What Great Bosses Know

Public speaking comes with the territory for leaders and managers, but not everyone is comfortable facing an audience. The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler draws on her background in broadcast journalism and her teaching experience to offer six helpful public speaking tips. You can read the text of this podcast on Poynter.org -- to see how she demonstrates the tips through her delivery on this recording.

Playing favorites isn't a bad thing -- provided bosses do it for the right reasons and share those reasons with the staff. Employees deserve to know how their colleagues earn plum assignments, schedules or perks. When they don't, they assume the wrong reasons. And there are plenty of wrong reasons for playing favorites. The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler gives advice and warnings about the art of playing favorites.

Micromanagers aren't popular. But there are a variety of reasons why they behave as they do - ranging from fear to guilt to control-freakness -- to having a staff that isn't skills-ready for more independence. In tough economic times, it is tempting for even good bosses to micromanage for results. But there's a real danger involved. Poynter's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler explains.

Extroverts are energized by the connections they make with people. They think by talking. That might be helpful to some facets of the work of managers -- but being an extrovert can pose challenges. Great bosses understand how to get the best out of extroverts and minimize the worst aspects. And they know their own type well enough to be self-managing as well. The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler explains, and shares some true confessions about her "extrovert mistakes."

Introverts aren't shy or antisocial, so why do some people assume that about them? Great bosses (who may be introverts themselves) know how exactly how to get the best from the introverts on their staff. The Poynter Institute's leadership expert Jill Geisler shares ten things great bosses should know about introverts.

Calm in the storm: it is the gift leaders share with their teams. It helps people do their best work, even when the stakes and high and the pressure is intense. Great bosses understand that their mood and tone are contagious. Unfortunately, many bosses spread anxiety and confusion during crisis because they don't value or haven't chosen to be calm in a crisis. Want to build that skill? The Poynter Institute's leadership expert Jill Geisler shares some tips.

Coaching, when done right, helps employees grow their skills. Why, then, do so many bosses just fix things rather than coach people? The Poynter Institute's leadership expert Jill Geisler believes it is because most bosses were promoted for their craft skills -- and few received any training in coaching. But they can learn how to stop fixing and start coaching, making things better for everyone.

Mediocrity is a challenge for bosses. In the fattest of times, managers might let lackluster performance slide, but in tough times every team member needs to pull his or her weight -- and then some. So, how do great bosses help people move up from mediocrity? The Poynter Institute's Jill Geisler shares tips.

Listening is an important but often elusive skill of bosses. They're busy and multitasking and often fail to give employees their full attention. But multi-taskers aren't the only lousy listeners. The Poynter Institute's leadership expert Jill Geisler identifies nine more and hopes you don't see yourself in this crowd.

"Evil Twins" cause a good deal of trouble for bosses. The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler believes most bosses have an Evil Twin. She developed her Evil Twin theory after seeing feedback on hundreds of managers that demonstrated a disconnect between the boss and the staff's perception of a boss's actions. For example: good managers who view themselves as "not asking anything of you that I wouldn't do myself" can be seen by their staff as their Evil Twin, the "Micromanager". So how do we control those Evil Twins? Jill shares advice in this podcast.

Feedback is something employees crave and bosses should provide. Why is it that bosses overestimate the quality and quantity of the positive feedback they provide? The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler offers some insights into why the gap exists and what bosses can do about it.

Praise can be powerful but it can also present pitfalls. Great bosses know why, when and how to praise so it provides motivation, not manipulation. The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler shares six ways to effective praise.

Mistakes are a manager's enemy. But many bosses take such a heavy-handed approach to mistakes that they cause additional problems. Have you ever been told you overreact to mistakes? The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler takes a look at two reasons bosses overreact and some better approaches to minimizing mistakes.

Missteps with e-mail can undermine a boss's effectiveness. Great bosses know that e-mail can cause needless work, hard feelings and misunderstandings. They know how to avoid its pitfalls and leverage its strengths. The Poynter Institute's leadership and management expert Jill Geisler shares a simple, practical step managers can take to make their e-mails more effective.

Power comes with the territory for managers. But great bosses know that power has its limits and it is influence that can really get things done. Influential people are found at all levels of the organization. Do you have influence? The Poynter Institute's Leadership and Management Group Leader, Jill Geisler, gives you a quiz.

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