Manager Tools

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Tired of management theory? Want to learn specific skills to help improve your management performance? Then Manager Tools is the podcast for you! Manager Tools is a weekly business podcast focused on helping professionals become more effective managers and leaders. Each week, we discuss specific actions for professionals to take to achieve their desired management and career objectives. Manager Tools won Best Business Podcast Award in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012 as well as the People's Choice Award in 2008. Go to http://www.manager-tools.com/testimonials to read what others are saying about the impact Manager Tools has had on their careers and lives. Our goal: Every Manager Effective (TM)

Manager Tools

  • podcastawards.com
    2012 Business

  • podcastawards.com
    2008 People's Choice

  • podcastawards.com
    2008 Business

  • podcastawards.com
    2006 Business

  • podcastawards.com
    Legacy Show


  • Jun 2, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
  • weekly NEW EPISODES
  • 44m AVG DURATION
  • 940 EPISODES

4.6 from 1,180 ratings Listeners of Manager Tools that love the show mention: manager tools, career tools, mike and mark, mark and mike, delegation, directs, management skills, management podcast, one on ones, tools team, don't teach, auzenne, managerial, manger, mt, individual contributor, mark and michael, check out their website, wendii, effectiveness.


Ivy Insights

The Manager Tools podcast has been an invaluable resource for me as a young and new manager. Despite lacking any previous managerial experience, this podcast has provided me with direction, ideas, and confidence in my future career. The hosts, Mark and Mike, offer practical advice and guidance that is easy to understand and implement. Their insights have helped me improve my leadership skills and achieve better results in my role. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone looking to enhance their management abilities.

One of the best aspects of the Manager Tools podcast is its specificity. The hosts break down management practices into specific behaviors, providing actionable steps that listeners can take to improve their managerial skills. This level of detail and practicality sets this podcast apart from others in the genre. Additionally, the Management Trinity concept introduced by Mark and Mike is truly priceless. It provides a framework for effective management that is easy to understand and apply in any situation.

While there are many great aspects to the Manager Tools podcast, one potential downside is that it has been running for a while now, which means there is a lot of content to catch up on. However, the good news is that all episodes are still available online so listeners can access them at their own pace. Additionally, there could be more comprehensive show notes provided at the end of each episode to further enhance the learning experience.

In conclusion, the Manager Tools podcast is an outstanding resource for managers at all levels of experience. It offers practical advice and guidance on various management topics, helping listeners become more effective leaders in their roles. The specificity of the advice given by Mark and Mike sets this podcast apart from others in the genre. While there may be a lot of content to catch up on, the availability of all episodes ensures that listeners can access valuable information whenever they need it. Overall, I highly recommend this podcast to anyone looking to improve their management skills and advance their career.



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Latest episodes from Manager Tools

HR May Not Be Your Friend - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025


Effective managers need a good relationship with HR. But HR may be the hardest staff organization to have a good relationship with, because their incentives are often misaligned with everyday managers. Even if you have an "HR Business Partner," they work for someone else, and probably support other managers. This isn't inherently bad, but a smart manager knows to work with them, while understanding the challenges.

The World's Best Feedback Organization

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025


If feedback is so important to high performance - and it is - it makes sense to study if and when and how the very best athletes get feedback about their performance. While there are 500 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies - truly rarified air - there are only 32 starting players at each position on each NFL team. There are more than 10 times more of the very best CEOs in the entire world than the very best starting quarterbacks, middle linebackers, centers, and defensive ends.. Even if you count all 11 starting players on offense or defense, there are still more Fortune 500 CEOs than starting offensive or defensive players. It is harder to become a starting NFL player than it is to become a Fortune 500 CEO. And they get more feedback than the CEOs do. There's a connection.

Everybody Has Too Much Work To Do! - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025


Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. Theree's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the way it's supposed to be.

Everybody Has Too Much Work To Do! - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025


Everyone is always complaining that they have too much work to do. Too many tasks, too many projects, too many meetings. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done. What no one realizes is this is the way it's supposed to be.

The Hidden Purpose Of Interviewing - External Validation - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025


Part 2 of our guidance on why interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.

The Hidden Purpose Of Interviewing - External Validation - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025


Interviewing must not only select the right candidate, but also build organizational trust through a fair, known, challenging, and respectful process.

Working Hard - Chapter One - The Myth And The Basics - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025


It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work. But it is a MYTH that “working hard” simply means working more hours. In fact, working more hours, in the long run, is NOT the way to think about “working hard.” In this series of guidance, we will lay out how to get the most out of yourself without constantly sacrificing your personal and family life.

Working Hard - Chapter One - The Myth And The Basics - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025


It takes hard work to get ahead in your professional life. As you progress into more demanding roles, more is expected of you. To climb to the top, if that is what you aspire to do, takes an incredible amount of work. But it is a MYTH that “working hard” simply means working more hours. In fact, working more hours, in the long run, is NOT the way to think about “working hard.” In this series of guidance, we will lay out how to get the most out of yourself without constantly sacrificing your personal and family life.

Introducing The Effective Senior Manager Conference

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2025


Learn about our Effective Senior Manager Conference: its purpose, its agenda, its topics. If you're a manager and are thinking about your career as a Senior Manager and even Executive, you need to learn why the job is different, and how to succeed.

Internal Hiring Process - Chapter 1 - Development Feedback

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2025


Interviewing internal candidates is different than interviewing external candidates. Internal interviews are not just efforts to fill positions, but also part of professional development for your organization.

Swimming Upstream - Chapter One - Your Boss's Calendar - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025


Part 2 of our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately preparing them for greater leadership opportunities.

Swimming Upstream - Chapter One - Your Boss's Calendar - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2025


Our guidance on Swimming Upstream introduces executive-level insights into our Manager Tools content to help managers become more effective by understanding organizational dynamics beyond their role, ultimately preparing them for greater leadership opportunities.

Why Scheduling Is The Most Important Component of One On Ones - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025


Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling them is actually more important than having weekly One On Ones. Why is that? Our data show why. And directs tell us why when we ask them. And for those who are just getting started, what rules should I use in scheduling my One On Ones.

Why Scheduling Is The Most Important Component of One On Ones - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2025


Scheduling your One On Ones is surprisingly the most important component of One On Ones. Too many managers mistakenly believe that they are “too busy” to do One On Ones becuase of their full calendars. But scheduling them is actually more important than having weekly One On Ones. Why is that? Our data show why. And directs tell us why when we ask them. And for those who are just getting started, what rules should I use in scheduling my One On Ones.

Why Is Negative Feedback So Hard? - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2025


Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they're not as hard as the manager thought they would be. And very few managers who do Manager Tools One On Ones never stop.

Why Is Negative Feedback So Hard? - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025


Lots of managers - hundreds of thousand, and perhaps millions by now - start doing Manager Tools One On Ones, and they love them. They love them because they work, and they're not as hard as the manager thought they would be. And very few managers who do Manager Tools One On Ones never stop. But feedback is a different story. We would guess that around half of Manager Tools managers don't ever fully implement feedback so that it's second nature in a way that their directs know this is how their boss will talk to them about their performance. Why is it so hard?

The Simple Quarterly Performance Review

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2025


Most managers think that performance reviews are their most significant contribution to performance management and improvement. But that's wrong. Frequent feedback is the greatest tool we managers have to improve performance. In fact, performance reviews aren't even really part of the performance improvement efforts managers engage in. Performance reviews are an organizational system that is primarily designed to help the organization manage succession planning.

The Purpose of Feedback - Part 3

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2025


Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it's well received, it works, and frankly, it's easy to get addicted to giving it.

The Purpose of Feedback - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2025


Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it's well received, it works, and frankly, it's easy to get addicted to giving it.

The Purpose of Feedback - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2025


Almost every Non-Manager Tools manager thinks feedback is hard. And yet every year thousands of managers start giving feedback successfully. These managers have discovered that not only is it NOT that hard, but it's well received, it works, and frankly, it's easy to get addicted to giving it.

A Basic Team Culture Model For Managers - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2025


In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll start conflicting with each other.

A Basic Team Culture Model For Managers - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025


In this guidance, we share what we think the base culture ought to be for all managers. You may wish to add more - that can be fine. Just be careful you don't have too many culture touch points - at some point they'll start conflicting with each other.

Assumptive Goal Setting - HOF 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2024


Our Hall of Fame guidance on how to think more creatively about annual planning goals.

How to Set Annual Goals - HOF 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2024


Our Hall Of Fame guidance on how to start setting annual goals, and why we do not like "SMART" goals.

The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024


The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 2

The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024


The Tetris Workload Battle - Part 1

How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2024


How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones

Delivering the Performance Review - HOF 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2024


Our Hall of Fame guidance on delivering a performance review.

Preparing Performance Reviews

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024


This week, we're re-releasing one of our Hall of Fame casts on how to prepare performance reviews.

How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2024


How To Get Subordinate Managers To Do One On Ones

The Goal Of An Interview Is To Create A DECISION

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2024


Our guidance on the reason for interviewing

The Feedback Sandwich

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2024


Our guidance on the Feedback Sandwich.

"Is That What You Want” - Not Recommended

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2024


Our guidance on using "Is that what you want?" in the Manager Tools Feedback Model.

Celebrate Yellow Tasks - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2024


Part 2 of our guidance on how to change the ways you interact with your team when it comes to keeping work on time.

Celebrate Yellow Tasks - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2024


Part 1 of our guidance on how to change the ways you interact with your team when it comes to keeping work on time.

What If Your Direct Says No To Change?

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2024


What happens when you ask a direct to change for the better and they say no? Are they resisting all changes now? Is there something going on you don't know about? Are they going to be a problem going forward? Are they developing an attitude? Uh-oh.

How To Respond To A Grievance - Part 4

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2024


What happens when one of your directs, or even not a direct, files a grievance against you? How should you respond? What are the rules? What can you do, and what should you do, and how should you do it? It's a rare event for a Manager Tools manager, so the Christmas Rule applies. But we'll tell you here exactly what to do and how to respond.

How To Respond To A Grievance - Part 3

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2024


What happens when one of your directs, or even not a direct, files a grievance against you? How should you respond? What are the rules? What can you do, and what should you do, and how should you do it? It's a rare event for a Manager Tools manager, so the Christmas Rule applies. But we'll tell you here exactly what to do and how to respond.

How To Respond To A Grievance - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2024


What happens when one of your directs, or even not a direct, files a grievance against you? How should you respond? What are the rules? What can you do, and what should you do, and how should you do it? It's a rare event for a Manager Tools manager, so the Christmas Rule applies. But we'll tell you here exactly what to do and how to respond.

How To Respond To A Grievance - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2024


What happens when one of your directs, or even not a direct, files a grievance against you? How should you respond? What are the rules? What can you do, and what should you do, and how should you do it? It's a rare event for a Manager Tools manager, so the Christmas Rule applies. But we'll tell you here exactly what to do and how to respond.

What Number Twos Do - And Why - Part 2

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2024


To find the time to get your own work done, you've got to name a successor: a Number Two. You can be forgiven for thinking that Number Two's aren't really a thing, because so few managers use them. But the best do. And here's how they delegate to them, for both the Number Two's benefit, and for YOU.

What Number Twos Do - And Why - Part 1

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2024


To find the time to get your own work done, you've got to name a successor: a Number Two. You can be forgiven for thinking that Number Two's aren't really a thing, because so few managers use them. But the best do. And here's how they delegate to them, for both the Number Two's benefit, and for YOU.

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