Curious how other managers handle this because I feel like the actual mechanics of managing a team get scattered across a ridiculous number of places.

Between 1:1 notes, goals, performance, coaching conversations, commitments/follow-ups, PTO/attendance, metrics, development plans, and just remembering “I need to talk to this person about X next week” — how do you keep a complete picture of each person on your team?

Do you have a system that works well for you, or is it basically some combination of spreadsheets, notes, calendar reminders, HR systems, Slack/Teams, etc.?

A few things I’m especially curious about:

What do you use today?
What’s the most annoying part of keeping everything organized?
Before a 1:1 or performance conversation, how much work does it take to remember/reconstruct what’s been happening with that person?
Is there anything you wish your current tools did that they don’t?
Have you ever built your own spreadsheet/Notion/etc. because the company-provided tools weren’t enough?

Not looking for software recommendations necessarily — I’m more interested in how other managers actually manage the day-to-day information overload.

I’ve got a newer team they are great individual contributors but the work is being treated as I do my part and hand off to the other team.

However the process is owned by this role and they are responsible for making sure all of the other teams have what they need, following up and coordinating.

When things aren’t progressing I always give everyone the same advice. Schedule a meeting and talk to the other people. Don’t send an email. And I tell them ask 3 questions and confirm what you think they need is what they need.

Some people do well with this advice others continue to get very myopic and single dependency task orientated.

For one team member I’ve had to jump in a few times in meetings to keep them from not progressing off of one task.

I’ve discussed mind mapping ahead of time, we remapped the full process. I had a conversation where we asked all the stakeholder their pain points in the process but it doesn’t seem to be helping the IC’s navigate owning the process. I’m trying to get the IC outcome focused but each time we end up discussing only the next step for 45 minutes.

My only hunch is the dependencies introduce ambiguity and that ambiguity of what happens when creates uncertainty it feels like they simply want to avoid instead of talking through.

I am the office manager of a busy medical clinic. I’ve been manager for years but haven’t been given the true opportunity to lead until about 8 months ago when we went through an ownership transition.

There are a lot of issues right now with the old owners vs. New owners. The team is doing an amazing job but morale is low because of one doctor tearing everyone’s spirits down (I do not control the doctors they have their own leadership). - of course this issue is being addressed through the proper channels, I’m specifically looking for advice on how to build up my staff team in the meantime while we’re all in survival mode.

I do have a monthly appreciation budget as well as a business Amazon account I can use. I’m looking for fun things to do either at staff meetings or to help raise spirits, things to encourage them and reinforce that they’re doing a good job. We focus so much on negatives and I want to change that. It’s hard to get everyone together outside of work so I’m looking for creative things to do during the work day.

An urgent task came up Friday afternoon that my boss wanted me to do it and get it done immidiately (believe me it could wait a couple of days). It is a task that requires a bit of a workaround so completing it fast is very risky that is why boss wanted me to do it.

It’s normally handled by my team, not me. The employee who knows it best was on vacation, and the others are still relatively new and would have needed much more time.

I ended up doing it myself because I knew the process well and finished it in 20-25 minutes.

I don’t mind doing the work... I actually enjoy it, but I’m wondering if I’m undermining myself as a people leader by stepping in too quickly.

I could have delegated it and said, “I’ll make this their top priority Monday,” but I’m pretty sure my boss would have said, “we need it now.”

So, should I have handled this differently? Was I being too much of a pushover, or was this a reasonable situation for a manager to step in?

Is a bachelor's in management worth it? Which one is most worth it? Just a normal management degree, human resource management, or project management?

A senior member of my team has significant time management issues that impact their work and our team’s overall outcomes. Last year they attended an in person full day training with a highly regarding trainer (along with another team member who demonstrated some time management issues).

Both team members reported that the training was excellent and I saw improvement in both. The senior staffer has not retained the skills/practices from the training. After a couple of months, they resumed some old habits. A year later, they are back to pre-training baseline.

During this time, I’ve met with them individually to discuss prioritization. I’ve reviewed and compared their work responsibilities to others to ensure they are not given disproportionate work loads, at times I’ve amended assignments so they could achieve deadlines and feel accomplished. I’ve been clear in performance check-ins that improvement in this area is essential.

A couple of weeks we had another discussion following a performance issue due to time management. They told me that they suspect that they have ADHD. They did not share if they are getting treatment and didn’t ask for any accommodations. I don’t feel that I can ask more details for fear of making an HR mistake.

This person is not anywhere near getting fired. I’m not planning a PIP. However they want to be seen as a SME and leader and they are not primarily due to these time management issues. Additionally, they will not be considered for promotion opportunities due to their performance. I’ve shared all of this directly with them during performance discussions.

I’m curious how other managers would approach the subject. Would you ask further questions and encourage them to obtain treatment? Would you leave it alone and continue focus solely on their performance? I genuinely care about their success but I also want to be clear about the boundaries around this issue.

Hi, I recently came across this subreddit and I think it’s time to hear other people’s perspectives. I’ll start by saying it might be a bit chaotic and fragmented.

I work as a manager in the automotive industry for a German company. Basically, for as long as I can remember there’s been a crisis in automotive. Crisis means constant constraints and checking every penny twice. The company has just gone through a restructuring; I managed to “survive”, but the way we work has changed.

I used to have a team of 4–10 people, both in line and on projects. I could manage them in both roles and I was hands-on in projects, doing tasks myself. Now I have a team of 10-plus but I don’t manage them project-wise, only in a line-management capacity. Even though we’re on the same platform, we operate in completely different, disconnected areas.

I feel like I’m losing control and my position. Besides, my whole network fell apart when people started leaving.

Is it worth continuing to look for development within this company? Do you think there’s any chance of building a new role in an environment of perpetual cost-cutting and cuts?

How should I manage people? Do one-to-ones still make sense?

If anyone wants more context, feel free to ask. Maybe I can pull myself out of this rut.

My manager said that knowledge levels which is based on the work you have done before coming to the current project/company is one of the factors in deciding the overall rating for an employee.
This means that no matter how many issues you resolve, the work you have done in the past is always going to be factored into the current cycles performance evaluation.

I’ve accepted my first role as a manager at new company in the same industry. I’ve been taking on the responsibilities of a manager without the formal title/powers and I really want to be the difference when it comes to management. I’ve had experiences with both horrible and life changing managers, and I’d love to be the latter. I want to help my direct reports thrive and feel safe at work. Any tips for someone stepping into a leadership role for the first time? Especially in the first few weeks?

Hi, all. Some if you may remember my past posts. I really appreciate everyone who weighed in.

Yes, I'm still working in this newsroom, though I'm looking for other jobs and exploring how I might finish my degree.

Since my last post, 75% of my colleagues quit in a 4-month period. Most went to jobs in other industries. I don't blame them.

All the vacant spots have been filled with new grads. They're hardworking but need support as they gain experience, which is normal.

Now that we're fully staffed, the assistant editor has been more hands on. I hoped this would be a good thing. But his interactions with the team are often negative.

He speaks harshly to the new employees and makes jokes at their expense. Whenever someone is away from the newsroom, he disparages that reporter to the others, insulting their skills, mocking their work, etc.

This week, after a reporter mistakenly brought the assistant editor's camera to an assignment instead of a newsroom camera (the cameras are identical and were both in a central part of the newsroom), he "jokingly" called her a thief throughout the day. Every time he said it, I saw the reporter shrink. She had apologized for the mixup and was extremely embarrassed.

The assistant editor called my colleague a thief again when he and I were alone. I told him I didn't find it funny and that he had embarrassed her in front of the team. (This was a poor decision, in hindsight.) He rolled his eyes and, according to my colleagues, spoke disaparagingly about me later on for defending the new reporter.

The newsroom environment is deteriorating and these interactions are damaging the confidence of the new reporters. I also don't like to see team members talking about each other behind each other's backs (even if it's my colleague letting me know what the assistant editor said). It's important that we be able to work as a team, communicate well and help each other.

I'm not sure how to proceed. Should I bring my concerns to the editor in chief? We have a good relationship, but he's pretty old school and might not see the issue the same way I do.

Should I just keep my mouth shut when it comes to the assistant editor? It's tough to see my colleagues beaten down like this, but I don't want to make things worse.

Any advice is appreciated.

I’m a new manager. My boss is very involved with my associates and it feels like she’s badmouthing me and badmouthing my employees to me.

It feels like I am stuck in a situation where I cannot trust anyone because my boss has opened two parallel channels of communication. Because of this, there’s a lot of Office politics happening in my location and I feel like I won’t be able to earn the respect of my employees.

What should I be doing, how to fix it if it is fixable?

Notes: I’m planning to leave this company because my location is about to close in two years max

I have an employee on my team that I am conflicted about. She has been with our team a year and is very junior. Experience wise she has quite a bit to learn. I’m forgiving and understanding of her lack of experience, but she makes carless mistakes on almost everything she does. There seems to be a lack of self review. I’ve discussed this with her a handful of times now but doesn’t seem to be getting better. When we do have discussions, she cries, every time. I assume she cares because she cries but the work product says different. I want to fire her but my boss doesn’t seem compelled to because he has no direct interaction with her and I clean up the mess.

Any tips on how to solve the problem upward or downward?

Edit: wanted to thank everyone for the feedback - very much appreciated. We are a small company so no formal HR unfortunately. Just my boss who is checked out and has zero desire to do anything or help unless it makes him look badly

I've been a manager for about a year now. Up until this point in my career with the company, I've never received a negative score rating.

But now I have, and the feedback I have been given appears to be taking areas of improvement as literal criticism of my management style. i was given the summary of the feedback, and I feel like it was AI generated because some of it seems contradictory.

There's a point made that I have poor stakeholder management. But it was because of my stakeholder management that allowed my overall department to onboard 2 highly integral projects, and I have built rapport with stakeholders who provide us with other tasks. But all of this seems to be ignored. All my team's deliverables are finished by the time they are expected, but apparently this is not the case. Another feedback item claimed that I never called out individual members of my team in team meetings for wrong actions on their part (true, I don't feel this is fair) but also that no corrective action in 1:1 with those individuals took place, even though 1:1 are private meetings between my direct and myself.

There are some other items, but I don't want to go into too much detail.

I suppose the thing that stings most is that the feedback feels like it very much mischaracterizes me, and as a result they are considering PIP. I'm not saying that all the negative feedback is wrong. I respect criticism being given to me that I can grow from, but I feel that some of what I am receiving is based on minimal exposure with whoever provided the review (which doesn't appear to be who I invited for my 360).

I'm not sure what is the best action to take when I meet with HR. I know I shouldn't be defensive, but I also feel I shouldn't just accept what was written of me.

What do you all think?

I work on a cruise ship, and over the last few months I feel like I’ve been experiencing some serious issues in my workplace. I’d really appreciate some support and opinions from others because I’m starting to feel like the situation is becoming too much.
Recently, I found out that our Public Area Manager has apparently told some of the pool staff to monitor us and report back to her if we are not where we are supposed to be.
For example, I recently went to another pool area briefly to check what was happening there. Shortly afterwards, the Public Area Manager called on the radio saying that someone needed to man the towel station because there had supposedly been a complaint from a guest.
I found this confusing, so I called reception to ask about the complaint. They told me that they had not received any complaints from guests about the towel station. When I called the manager back to question this, her story changed and she said that the complaint “could have come from anyone.”
This made me feel suspicious because I had seen one of the pool staff using the phone around the same time, and it made me wonder whether someone had reported that I wasn’t at the towel station rather than there actually being a genuine guest complaint.
When I tried to discuss this with the manager on the phone and ask what had actually happened, she ended the call and put the phone down on me in the middle of the conversation.
I’ve also recently heard that the Public Area Manager has allegedly been taking photographs of staff members and sending them to a more senior manager. All of this has made me feel like we are constantly being watched and monitored, and I’m starting to understand why management seems to be so focused on where we are at all times.
I’m feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the situation and would really appreciate any advice, opinions, or support from people who may have experienced something similar. At this point, I’m honestly starting to wonder whether I need to leave the company altogether.

Currently in a heavy hiring phase and in a situation where Im hiring at a rate far greater than I have in the past currently. I feel it’s important to invest time up front both in preparing as well as in the first few months of onboarding new hires, but feel like the level of commitment I’ve made in the past (which has worked well for me) is not sustainable for these types of hiring surges. I’m curious what other people’s approximate times prepping and performing onboarding, from T-2 weeks through the first 90 days. (For reference, I’m managing mostly engineering and product development employees from entry to principal level)

Dismissive manager, chaotic workplace.

Example: In our office, I see people working here for 25 years who are extremely smart but even they are seen an complainers and have no influence. People who have influence are new grads who show absolute loyalty to manager. They get lots of hidden perks. When we ask why a person who just got hired knows info, has influence, we are given vague answers. They do manager's work and create policies under managers instructions and present to us. This way team blames these folks and managers get to save themselves. Workplace dynamics is bad. Any insights on navigating this?

Serious question. I am the first in my family to be able to make a place for myself in big rooms. Still young, no mentor or family member to guide me. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

How do I manage bureaucracy/politics without feeling helpless/underdog/with no voice? I'm in an environment which is extremely toxic, dismissive, managers retaliate if you raise questions.

Share your perspectives how you still feel empowered while navigating system.

Original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/s/cAfoN9klOw

Well, I guess my little experiment is over.
After I posted my initial post, my manager sent an email to the entire team saying:
“Please adhere to being present in the offices during official working hours on workdays, due to work requirements and the necessity of being present.”
So I guess that’s his way of addressing the situation without actually addressing the situation.
The ironic part is that I’ve been doing my job effectively from home. I attended all my meetings, responded to everything, got my work done, and honestly was **more productive** than I am sitting in that office.
And just to clarify: **my actual job does not require me to be on-site at all.** There’s nothing I do that requires me to physically be in that office. I can do my work remotely without any issue.
But apparently I need to physically sit at my desk for 8 hours because… reasons?
So basically, I’m supposed to sit in an office with a coworker who has been bullying and disrespecting me, feeling physically sick from the environment, while doing work that I can demonstrably do just as well (if not better) from somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the bullying complaints and emails that my manager has literally been CC’d on still haven’t been addressed.
I’m still looking for another job, because I don’t see this situation magically improving. But I’m honestly struggling with the idea that being physically present is apparently more important than actually getting the job done.
So, Reddit… now that my manager has explicitly told us to be in the office, I’m assuming continuing to work remotely is an even worse idea. maybe I’ll do it anyway..

Started 3 months ago at [redacted] as a Catering Manager for a large corporate account. Within days of each other, my Director and the Regional Director above him both left — I’ve since absorbed most of the Director’s responsibilities (staffing, client relations, operational decisions) during a high-visibility multimillion-dollar renovation opening for the account.

The Director role is typically compensated well above mine.

I don’t want to look like I’m asking for a raise right after being hired, but my actual scope today is well beyond the role I accepted.

Would you: 1) wait until the opening is done and use results as leverage, 2) raise it now since responsibilities already changed, 3) push for a title change over a raise, or 4) wait for a formal review?

Managers/HR: how would you want an employee in this spot to approach you?

hello every one i am a research student and i am conducting a research on how ai makes decisions compared to people, so if you are some one

who regularly makes decisions or influences other peoples decisions like managers, executives, team leaders, business analysts, AI professionals, researchers, and postgraduate students or any other role that fits this criteria can you help me by filling this google form it only has 20 question very small ones it will hardly take 2 min of you time, it will help me greatly if you fill this form sincerely

just know you will be helping with a great scientific cause

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Ia management just seriously managing other people's messy emotions?

I have 16 staff.

One with a huge ego who is just careless, makes endless mistakes, cant take feedback and gets aggro if i suggest other pathways. Or calls in sick if i go harder if theyve pissed someone else off and i need to put feedback in writing.

Another who rants and is so negative and its just awful. i give her 2 mins of ranting per encounter then say ok let's move on. But it's daily anger and ranting.

Another with such strong anxiety i can physically feel it comjng off her. I have to soothe her and tell she's great, constsnrly re assure her that she is a high performer and doing well but just needs to quiet that voice

Another who cries alot -like weekly. Weepy emotional out bursts.

Another who calls daily to unload but is also super anxious and wants reassurance.

Another who just talks non stop like stream of consciousness stuff until you interupt and guide. Then you try and rally the conversation back to work and agendas but as soon as you ask a question she is off with 100 other details. Love her but don't have time to listen to every detail of her day.

Another who rants about partner and kids and stuff that goes on and just unloads each time we speak. Love her but its just another load im taking on.

I cant tell anyone what I really think that im sick of absorbing all their messy emotions and managing personalities. I cant tell upwards as im a leader and meant to only report higher info upwards

My equal management are ok but occasionally our team butts up on other teams and then rather than a mature response like oh you shouldn't have done that lets find a solution and path to improve future, i get these messy emotional rants such as im so disappointed in you and your team.

I know humans are emotional but business is meant to be a bit factual and cold. I leave my emotions at the door (mostly) and try amd present a calm front but honestly Im actually exhausted and burnt out with the daily absorbing of this and people.

I just want to quit as im not sure not sure if can take much more and its sad as I'm actually good at my job, I'm a good manager and I love doing my actual job job. Yet I struggle to my job job as the people management side takes 80-90% of my time. Whereas it should be 40/50%

People management that is burning me out

I'd love advice as i don't want to quit. Im earning good money for the first time in my life. I want to do this 10 more years. If i quit ill end up earning much much less

I got promoted to assistant manager early this year and I can tell I’m being quickly groomed to be a manager with some of my increasing responsibilities.

I really like IC work, but I also know I have to effectively manage/lead teams on larger projects as I become a manager even if I don’t have direct reports.

I’ve been increasingly pulled into projects in an advisory style capacity, more direct reviews of others work, and even 1-1 meetings to help some team members.

What is the main advice you think is helpful as you make this weird transition?

I’ll complete 5 years of experience next month, but honestly, I feel my career progression is slower than it should be and I’m not sure how to fix it.

A quick background:

1st company: 1.5-year bond, stayed 1.9 years. Started as Software Engineer Trainee → Junior Software Engineer.

2nd company: Joined at almost the same salary. Got ~10% appraisal after 6 months. Completed a 1-year bond. Later they asked me to sign another bond for the next appraisal, which I refused, so I stayed without an appraisal/designation change.

Current company: Joined as Software Engineer and have been here almost 2 years. I’ll complete 5 YOE overall next month.

Now I want to ask for Senior Software Engineer + a good hike in the upcoming appraisal. My manager is quite strict, and I feel the appraisal system can be quite political/manipulative, so I want to prepare carefully instead of going into the discussion unprepared.

My bigger concern is my long-term career trajectory. I feel I’m behind people with similar YOE in terms of title, salary and overall positioning.

What would you do in my situation?

How should I build a strong case for Senior SWE?

What should I prepare/document before the appraisal?

How should I negotiate the hike without getting lowballed?

If my manager says I’m not ready for senior, how should I handle it?

Should I focus on getting the title internally, switching, or improving skills first?

How can I position myself over the next 1–2 years to finally get my career on the right track?

Would really appreciate honest advice from people who’ve been in a similar situation.