Smart Staffing: Replacing a Key Manager -

Home
>
Business Management
>
Smart Staffing: Replacing a Key Manager

Smart Staffing: Replacing a Key Manager

Have you been in this situation? One of your top managers left suddenly and you're under the gun to replace her quickly. So you promoted her assistant. That was a disaster. You now need to replace him but want to do it right this time and avoid another costly mistake.

This is an example of the hundreds of 'management staffing gone wrong' disasters that I've witnessed in working with many companies. In today's hurry-up and get-it-done work world, many people are unwisely promoted to management positions. Basically, their abilities do not match or are insufficient for the new job role. Before you place someone in a management or supervisory position, take heed of these three key staffing principles:

Not all competent employees make good supervisors or managers.

Some might be more valuable by continuing in their role as the top salesperson, or the great programmer or the most sensitive counselor.

Interviews must be focused with targeted questions. For a management position, develop specific behavioral based questions to decide if the person has good people skills? (Managing is working with people to get results.); Communicates well? (Managing is dealing with people up, down and sideways in an organization.); Knows how to handle conflict? (Managing is confronting and solving people problems.)

Finally, in selecting the best candidate, determine the best fit. Can this person do the job? That's the technical fit ? the basic skills to do the job. Does the person have the desire to do the job? That's the motivation fit ? the commitment to perform well. Does the person fit into the team? That's the culture fit ? an important barometer for success.

Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2008/12/1/october_construction_spending_dips_12.htmcid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGjbiLkvC6TYRIh9a_JnkmEVxZouwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=0NnMKujodXQJimgurl=www.hispanicbusiness.com/_client_common/images/news/construction_lg.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2HispanicBusiness.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/business/economy/02econ.html%3Fhpcid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNHNjGPxduc4OPUS7QFD1XDWvs_KYgConstruction Spending Reflects Economic Slowdown/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Institute for Supply bManagement/bâ€™s monthly index of manufacturing activity fell to 36.2, from Octoberâ€™s 38.9. The reading is worse than Wall Street b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/01/america/Economy.phpcid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNHOjGFTiCJZcKKNyPQb-pJ7oThUNAOctober construction spending drops 1.2 percent/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8105270cid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGYHQC1e7yZsSRST7ZCXn5OpnEEjQUS Oct construction spending fell 1.2 percent/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/02/content_10443763.htmcid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGB4ykoWumHj9jJFo844PWZLf1cqQUS construction spending drops larger-than-expected/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrXinhua/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.globest.com/news/1297_1297/washington/175494-1.htmlcid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNF2AZbXqcNpkYv3lv-nuD9jqBcw0gnobrGlobeSt. com/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/12/01/Construction_spending_declined_in_October/UPI-93301228148546/cid=1276553836ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNFGQZwoKI5o-IXuOCu0DbQ1MyHq2AnobrUnited Press International/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276553836hl=ennobrall 280 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7759470.stmcid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNEMPdqbaKBYlwSGvhklHkZ5aKoDFQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=5QyHuUVkfqwJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45169000/jpg/_45169867_usmanufacturing.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120101022.htmlcid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNHwYSrVXXfQMt4z_EufhysTY2MgYgManufacturing index drops to 26-year low/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWashington Post,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Institute for Supply bManagement#39;s/b monthly index of manufacturing activity fell to 36.2 from October#39;s 38.9. The reading is worse than Wall Street b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2008/12/01/daily9.htmlcid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNHVVjrLOCIrHbrMuUZe3onVtOCgkAManufacturing hits 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705267409,00.htmlcid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNF5MxF9x8jhtMB6zlJpOCnStwlpTwUtah index falls to its lowest level in 5 years/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDeseret News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/ISM_November/%3Fpostversion%3D2008120111cid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNEMHS6SoP7D_qlmYvLD9k9zJU6odwManufacturing index at 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNN/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i-xDOTe0w7L4jF1g5lOVZPYwpJvAcid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNFvXNnvXjYHeV-hvrEdPzPS5A8q4wnobrAFP/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/november-manufacturing-activity-falls-prices/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D89D71098-0129-432D-875A-1EECDDE62475%26dist%3DSecEditorsPickscid=1276422140ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNE3CNFxxt2GrB_Dac9Ft48ZPIbKOwnobrMarketWatch/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276422140hl=ennobrall 652 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/12_days_of_christmas_cost_more_this_year/17522/cid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGbokK1JZXB6KSpUAiH-642heFEqwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=DlT0u3j0HcUJimgurl=media.counton2.com/wcbd/img-story/images/uploads/holiday_sales.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WCBD/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/price-tags-on-partridges-and-pear-trees-a-different-cpi/cid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGbSYemITywALRActK0_xkzcZaORwPrice Tags on Partridges and Pear Trees: A Different CPI/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Catherine Rampell For the last 24 years, PNC Wealth bManagement/b (or its predecessor, Provident Bank) has released this whimsical index, a measure of the b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D_PPfujQH9BIcid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGJYHsDJGYwsaBT2sCw1aeNqrSntwVideo: 12 Days of Christmas#39; Items Would Cost $86,609/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/_PPfujQH9BI/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/_PPfujQH9BItype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbRtA6z3x9Zijla9K78YuJGQEq3QD94PT2QO0cid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNHtLDkVx3yVr2BFaGQCSK6Yv9vXiA#39;12 Days of Christmas#39; items would cost $86609/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D9440457cid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNEmNZ4Urv0zfr-gOfM1UlWRk3hzLQCost Increase for quot;12 Days Of Christmasquot; Items/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKTNV Las Vegas/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/3540138/Twelve-Days-of-Christmas-would-cost-21000.htmlcid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNFFq4_u1t3td3aM6KCgPkJfXETMrwnobrTelegraph.co.uk/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2008/12/01/costly-classical-christmas/cid=1276433807ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNE9aaLyFbMBQoJnT93oLbFWG2_nXQnobrReuters/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276433807hl=ennobrall 362 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/AGC-LCM-Declare-Dividends/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B641366A4-F68C-4D7E-8870-F3ADCB0D1839%257Dcid=1276595346ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNFyDm_0uhH3ipr_QxaRkI9cb3hw7wAGC and LCM Declare Dividends/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1a diversified closed-end bmanagement/b investment company, has declared its December monthly dividend of $0.0664 per share, reflecting a reduction of $0.0286 b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%2520News/2058244/cid=1276595346ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNFNYWorG5d-NbvEv-o0XS50Nu4mUgAGC and LCM Declare Dividends/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTrading Markets (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0456755.htmcid=1276595346ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNFmnK5dy8J7LFv7h_Gsx_mh4n3pXwMadison Strategic Sector Premium Fund (MSP) Declares Quarterly b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/PPR-0340-November-Dividend/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B3C32D15F-9E55-4B98-AA4A-987CFA7EF69A%257Dcid=1276595346ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNHKebsjuwptp-Ez9RnI59PRpaxy4gPPR - $.0340 November Dividend/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/WIW-Declares-Monthly-Dividend/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B817D8E56-4EF0-411B-A366-BFA950A03F90%257Dcid=1276595346ei=_Os0SaqMMZCA7QP60OXWCQusg=AFQjCNGuUa8a55xHgn7TJfmY9iRjVcJqAAnobrMarketWatch/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276595346hl=ennobrall 59 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

management - Google News

Smart Staffing: Replacing a Key Manager

Business Management