively Manage Your Hybrid Team

There’s no better time to show your boss some extra appreciation than on National Boss’ Day (October 16 this year!). Effectively managing a team in the evolving work world is no easy feat. From adapting to countless workplace shifts and continuing to embrace progress, modern leaders stepped up to…  Read More