Conversation With a Manager

This week we are dropping an unheard bonus segment from our intervew with Shelley Clinger [S1/E6]. I asked Shelley to tell me about the best manager she ever had and she told us a story about this special individual who mastered what I might call the "gentle/firm" approach to building new team. Gentle/firm might seem like a contradiction of sorts, but Shelley makes that case this balancing act yei...

In this bonus episode we return to our season one's final recap episode [E11] to enjoy an unheard segment with Betsy Hagan and Artell Smith with their thoughts on managers giving feedback to others.

Often when someone takes on their new role as manager they have been promoted they were excellent individual contributors ... they were good at what they did. So sometimes there is a tendency for these new managers to "over direct" they're team members since they know how to do the work. This week we are dropping an unheard bonus segment from our intervew with Michele Kasier [S1/E1] as she talks a...

Since change is a multi-faceted topic we find ourselves returning to it in this podcast, each looking at it from a different angle. In this unheard outtake from Betsy Hagan's interview with Becky Kirgan [S1:E3], Becky offers up some thoughts on why some folks are deathly afraid of change how a manager might team members fearing change through that fear. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-man...

Can broken trust between a manager and one of their team members be repaired? In this unheard outtake from my interview with Lawrence Henderson [S1:E5], Lawrence shares why he believes it can when both parties are committed to that repair. He tells us a story about when he got sideways with one of his managers and how the two of them rebuilt that relationship, one step at a time. Our Website: http...

Managers are often challenged with a kind of paradox ... manage teams members the same [without favor] or manage team members differently [acknowledging everyone unique capabilities]. In this unheard outtake from my interview with April Gingras [S1:E4], April offers us some insights via a great story on how she has managed this paradox. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

Season One is a wrap! In this last episode of the podcast Steve and Betsy have invited their friend and author Artell Smith to offer their collective perspectives on this first season. Four specific episodes from this first season are discussed in depth with some references here and there to other episodes as well. We hope these additional insights will add a few new ideas and techniques to our li...

Evidence suggests that employee engagement, on the whole, is on the decline in our workplaces. But this in not necessarily true where managers are equiped with perspectives, behaviors, and techniques that create psychologically safe and inclusive environments. Binnu and Betsy explore what it takes to create this kind of environment and reap the benefits of not only engaged team members but im...

Managers can find themselves in situations where they know something that their members are not yet expected to know. How does a manager handle this delicate balance between being authentic and holding a confidence ... particularly when rumors are flying. Nathan Plenshek discusses this difficult situation and offers valuable perspective on how to handle it. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a...

What happens when a new team member is given a collection of complex responsibilities? This can be a formula for frustration and worry on part of a new team member unless their manager has a thoughtful way of easing the team member into mastering the complexity. Our guest Ivy Mantua shares her approach to this challenge which she calls "gradual development". And along the way she also offers some...

What is a like to receive difficult feedback? Our guest Kathleen Finis lays out the impact receiving difficult feedback has on individuals and how managers can use this insight to craft feedback that is both heard and acted on. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

What is it like to manage multiple intercultural teams at the same time? Our guest Shelley Clinger has successfully navigated this tricky challenge and offers her perspectives on how not only to coordinate global team activities, but actually integrate global team activities to leverage the best from every team. Two assessments were mentioned in this episode. Here are the websites where you can fi...

Our guest Lawrence Henderson is disturbed when team members begin “finger-pointing” when things go wrong rather than taking responsibility for their own shortcomings. Lawrence shares his lessons learned about how to best deal with those moments. Jennifer Wilson of New Leaf Consulting and Coaching and author of the book “Waking Up to Your Worth: Ten Touchstones for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome” joi...

Our guest April Gingras tells the story of being a new manager and having to deal with an underperforming team member. The story is complete with multiple lessons learned by April about how to best deal with this kind of situation and how best not to. Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

Our guest Becky Kirgan worries about the impact of change fatigue on teams facing uncertain, ill-defined change. Becky shares some strategies for minimizing this fatigue and helping those kinds of change efforts along. Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

Should a manager be responsible for finding mentors for their team members? Our guest Michele Kaiser thinks the answer is "yes". Michele outlines her reasons for "yes" and offers tips on how to go about finding those mentors. Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

Our guest John Stefanik was 19 years old when he agreed to take on his first manager role … supervising others twice his age and significantly more experienced. John offers advice and counsel for other managers in a similar situation. Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

Hi. This is Steve King, and this is Conversation with a Manager: Stories from the Frontline. Along with my colleague Betsy Hagan and our producer David Blindauer, our podcast explores the common and sometimes uncommon challenges facing today’s managers in the workplace. Our proposition is simple. Managers, particularly frontline managers, play an oversized role in the productivity of an organizati...