Poor Performance Jim came on one of my Leadership Skills training courses. He came across as a lovely, kind manager. He had a difficult situation to deal with. He recounted a horror story to us of a feckless and … Continue reading →

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Nancy SlessengerComments Off on What should you do when you have a performance issue with a team member?

  Here’s a great piece of advice:   “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.”   Ann Landers   (I think this advice is probably doubly true for cats.)   Using feedback from your doting … Continue reading →

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Nancy SlessengerComments Off on How do you get reliable feedback?

  We went to Australia in March and while we were there, we went to visit the fabulous Jewel Cave near Margaret River.   The tour guide was particularly well informed and skilled at making the whole visit extremely interesting … Continue reading →

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Nancy SlessengerComments Off on Personnel Problems and the Tasmanian Tiger

  Stop Now   You may be surprised to see me advising you not to give any more feedback. But I am. What I am going to tell you about will make performance management, performance reviews and performance itself much … Continue reading →

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Nancy Slessenger2 Comments

    I was interviewing a candidate for a reception post a few weeks ago. He was an excellent candidate. However, he was very surprised to discover that the post was part time.     I immediately assumed that I … Continue reading →

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Nancy Slessenger1 Comment

  Do you think that people can learn new skills?  So do I. I wouldn’t be in this job if I didn’t.     Sometimes dealing with poor performance can be really hard. You know the situation – you have … Continue reading →

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Nancy SlessengerComments Off on Do you believe that people can change?

  Years ago, at a time when I was particularly busy and had to take on a new project, I needed to delegate as much as I could.   I drew up a list of all the things I was … Continue reading →

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Nancy SlessengerComments Off on Get rid of tasks you don’t like

  When you give feedback in the right way, you improve intelligence. When you do it badly, you do the reverse.    (Of course, it is much easier to give feedback if there were smart objectives or smart targets in … Continue reading →

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Nancy Slessenger1 Comment