MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS Managers spend their days juggling projects, people, and problems. Good managers have learned how to balance them. They complete projects successfully and on time, guide and support their employees, maintain good relationships with customers, and solve problems quickly and decisively. Less effective managers often get bogged down and sidetracked. A good manager recognizes challenges and finds ways to solve them. Less effective managers may not even recognize the real challenges they face.

Challenge #1: Not Managing!
Believe it or not, many managers fail simply because they do not manage! A manager must plan, organize, communicate, negotiate, and lead people toward a common goal. Too often, some
Managers should ensure that employees have understandable job descriptions and regular goals. They should hold review sessions with employees and chart progress toward these goals. Finally, managers should establish consequences for not meeting goals and rewards for meeting and exceeding expectations.
For example, Anna gets frustrated when her employees miss deadlines. However, she has failed to set consequences for these failures, so employees believe "it's no big deal." Anna must manage the situation more effectively by establishing and enforcing consequences for poor job performance. Until she is willing to clarify expectations, her employees will continue to miss deadlines.

Challenge #4: Ignoring Problems Until It's Too Late
Difficult interpersonal situations are often a manager's most difficult challenge. Unfortunately, the longer these situations are allowed to "fester," the worse they will get. In addition, a manager cannot forget that other employees are affected by the situation. A difficult co-worker can harm their morale and even their productivity.
For example, Robert recently had a "problem" employee that was openly breaking company rules. However, he needed this man's technical skills. Finally, after several months and employee complaints, he fired the employee. Within a week, employee morale skyrocketed. Robert had seriously underestimated the effect that this one "bad apple" was having on the rest of his staff. Robert learned his lesson the