Making Self-Improvement Simple
Article Managers and their employees can master any new skill—from public speaking to using social media to analyzing data—by following a few general rules, say workplace experts.

Boost Employee Productivity
Article Leaders can help their employees get through the winter doldrums and stay on task, says one chief executive.

Get People to Change
Article Leaders who want to effect change in the workplace must specify what they expect from staff, says a management professor.

Manage a Challenging Employee
Article The most valuable member of a work team may also be the most disruptive, says a leadership expert, who offers tips on how to deal with him or her.

Break a Colleague’s Multitasking Habit
Article Employees who habitually multitask—such as responding to emails while talking to a coworker—negatively impact the well-being and work quality of everyone around them, says a management consultant.

Effective Measures: The Return on Investing in Talent Management_PDF
Product This book, a collection of chapters by 14 authors, looks at ways to measure the success of talent management programs and offers quantitative discussions of the impact of talent management programs on advancement efforts, with an emphasis on fundraising. The information in this book is applicable to any nonprofit organization exploring whether to invest in a strategic talent management program or trying to make the case to do so.

Tips for Working When You’re Stuck at Home
Article Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to many businesses in the Northeastern United States and forced many employees to work from home. A management expert says that workers have to be prepared to make the best of difficult situations.

Keeping Pace
CURRENTS Article This article looks at how the continuous change in technology and communications tools—particularly social media—are changing the way advancement communications offices operate.

Share Conference Knowledge with Employees
Article Managers and others attending work-related conferences should share what they learn with colleagues back at the office, says a leadership expert.

Dealing with Chronically Late Employees
Article Managers who have employees that always seem to be running late can minimize the impact on the rest of the team, says a leadership guru.

Path to the Profession
CURRENTS Article Where does a development shop find good fundraisers? How do you hold on to them? Those questions and more are answered through an exploration of the latest talent management strategies.

Help Your Employees' Professional Growth
Article It is a manager’s job to help his or her employees find the next level of growth in their careers, say leadership experts.

Good Managers Know How to Do Less
Article Leaders who want to be more productive should stop micromanaging their employees and trust them, says a management researcher.

Don't Make These Delegation Mistakes
Article Delegating effectively is one of the most important roles of a manager, says a leadership expert.

Effective Measures: The Return on Investing in Talent Management
Product This book, a collection of chapters by 14 authors, looks at ways to measure the success of talent management programs and offers quantitative discussions of the impact of talent management programs on advancement efforts, with an emphasis on fundraising. The information in this book is applicable to any nonprofit organization exploring whether to invest in a strategic talent management program or trying to make the case to do so.

Give Employees Permission to be Creative
Article An international survey finds that only 1 in 4 people believe they are living up to their creative potential—even though a solid majority thinks that being creative is a valuable asset to work and society.

Identifying Office Prima Donnas
Article One leadership guru writes that all managers should know how to identify employees with “situational dedication”—those who occasionally show “flashes of brilliance” but are generally unreliable.

Charisma is a Teachable Trait
Article Charisma is a valuable though sometimes elusive quality in leadership. It’s commonly thought that this trait is something you either have or you don’t. But a new study suggests that the trait is not as intangible as once thought and can be taught.

Managing a Perfectionist
Article Perfectionism in an employee is more a flaw than an asset. But managing perfectionists isn’t impossible, say leadership experts who believe patience is key to unlocking their potential.

Why Managers Should Meditate
Article What do hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, auto exec Bill Ford and hedge fund manager Ray Dalio have in common? They all meditate on the job. And some leadership experts suggest that managers of every stripe could benefit from the practice—increasing their focus, control and regulation of emotions.

Setting a Sensible Smartphone Policy
Article Smartphones have become a standard employee accessory in many professions, but one management expert says managers need to do a better job of explaining to their employees why they have been given one.

Lead a Better Brainstorming Meeting
Article Forget about telling employees to “think outside the box.” Leadership gurus say there are more effective ways for managers to initiate and guide brainstorming sessions.

Manage as a Consultant and a Therapist
Article Organizations sometimes bring in leadership “coaches,” a combination of a professional consultant and personal therapist, to mentor managers. One leadership expert says that managers should mimic these mentors and adopt a more nuanced “coaching” perspective when dealing with employees.

Detecting and Treating Employee Boredom
Article Every now and then, one of your employees may come down with a condition common to workaday life: boredom. Though it may sound harmless enough, boredom often translates into poor productivity. And what’s more, as one manager cautions, “bored people quit.”

Grooming the Managers of Tomorrow
Article New research finds that as baby boomers retire from the workplace, there will be a need for millennials to take over leadership positions more quickly than in generations past. So what can managers do to attract, retain and grow this important, young workforce?

Office Space: Backing the Brand
CURRENTS Article This article discusses the Communicator Certificate Program at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Run by the institution's university relations department, the program is a series of professional development workshops designed for full-time employees who are involved in managing and communicating the Rutgers brand. The program is also open to any full-time or part-time staff member who wants to learn more about the university. A recent assessment of the program found that it is achieving its goals, making for more coordinated and effective campus communication.

Office Space: Investing in Your Own
CURRENTS Article This article looks at an internal professional development program in the Division of Development and Alumni Relations at Bucknell University. Such a program can not only help retain staff, but also help ensure they have the skills your institution values. In addition, these initiatives empower staff to contribute to one another's professional development, encourage collaboration, and acknowledge the skills and expertise within your office.

Successful Talent Management Program Takes Holistic Approach
Article To attract and retain development staff, treat them like donors. That's the advice from two talent management experts who discussed new strategies and best practices for the changing job market in today's tough economy during a recent CASE conference on strategic talent management.

Managing Time and Energy: A Team Sport
Product This webinar discusses how to effectively manage time, resources, and responsibilities and still have a life. It offers ways to diagnose the problems, assess skills and preferences, and develop sure-fire solutions that each member of the team can take home and apply immediately. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented April 14, 2008.

Piece of Mind
CURRENTS Article The advancement team at Rollins College in Florida learned that collaboration was key to success. They overcame cross-departmental conflict, learned to work together, and realized what each member of the team contributed.

Manager's Portfolio: Raising the Bar
CURRENTS Article Many managers do the job that should be done by the manager below. This article defines the different roles of managers, directors, and vice presidents and provides a three-step process for diagnosing and correcting this common managerial misstep.

Manager's Portfolio: An Inside Job
CURRENTS Article With development associates programs, managers can train entry-level personnel in advancement, offer instruction and insight about the world of work, and gain an edge in the competition for talent with other institutions. Comprehensive programs offer general training, expose associates to every area of advancement, and allow them to focus on one area of concentration. Associates also learn about balancing work and personal life. Programs should end with a comprehensive review of each associate’s performance to determine whether he or she receives permanent placement.

Manager's Portfolio: Achieving Fabled Service
CURRENTS Article Like Nordstrom and other companies famous for customer service, alumni associations should infuse quality constituent service into everything they do. This column features examples from the University of Michigan Alumni Association, which has created a customer relations staff.

Manager's Portfolio: The Art of the Staff Retreat
CURRENTS Article If you want to make sure your staff retreat will be productive, it’s important to determine what you want to accomplish and set the agenda accordingly. This article offers ideas on choosing facilitators, setting the schedule, preparing participants, selecting a location, and managing costs.

Manager's Portfolio: You Are Not Your Job
CURRENTS Article Most managers squeeze people into an existing organizational chart rather than finding the structure that will best accommodate employee skills. By comparing staff members’ abilities with office needs, managers can better assemble the right mix of people and bring out employees’ untapped talents. The article lists five broad skill areas important to an efficient advancement team and describes how different advancement disciplines use these skills.