Necessary evil. Pain in the rear. The management penalty. Performance reviews are called many things, few of them positive. What's up with that?? One of the most important things we do as senior managers is setting, and managing to, performance expectations.

Micro-Managers are not just egotistical jerks (ok, some are). The easiest thing in the world is to accuse known or obvious micro-managers of doing so simply to make your life difficult. Many of us feel that they do these things merely to irritate those on their staff, knowing that those same staffs are competent and trustworthy.

Bain Capital. McKinsey. Deloitte… don’t take just my word for it; the single biggest reason for merger or acquisition failure is NOT costs, lack of synergy, incompatible strategy, etc. It's people.

To be successful and to position their employees for success as well, there are some basic principles leaders have to keep in mind. As we lead from day to day, it can be easy to slip into bad habits or old ways of doing things, both of which can be a detriment to the team. Don't lose sight of the aim to...