Dad, You're Fired.

Firing someone is the toughest task for a manager. Even when it’s in the best interest of the organization, most managers dread showing someone the door. The best strategy is to remove emotion from the equation and focus on the company. After all, it’s business, not personal. 

But what happens when it actually is personal? What if the person who needs to be dismissed is flesh and blood, a family member who isn’t up to the task? You can dismiss someone from the conference room, but you may still have to face him or her in the living room.

Because of the personal relationship involved when the employee is family, the last thing you want is…

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7 Things You Should Never Say To Your Employees

When managing employees, sometimes your patience is tested by a lack of motivation, a resistance to what you’re asking or one or more ‘problem’ workers. And just because you’re the boss does not mean you're perfect. Sometimes we all say things we regret later.

But, unlike the average worker, it’s incumbent upon the boss to keep his nose clean when it comes to verbal communication. You don’t have the luxury of saying something off the cuff when you’re frustrated. The last thing you want is for your verbal missteps to demotivate your staff, causing even bigger problems for your organization.

Here are seven phrases to especially avoid, especially in the heat of the moment. An instant reactive comment can cause reputational damage and destroy any trust your employees have in you, which can take a lifetime to repair. 

"I’m the boss. Do as I say." We’re all adults here. You can’t expect that your employees will take to your hypocrisy. If you are setting different standards for your employees than you have for yourself, you can’t expect that they will respect what you ask them to do. 

"You’re lucky to have a job." If that’s how you really feel about any of your employees, then perhaps you’re the one who’s lucky to have a job. No one works well in an environment where they are made to feel like somehow they’re indebted to their employer. If it’s not working out with a particular employee then be a professional and deal with the issues at hand. Find a way to correct them or part ways with him immediately. The mentality that your employee should “kiss your ring” is immature and evidence that you lack leadership skills. 

"If you don’t like it, I’ll find someone who does." As the manager, you call most of the shots, but that doesn’t give you a license to be a jerk. Anyone can call herself a manager or the boss, but a good one will use leadership skills to motivate employees and deliver results. Threatening employees with losing their jobs, as a way to get them to do what you want, is not sustainable. Sure, they may do what you demand at first, but eventually they will become demotivated and unwilling to do more than the bare minimum to get by. And that’s if they don’t quit first. 

This was originally written for Entrepreneur Media Inc and appeared on entrepreneur.com and nbcnews.com

When It's Appropriate To Micromanage

In a recent meeting with a client, the subject of micromanaging employees’ work came up. Some tasks weren't getting done fast enough, so the client asked me if I thought he wasn’t doing enough to manage his employees and if it’s ever appropriate to micromanage.

As the ongoing conversation about the failures of managers to effectively lead employees often suggests, executives often micromanage their employees rather than lead them. However, in truth, there is a fine line between being a manager and being a micromanager. There is a time for managers to lead as well as a time for leaders to manage.

While there are executives who do in fact micromanage every move their employees make, I don’t believe that every manager who is hands-on is a micromanager. And I also can tell you that not every leader who is hands-off is an effective manager.

So how do you know where you fall?

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Why You Should Treat Your Boss Like a Client

It’s no secret that the job market is more competitive than we’ve seen in recent history. It’s not just finding a job that’s tough to do in the current anemic hiring conditions, keeping one also requires a lot of work.

Securing a promotion or any career advancement hinges on your ability to prove your value and dedication to an employer. And the best way to do that is treating your boss like your most important client.

You might be thinking, that’s easier said than done, but here are a few tricks to keep in mind:

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How to Rekindle The Flame...With Your Business Partner

Having a business partner is like having a spouse. You both brought experience, drive and love to the union, and that chemistry is often what keeps it going.

And then there are those days when you just want a divorce.

While breaking up is common among business partners as companies mature, sometimes you want to stay together for the sake of the kids...er, the customers and employees.

As with any relationship, nipping problems in the bud as soon as they arise is almost always the best option. Doing so helps avoid constant arguing, anger and resentment – and well as irreversible damage to the business and your relationship.

If you’ve made a decision to try to salvage the partnership, consider the following to rekindle that business spark -- before you do or say something you’ll regret and sour the relationship for good.

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If You Want to Lead, You Also Need to Manage

I had a conversation recently with a highly successful professional who, by traditional measures, has proven he knows what it takes to lead an enterprise to victory. But it wasn’t long before I was taken aback by something he said. As we were talking about the nature of my coaching clients, he interjected that he believes the biggest problem with large corporations is middle management. He went on to explain that middle managers are to blame for most of the failures within companies because, rather than making things happen for the organization, they act as a roadblock between upper management and front-line employees.

What struck me was how shortsighted he was. Yes, middle managers are responsible for motivating, inspiring and propelling front-line employees toward success for the organization. But that doesn’t mean that top management isn’t equally responsible (or even more so) for all that. Middle management’s failures are top management’s failures – just as folks in the C-suite can’t wholly take credit for the good things that happen in a company. It is symbiotic.

All executives must...

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