Running Effective Teams

In 1996, 23 climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest. Five did not make it back. The exact cause of this misfortune may never be known, but managers can take away several lessons from this case when managing their own teams. This analysis suggests that leaders must pay close attention to how they balance competing pressures in their organizations, and how their words and actions shape the perceptions and beliefs of team members. This case also provides insight regarding how firms approach learning from past failures.

Remote teams make good economical sense when a company wants to access expertise from a specialist without having to take on the team member full time. This is often the case in mergers, where the aim is to create strong pockets of expertise and make them available company-wide. In larger organizations, satellite offices are also increasingly common. Maintaining quality and productivity are paramount, but one of the biggest problems a remote team will face is communication. Keeping everybody on the same page regarding schedules, meetings, and plans can be challenging. This paper shows you the secrets of how to make that happen.

There's a well-established case for developing your employees. In many industries, the opportunities to gain competitive advantage through pricing, distribution, and service levels are limited. So why not capitalize on the talent and creativity of your employees and train them to help your company differentiate itself from the competition? Meanwhile, your employees will gain a satisfying sense of personal achievement from expanding their own skills and increasing their value to the business, which makes you a happy manager. This BNET Basic article tells you how to do it.

Mid-level managers play important roles throughout organizations: they are the link between strategy and work productivity. Developing this vital level of leadership can help organizations capitalize on the significant contribution mid-level managers can make in their current jobs and ensure a sustainable supply of talented senior-level leaders in the future. This article outlines a practical system for training mid-level leaders to prepare them for success.

The era of lifetime employment at one company is over. In one poll, 100 percent of respondents said they expected to change jobs "every few years." Resignations of key employees can disrupt the smooth operation of business, and companies need to be prepared to handle the turnover in an efficient, professional manner. Losing key people is a disappointment, but it gives a company the opportunity to make changes and become more productive. Here's how.