Welcome to our resource library! Below you’ll find numerous tools that we hope will help in your work – samples, worksheets, and other tools and tips. For more information on how to use any of these resources, please check out our book, Managing to Change the World.
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Check out these tips for managers and leaders to get their teams through this election season (even if your work isn't directly related to electoral work, politics, or organizing).
Everyone is dealing with the uncertainty, divisiveness, and urgency of this election season. We’re also all experiencing the stakes and effects of it differently. Acknowledge what’s happening, hear how your people are doing, and inject purpose, empowerment, and support by using this add-on in your next check-in.
As managers, we can’t end the pandemic or undo racial and intergenerational trauma, but we can influence how our staff experience this moment. We owe it to ourselves, our teams, and our communities to manage towards resilience and results. At TMC, we’re using PAC (Purpose, Agency, Connection) to get us through this election season.
Not sure what to say to your team in the days leading up to Election Day? One of our clients kindly shared an email she sent to all staff as a sample. Check it out!
Planning to gather your team post-election day? Here’s how you might structure your agenda to help your staff feel cared for and connected.
We recently created an #election-season channel in our TMC Community Slack to share questions, tools, ideas, and innovations on how to effectively manage through this election season.
While we—The Management Center—can’t undo the harms of nearly half a millennium of the degradation and dehumanization of Black people in the United States, we can help envision a path forward for managers and leaders. In this article, we share our best thinking on supporting your staff at a time when things are not okay (and haven't been for a long time).
Making a statement is not enough. Our public displays of anti-racism are only as authentic as our private actions, mindset shifts, and interventions. In this article, we share five things for leaders to consider doing to live by their Black Lives Matter solidarity statements.
In response to the anti-Black racism and violence of the last few weeks, our CEO Jerry Hauser reflects on standing in solidarity with Black folks, The Management Center's journey in becoming an anti-racist organization, and how management can be a force for social justice.
Use this starter kit to help you create and use your own hiring rubrics.
Make sure your goals have an equity and inclusion component by using this SMARTIE goals worksheet.
Check out some examples of PTR in action, and how to manage towards your requirements with your preferences and traditions in mind.
Need inspiration for goal-setting? Check out our goals bank for examples of SMARTIE goals!
Here’s our quick-start guide for FAIR, a four-step decision-making approach that gives those most impacted by a decision the opportunity to help shape it.
Check out these examples of fair process, a four-step decision-making approach that gives those most impacted by a decision the opportunity to help shape it.
Check out an example of how to use the PARTNER framework for receiving DICEY feedback that's related to diversity, inclusion, culture, equity, or you.
Check out these examples of how key decision-making opportunities, known as "choice points," can be used to advance racial equity and inclusion.
Use this template to reflect on your interactions with team members, help you spot disparities, check for bias, and focus on equity and inclusion.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
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Things were not okay in 2020 and the jury’s still out on 2021. Many of you are weighing myriad complexities and will need to use your best judgment as you consider performance on a case-by-case basis. While we can’t offer a comprehensive guide, here are some tips for your 2020 evaluations.
Struggling with the exact language to use when giving feedback for your 2020 performance evaluations? Check out our samples.
In the midst of the pandemic, a presidential election, innumerable acts of state-sanctioned violence on Black and brown bodies, and raging fires everywhere, goal-setting might feel like an insurmountable task. The good news is that goal-setting doesn’t have to add to the chaos; it can help you move through it. Here are five tips for 2021 goal-setting.
This sample survey is intended for leaders to adapt as needed to assess the needs, concerns, and circumstances of their staff as they consider reopening the office.
Many of us are getting out of rapid response mode from the pandemic and entering the restabilization phase. As you’re making more plans, the challenge is twofold: keeping track of the different threads for yourself, and communicating them in a way that inspires confidence and isn’t confusing to everyone else. Read on for the key components you need to communicate about your organization moving forward, plus sample language and a simple worksheet to get started.
Scenario planning is the process of constructing narratives about what the future might look like, and considering what you might do if that future comes to pass—which is especially important during a pandemic. You can avoid being unprepared when the future arrives, even if it's not exactly what you imagined. Learn about the basics of scenario planning, our best guidelines and tips, and our easy-to-use 5-Box Scenario Planning tool.
It’s not news that whether you’re the head of an organization, the leader of a team, or an individual contributor, our current context of COVID-19 requires you to reprioritize your work. Of course, like most things, the process of reprioritization is easier said than done. Here are six tips for doing it successfully.
With social distancing in place, every human interaction makes a difference, and your one-on-one check-ins are essential. They also need to look a little different. Here are a few tips for better one-on-one meetings during the pandemic, plus our new COVID-19 check-in agenda (template and sample).
One step every team head and staff member can take to deal with our COVID-19 anxiety is to create a plan for who will take over key responsibilities if one or more of our team members is out. Use our tips and Back-up Planning Tool to figure out the most important responsibilities that need to be covered, who could do them if the current owner is out, and what that person needs to do now to prepare. You can make huge progress in as little as 60 minutes.
During uncertain times, even the best-laid plans need to shift. Instead of updating your budget to get a handle on your financials, turn your attention to cash flow. Use this tool to keep track of your anticipated expenses and revenue.
This sample survey is intended for leaders to adapt as needed to assess the needs and circumstances of their staff as they navigate the COVID-19 crisis. Use the survey results to identify trends, so that you can make and prioritize policy changes and forecast costs.
Even those of us who fancy ourselves virtual hiring aficionados are finding ourselves faced with unique challenges because of the added uncertainty of a global pandemic. We’re here to help!
Assuming your organization has gone remote, how do you onboard at a distance in the middle of a pandemic? If you’re among the lucky few organizations that are still bringing in new people, read on for some tips on how to tweak your standard onboarding process to adapt it for these times. And, get a copy of our remote onboarding checklist!
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When assigning a new project, use this worksheet to get aligned on expectations, resources, constraints, and how you'll monitor progress.
For complex projects, it's helpful to have a written plan that lays out "who will do what by when," including interim deadlines for smaller components.
Try our "MOCHA" model (Manager, Owner, Consulted, Helper, Approver) to articulate who should play what role throughout the course of work.
When looking for work you can delegate, ask yourself: what are the areas where your impact is much greater than your staff's, not just a bit better? Here's a worksheet that will help.
By debriefing at the end of a project, you can capture lessons learned to ensure even better results next time. This template will help you ask the right questions.
To help you monitor progress and understand how work is really going, here are some probing questions that will help you get beneath the surface.
Here's an email you can use to introduce our MOCHA terminology for managing projects to your staff and get everyone using the same vocabulary.
Check out some examples of PTR in action, and how to manage towards your requirements with your preferences and traditions in mind.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
Newsletter Articles
In the midst of the pandemic, a presidential election, innumerable acts of state-sanctioned violence on Black and brown bodies, and raging fires everywhere, goal-setting might feel like an insurmountable task. The good news is that goal-setting doesn’t have to add to the chaos; it can help you move through it. Here are five tips for 2021 goal-setting.
It's often helpful to create a one-page description of a staff member's role that considers not only what the staff member should do but also how they should approach their work.
Use this success sheet to help set annual goals for individual staff members, describing what success looks like and how the staff member plans to get there.
Once goals are set, make sure to regularly check in on your staff member's progress toward them. This form can help structure your monthly or quarterly goals check-in.
Prefer to combine role and goals on the same sheet? This sheet lays out what the role is responsible for (the "what"), the ways to successfully approach the work (the "how"), and what success in this role looks like over a particular period of time (goals).
What will your organization achieve this year, and how will you judge success? Here’s a sample of how to structure clear, measurable organizational goals.
This sample goal development process can serve as a guide to help you design your organization’s own process.
Here’s a sample email that you can use to explain what you’ll be doing and why, and how you’ll use the goals once they’re created.
Make sure your goals have an equity and inclusion component by using this SMARTIE goals worksheet.
Track your progress toward goals using this simple tool.
Need inspiration for goal-setting? Check out our goals bank for examples of SMARTIE goals!
These sample talent-related goals can help you identify and set your own.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
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This agenda provides a template that you can ask staff members to fill out and send you ahead of your check-in. It’s structured to help staff members and managers check in on progress toward goals, stay aligned on current projects, talk about what’s going well, and what could be going better, and get aligned on next steps.
This template will help you lead a productive discussion with your new hire about their first 90 days on the job.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
Skip-level meetings are a type of one-on-one meeting that managers of managers hold with their direct reports’ direct reports. They’re helpful for building relationships, gaining insight into your team and organization, and getting feedback about the managers that you manage.
With social distancing in place, every human interaction makes a difference, and your one-on-one check-ins are essential. They also need to look a little different. Here are a few tips for better one-on-one meetings during the pandemic, plus our new COVID-19 check-in agenda (template and sample).
Everyone is dealing with the uncertainty, divisiveness, and urgency of this election season. We’re also all experiencing the stakes and effects of it differently. Acknowledge what’s happening, hear how your people are doing, and inject purpose, empowerment, and support by using this add-on in your next check-in.
Planning to gather your team post-election day? Here’s how you might structure your agenda to help your staff feel cared for and connected.
Newsletter Articles
Formally articulating the values you expect all staffers to live up to sends strong messages about how people should approach their work.
One group we work with sends this memo to prospective senior hires to capture how things work in their culture so candidates know what they're committing to. The details for your organization will differ from what's described here, but we love how explicit this is about culture and expectations.
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The more energy you spend on building your pool of candidates, the more likely you’ll be to find high performers.
A great job description goes beyond simply listing responsibilities and qualifications. Use this sample as a guide for your hiring process!
To ensure that strong candidates readily come to mind when you need to hire, keep a running list of prospects. Here’s a simple template to get you started.
These questions will help you probe how a candidate will perform once on the job.
Having candidates complete exercises similar to what they’d be doing on the job may give you the best sense of how they would perform if hired.
This worksheet will help you develop a clear idea of who you're looking for (which can then be translated into a job description).
This sample email to candidates asks them to prepare to simulate job-related activities.
This reference check outline worksheet and list of sample reference check questions can help save you from the wrong hire.
The fastest way to inform candidates that they are no longer under consideration is by having a standard email template that you can easily adapt.
Having a written agenda for orienting a new employee helps you present information in an organized, easily understandable way.
This roadmap will walk you through four key steps for nailing a new staff member’s first three weeks.
Use this starter kit to help you create and use your own hiring rubrics.
Check out some examples of PTR in action, and how to manage towards your requirements with your preferences and traditions in mind.
Looking to hire a CTO? Check out our sample interview questions and simulations!
Hiring a Chief Talent Officer? Use this customizable job description.
Looking to hire a CTO? Use our hiring rubric template to evaluate candidates.
These sample talent-related goals can help you identify and set your own.
Check out this sample onboarding checklist of everything that needs to be completed to ensure a smooth start for new hires.
This template will help you lead a productive discussion with your new hire about their first 90 days on the job.
This document is a set of cues for the topics you will likely need to discuss with your new hire in the first few weeks and the key points you may want to make on each of them.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
Use this email template to reach out to “connectors” who can help you build your talent pool.
Even those of us who fancy ourselves virtual hiring aficionados are finding ourselves faced with unique challenges because of the added uncertainty of a global pandemic. We’re here to help!
Assuming your organization has gone remote, how do you onboard at a distance in the middle of a pandemic? If you’re among the lucky few organizations that are still bringing in new people, read on for some tips on how to tweak your standard onboarding process to adapt it for these times. And, get a copy of our remote onboarding checklist!
Newsletter Articles
Things were not okay in 2020 and the jury’s still out on 2021. Many of you are weighing myriad complexities and will need to use your best judgment as you consider performance on a case-by-case basis. While we can’t offer a comprehensive guide, here are some tips for your 2020 evaluations.
Struggling with the exact language to use when giving feedback for your 2020 performance evaluations? Check out our samples.
Here’s one easy-to-use performance evaluation system we love.
We know it can help to see samples of this sort of thing, so here’s a sample evaluation of a struggling employee.
… And here’s a sample of an evaluation for a high performer.
When it's the executive director who's being evaluated, too often boards fail to look at the central question: what results is the ED getting? In this piece, we urge boards to emphasize the “what,” not just the “how,” when evaluating the ED.
Here's an executive director performance evaluation form template, which your organization's board might use to assess how your ED is performing.
Nervous about giving feedback? This worksheet will help you think about what you want to say, and how to say it.
The 2x2 system ensures that managers and staff members talk about what each is doing well and what could be better.
Here's a field guide chock-full of tips and tools for managers to get started with 360 reviews.
Check out an example of how to use the PARTNER framework for receiving DICEY feedback that's related to diversity, inclusion, culture, equity, or you.
This resource covers the benefits of having a career pathways tool, a step-by-step guide for building one, and two examples to help get you started.
Check out two full examples of a career pathways tool, and a sample template you can apply to any role.
This is a sample email that the head of HR, Chief of Staff, or ED/CEO can send to all staff to announce (or even re-introduce) a performance evaluation process.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
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Progressive discipline consists of a brief series of increasingly serious warnings, culminating in dismissal if an employee fails to improve sufficiently – and lets your staff know that they won’t be fired without first knowing about your concerns.
Here’s an example of what an initial, informal warning conversation might sound like with an employee who’s struggling.
Here’s an example of a more formal performance warning in writing.
Managers often struggle to find the right words to use when letting an employee go, so here’s a sample script.
A coaching-out conversation is aimed at convincing an employee that continued tenure in the role doesn’t make sense and agreeing on a smooth transition plan.
Here is a list of some of the most common choice points, or key decision-making opportunities, managers face that may have equity and inclusion impacts.
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Effectively managing managers requires explicitly talking about and reviewing their management, as well as observing it in action. Here's how.
This worksheet will help you plan which areas to focus on with the managers you're managing, as well as what specific actions you'll take and conversations you'll have.
Skip-level meetings are a type of one-on-one meeting that managers of managers hold with their direct reports’ direct reports. They’re helpful for building relationships, gaining insight into your team and organization, and getting feedback about the managers that you manage.
Whether you’re a senior leader or a middle manager, you can use this tool to get aligned with your team about management expectations and responsibilities.
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The Daily List is a tool you can use to keep yourself organized on a day-to-day basis. It helps you separate “big rocks” (essential things that you need to complete to consider your day successful) from other action items.
The Weekly-Plus list is a complement to our Daily List to keep yourself organized beyond the day-to-day. It helps you keep track of back-burner projects while prioritizing those that will make your month a success.
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Set yourself up for success by getting aligned with your boss on expectations, how you'll communicate, and accountability.
This sample will help establish a clear division of labor showing what responsibilities fall to you and what responsibilities fall to your boss.
Here are some emotionally intelligent phrases and techniques for some common managing-up situations you might encounter.
This worksheet will help you identify what pressures your boss is under and how you can take a more effective approach as a result.
Nervous about giving feedback? This worksheet will help you think about what you want to say, and how to say it.
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This handout will walk you through how to be an outstanding owner of your work -- someone who's truly responsible for the success of your realm.
This template will help you think about how to best structure your regular meetings and decision-making bodies.
Taking just 60 seconds to think through your strategy for retaining your top performers can make the difference between keeping a star staff member long-term or losing her to another opportunity.
Exit interviews with a departing employee can be a valuable source of information about what’s working well and what could be improved. Here are some questions to ask.
Being transparent about how decisions will get made often gets better outcomes with more engaged participants. Here's one potential decision-making framework to share within teams.
If you’re facing tough financial decisions, this simple worksheet can help you capture sound contingency plans for moving forward.
This form is designed to help board members remain accountable to each other and the organization they serve by providing a structured reflection on each board member’s contributions.
Engage your team in tough decision-making using this simple table.
Here’s our quick-start guide for FAIR, a four-step decision-making approach that gives those most impacted by a decision the opportunity to help shape it.
Check out these examples of fair process, a four-step decision-making approach that gives those most impacted by a decision the opportunity to help shape it.
Many of us are getting out of rapid response mode from the pandemic and entering the restabilization phase. As you’re making more plans, the challenge is twofold: keeping track of the different threads for yourself, and communicating them in a way that inspires confidence and isn’t confusing to everyone else. Read on for the key components you need to communicate about your organization moving forward, plus sample language and a simple worksheet to get started.
It’s not news that whether you’re the head of an organization, the leader of a team, or an individual contributor, our current context of COVID-19 requires you to reprioritize your work. Of course, like most things, the process of reprioritization is easier said than done. Here are six tips for doing it successfully.
One step every team head and staff member can take to deal with our COVID-19 anxiety is to create a plan for who will take over key responsibilities if one or more of our team members is out. Use our tips and Back-up Planning Tool to figure out the most important responsibilities that need to be covered, who could do them if the current owner is out, and what that person needs to do now to prepare. You can make huge progress in as little as 60 minutes.
This sample survey is intended for leaders to adapt as needed to assess the needs and circumstances of their staff as they navigate the COVID-19 crisis. Use the survey results to identify trends, so that you can make and prioritize policy changes and forecast costs.
During uncertain times, even the best-laid plans need to shift. Instead of updating your budget to get a handle on your financials, turn your attention to cash flow. Use this tool to keep track of your anticipated expenses and revenue.
Looking for more space to slow down and prioritize care amidst moments of crisis? Check out this sample auto response email that one of our clients kindly shared with us.
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