The 27 Challenges Managers Face: Step-by-step Solutions to (Nearly) All of Your Management Problems

For more than twenty years, management expert Bruce Tulgan has been asking, “What are the most difficult challenges you face when it comes to managing people?”

Regardless of industry or job title, managers cite the same core issues—27 recurring challenges: the superstar whom the manager is afraid of losing, the slacker whom the manager cannot figure out how to motivate, the one with an attitude problem, and the two who cannot get along, to name just a few.

It turns out that when things are going wrong in a management relationship, the common denominator is almost always unstructured, low substance, hit-or-miss communication.

The real problem is that most managers are “managing on autopilot” without even realizing it—until something goes wrong. And if you are managing on autopilot, then something almost always does.

The 27 Challenges Managers Face shows exactly how to break the vicious cycle and gain control of management relationships. No matter what the issue, Tulgan shows that the fundamentals are all you need. The very best managers hold ongoing one-on-one conversations that make expectations clear, track performance, offer feedback, and hold people accountable.

For every workplace problem—even the most awkward and difficult—The 27 Challenges Managers Face shows how to tailor conversations to solve situations familiar to every manager. Tulgan offers clear approaches for turning around bad attitudes, reducing friction and conflict, improving low performers, retaining top performers, and even addressing your own personal burnout.

The 27 Challenges Managers Face is an indispensable resource for managers at all levels, one anyone managing anyone will want to keep on hand. One challenge at a time, you’ll see how the most effective managers use the fundamentals of management to proactively resolve (nearly) any problem a manager could face. 

BRUCE TULGAN is an adviser to business leaders all over the world and a sought-after speaker and seminar leader. He is the founder and CEO of RainmakerThinking, Inc., a management research and training firm, as well as RainmakerThinking.Training, an online training company. Bruce is the author of numerous books, including the bestselling It’s Okay to Be the Boss, the classic Managing Generation X, Not Everyone Gets a Trophy, and It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss. He has written for the New York Times, USA Today, the Harvard Business Review, and Human Resources. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

For more information, please visit www.rainmakerthinking.com

A Note on How to Use This Book 1

Chapter One The Fundamentals are All You Need 3

Chapter Two The Challenges of Being the “New” Manager 29

Management Challenge #1: When Going from Peer to Leader 37

Management Challenge #2: When Coming from the Outside to Take Over Leadership of an Existing Team 41

Management Challenge #3: When Bringing Together an Entirely New Team 47

Management Challenge #4: When You are Welcoming a New Member to Your Existing Team 51

Chapter Three The Challenges of Teaching Self-Management 57

Management Challenge #5: When Employees Have a Hard Time Managing Time 62

Management Challenge #6: When an Employee Needs Help with Interpersonal Communication 71

Management Challenge #7: When an Employee Needs to Get Organized 77

Management Challenge #8: When an Employee Needs to Get Better at Problem Solving 80

Chapter Four The Challenges of Managing Performance 88

Management Challenge #9: When You Have an Employee Who Needs to Increase Productivity 98

Management Challenge #10: When You Have an Employee Who Needs to Improve Quality 103

Management Challenge #11: When You Need an Employee to Start “Going the Extra Mile” 107

Management Challenge #12: When Your Employees are Doing “Creative” Work 110

Management Challenge #13: When the Employee You are Managing Knows More About the Work Than You Do 114

Chapter Five The Challenges of Managing Attitudes 118

Management Challenge #14: When an Employee Needs an Attitude Adjustment 125

Management Challenge #15: When There is Conflict Between and Among Individuals on Your Team 137

Management Challenge #16: When an Employee Has Personal Issues at Home 140

Chapter Six The Challenges of Managing Superstars 144

Management Challenge #17: When There is a Superstar You Need to Keep Engaged 153

Management Challenge #18: When You Have a Superstar You Really Want to Retain 158

Management Challenge #19: When You Have a Superstar You are Going to Lose for Sure: How to Lose That Superstar Very Well 165

Management Challenge #20: When You Need to Move a Superstar to the Next Level to Develop as a New Leader 170

Chapter Seven The Challenges of Managing Despite Forces Outside Your Control 175

Management Challenge #21: When Managing in an Environment of Constant Change and Uncertainty 179

Management Challenge #22: When Managing Under Resource Constraints 184

Management Challenge #23: When Managing Through Interdependency 188

Management Challenge #24: When Managing Around Logistical Hurdles 196

Management Challenge #25: When Managing Across Differences in Language and Culture 199

Chapter Eight The Challenges of Management Renewal 204

Management Challenge #26: When You Need to Renew Your Management Relationship with a Disengaged Employee 206

Management Challenge #27: When You Need to Renew Your Own Commitment to Being a Strong, Highly Engaged Manager 212

Epilogue 221

Acknowledgments 223

About the Author 227

Index 229

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