Archive: Managing
How Managers can Provide Effective Feedback
Feedback conversations are often stressful but don’t need to be. They can be instructive and motivational when managers come prepared. Supervisors often are filled with anxiety leading up to a feedback session, because they are uncertain about what to say, they...
Keep Difficult Conversations in Balance
People often dread having a conversation with a colleague or friend they don’t like or have disagreements with, but there is a professional way to navigate the delicate path. Conversations are part of managing, because supervisors are responsible for — and...
What Managers and Executives can Learn from Herb Kelleher
Few CEOs ever inspired the loyalty of employees the way Herb Kelleher did at Southwest Airlines. He dressed in costumes at company parties, danced with employees, sold tickets at the airline counter, and handed out peanuts on board the plane. People revered him...Handling Difficult Conversations
We are a talkative culture. We like to make small talk, tell humorous stories, exchange ideas, and share gossip, but when it comes to difficult conversations, we hesitate. We squirm. These conversations are stressful, whether the issue is job performance, unacceptable...By Ken O’Quinn
Focus on Them
Perfect Phrases for Business Letters (McGraw-Hill)
TD at Work — Business Writing for Managers
As a contributing author in this book on leadership, Ken offers insights and tips for managing difficult conversations, providing effective feedback, and being authentic. Order here.
Perfect Phrases for Business Letters (McGraw-Hill)
Provides the right words and phrases for any situation - quickly. The book was reprinted in Japanese because of high-volume sales there.
TD at Work — Business Writing for Managers
The Association for Talent Development invited Ken to write this 22-page booklet for the TD at Work series.
Current Blog Post
Use a Dash for Emphasis, a Hyphen for Clarity
People often confuse dashes and hyphens. Dashes are used for three reasons, most commonly to mark off information that you …