A couple weeks ago, I posted about three key tools that every project manager needs. Being a people managers is tough as a lot of your needed skills are soft skills and are hard to learn, buy, or teach. I do think however that there are a few that every manager must have. I think these few things help "boss" become "leader" and so that a people manager can connect on a personal and genuine level with their team.

1. The Hard: Feedback Phrase
• Whether required annual reviews or weekly one-on-one time, you need a way to give and receive feedback. You can ask for it simply and directly but it is rare that you'll find subordinates that feel comfortable enough to actually say something valuable. What I've learned is you need something to coax it out of people. It can be a phrase that puts them at ease, the delivery, or the candor that you create but it has to be yours and it has to be genuine.
2. The Clever: Email filters
• If you're a manager, you get a lot of email and if you want to get anything done the hard truth is you can't read them all. In Microsoft Outlook (and Gmail and other email providers) you can create rules that filter and place emails into organized folders. If you do it right, you can keep your inbox to only those that require responses. If you don't have the expertise yet, here's a quick video.
3. The Silly: Favorite Restaurant
• No joke, everyone has a favorite spot and if you can share it with others and show them why it's your favorite, you've got instant comradery. Our team did a team dinner at an Italian place once before a client visit and another time we did a cooking class. It was awesome and it was years ago but we all still have photos on your desk with genuine smiles.