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Category: people

Objective Subjectivity

June 11, 2013
| 4 Comments
| Categories: appraisal, bell curve, HR, Human Resources, Management, moderation, people, people management, performance appraisal, performance management

 (Image source) So we've moved away from moderation in performance appraisal in our organization. Over the years moderation seemed the best though not always perfect way to grade performance of people. It made sense to rank people with relative performance levels. There was a bell curve to be followed forcing supervisors to push people in defined performance bands. However, the most difficult part was to push people in lowest performance bands. It was imperative that we identify the top performers and the worst performers. Not every supervisor was able to…

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Firing is Easy

July 1, 2012
| 1 Comment
| Categories: appraisal, constructive feedback, feedback, firing people, HR, Leadership, making people succeed, Management, negative feedback, people, people management, performance, performance management, Success, Work

We mostly hear how hard it is to give negative feedback and fire people. I have been wondering about this. Yes giving negative feedback is hard and firing people is harder. However come to think of it, actually this is a easiest thing. We are all critical of others and so giving negative feedback comes naturally. We more often than not, find it easier to find mistakes rather than appreciate what's going on well. And if a subordinate isn't working out, firing is an easy way out. The work pressures…

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Recognition Beyond Awards

March 15, 2010
| 4 Comments
| Categories: acknowledgement, Management, people, people management, recognition

A few years ago my boss said to me in a review meeting that we weren’t doing enough recognition. I defended we were probably doing too much. We had Star of the Month, spot awards, recognition mails etc. I also felt exceptional work should be recognized not just great work. And then a little while ago, an Aha moment for me happened. Recognition is not just about awards, it is also about acknowledging the work being done that is just supposed to be done. A simple Thank You can go…

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Dealing with Office Bully

February 3, 2010
| 10 Comments
| Categories: case study, Management, Office bully, people, people management, Work

I recently received an email seeking my advice on how to deal with an office bully. Hi Manish, It has been a long time since I interacted with you. The project that I am on is beginning to gain momentum and it seems it's going to be a rugged and enjoyable ride throughout the year. Today I write seeking your guidance. A guy in the office who has been in the company for not more than 5 or 6 months has developed a tendency somehow for irritating me. He does…

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Quitting on a Job or a Boss?

April 14, 2009
| 3 Comments
| Categories: Behaviour, Boss, Career, employability, GenX, GenY, Jobs, people, people management, Work

Had an interesting chat with Mark Oehlert on Twitter. moehlert Dr Mike Echols "people quit their bosses, not their jobs". manishmo @moehlert Not always true (ppl quitting on boss and not job). Have had ppl profess their faith in me as a boss but still quit. moehlert @manishmo I hear ya, I think Echols was referring to a generational difference - that X'ers r less likely than Boomers to put up w/ bad boss manishmo @moehlert Intrstng. I read it as Gen Xers are more likely to stick w a boss they like,…

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The Case of Unreliable Genius

March 2, 2009
| 8 Comments
| Categories: case study, Management, people, people management, performance, performance management

I am starting a case study series. I present a case and hope that we can learn from each other’s responses.   Sanjay walked into Priya office agitated. Without waiting for Priya to get off the phone completely he started, “Boss, Nitin hasn’t come to office again today, and he is not taking any calls either. How can I complete the project like this?” Priya tried to calm him down. “Slow down. What happened?” “You know how Nitin is. He wasn’t in office most of last week and today again…

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