Use that Vacation!!

Ah, vacation. We love to talk about it, and go on them. When was the last time you went, or for that matter, your star employee? Become a Decision Maker. Search Director, VP, & Manager level Jobs.

Vacation or Paid Time Off (PTO), is a significant portion of any compensation package. It is significant not just in monetary terms, but also in productivity terms.

As a manager, you should enable your employees to exhaust as much of their PTO as possible. Why? Aren't employees adults and know how to manage their own lives?

Most Americans don't consume their entire PTO each year, with a significant amount taking little or no time off at all. Employees who don't take time off are at risk for burn-out and reduced performance. Save up to 70% on Business Class Deals to Europe with Air France!

A vacation should be a time to rest and recreate. A vacation also allows employees to rest their minds from work, which in turn, leads them to be more creative when they come back. Additionally, time away from work allows for minor dust ups to pass over, increasing the harmony in the workplace.

As we get close to the end of the year and the weeks of Christmas and Thanksgiving, make sure your folks are taking time off. Don't forget you too! Managers need time off just as much as line employees.

Are You a Micromanager?

In businesses large and small, there is always the temptation to micromanage. In some cases it is an overwhelming sense of responsibility, in others, it is a general distrust of employees.

Regardless, micromanaging is detrimental to employees, companies, and the shareholders.

If you find that employees no longer offer suggestions or tell you outright that you micromanage, then you probably do. Now that you know you micromanage, stop it! Need an easy online web conferencing solution without an installation? Try Dimdim, it's easy, open and affordable. Sign up Now!

Diane Foster of Diane Foster & Associates states in an article found in the Wall Street Journal (11/03/2008, "Micromanagers Miss Bull's Eye"), "The best managers help employees learn to work independently by giving them meaningful responsibilities."

While that seems like a simple and reasonable statement, many managers have a hard time relinquishing control. One way for the manager to relinquish the control is to remember that a manager's function is to lead, plan, and measure. One can't successfully do things while trying to do the jobs of their subordinates. Find $100K+ Jobs

The article also provides this list, from Debra Nunes of Hay Group and Diane Foster to help break the micromanaging habit:

1. Clearly articulate expectations
2. Focus on hiring and placement of subordinates
3. Give employees decision-making power
4. Encourage questions and suggestions
5. Offer constructive feedback
6. Don't grab the reins at the first sign of trouble

In each of the points above, managers need to understand their own role, before they can successfully manage and measure the roles of their subordinates. Building the right team with the proper expectations is the beginning of smoothly running organization.