Management Skills

As Hall of Fame baseball manager Casey Stengel once said, “Managing is getting paid for home runs someone else hits.” Unfortunately, many of us try to be a one-person team -- leading to stress, burnout, and inefficiency. While you may feel that it is easier to just do something yourself instead of assigning the task to someone else, failure to delegate leaves you less time to get to critical work. It also may cause others to feel like they aren’t trusted or that you are too picky.

Just when you think your to-do list is so long that it can’t possibly handle one more item, your manager comes in with a new project she wants you to take on. Two responses may come quickly to mind: screaming that you’re already overworked and can’t possibly be expected to add to your workload or cheerily agreeing to do the task -- and then seething as she walks away.

In sports as in many workplaces, age can be looked at in two ways. On the one hand, older people may be stereotyped as stuck in their ways, slower to produce, or washed up. On the other, they can be seen as knowledgeable, dedicated, and proven.

Guess which of the two categories beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings falls into?

As perhaps the most well-known American athlete at the Summer Olympics, swimmer Michael Phelps carries the expectations of a nation on his enormous shoulders. But a fairy-tale beginning to his quest for further Olympic glory was not to be as he finished fourth in his first event in London.

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London ready to begin, many athletes stand to make large sums of money through sponsorship deals. While the sudden windfall that can go along with earning a medal may seem like it would set these victors up for life, experts warn that these champions need to exercise financial discipline much like regular workers.

So what can those of us who run a 20-minute mile and haven’t performed a cartwheel since high school learn from Olympians? Consider this advice:

Save for the Future

Having a manager who always seems to be looking over your shoulder can be annoying and nerve-wracking. After all, you were hired because of your skill; why can’t he just let you do your job?

You might have someone who is naturally a control-freak on your hands, or perhaps the person is so worried about the department’s performance (and his own job) that he feels the need to check everything. But until you’ve thought about it carefully, don’t reject the notion that you might be contributing to the behavior.

For many working parents, that first hour home from the office can be among the most challenging times of the day. Adults are tired, kids want attention, and everybody is hungry. Developing a routine to make that period go smoother can set the tone for the whole evening.

If you have recently been put in a supervisor position—or are about to be—you are probably feeling a mixture of excitement and fear. The new position is great because it is recognition of your talent and abilities. However, the prospect of supervising other people for the first time can also be scary.

Your first few steps here can make a big difference in whether you succeed (and how well you interact with those you will be supervising), so you want to proceed carefully.

The recent case of the Michigan teen who found part of an Arby employee’s finger in his sandwich brings to light the need for workers to know what to do when something goes wrong at work. After cutting her finger on the meat slicer, the injured left her station without telling anyone. Unaware co-workers continued to fill orders, resulting in the unfortunate customer discovery -- as well as headaches for the company’s public relations department.

The Education Forum and Annual Meeting (EFAM) is the International Association of Administrative Professionals’ premier event. This year, it will be July 21–25 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas (about 10 minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport). With an average of nearly 2,000 attendees, more than 50 educational workshops, plus networking and social events, this is the one event that every admin should attend.

In case you (or your boss) need convincing, here are our top five reasons you should go: