My Circus, My Monkeys

I've been fielding some variation of the question, "How Can I Get All of This Done and Still Be a Good Supervisor?" for quite a few people during coaching lately. People are struggling because there's too much work to do, too few people to do it, and they can't keep up this pace for much longer. In this follow up episode from "The Freedom of the Impossible,"  I g...

The last two episodes were focused on helping job searchers be more prepared. So this week we're focusing on the other side of the equation - keeping your people from leaving in the first place. If you're a supervisor, the last thing you want is an unexpected departure, especially if that person is one of your key players. In this episode, you'll find out three secrets to improving...

If you're looking for a new job, it can be tempting to throw a wide net and apply for anything that seems interesting or do-able. But more applications doesn't equal more interviews. When you're looking at job descriptions, don't skim - assess whether it would really be a good fit for you. That means understanding how your talents show up and what they need from a work environm...

The spring semester typically offers many job opportunities for folks in higher ed. If you plan on applying for jobs soon, you'll want to listen. Typically we prepare for job hunting by updating our resume, but in this episode we'll talk about a better first step. Resumes focus on what you do. Instead, you need to think about who you are and how you do your job. Every candidate is going...

You've heard us - and maybe other folks - talk about why understanding your talents is so important. But it's not like you're a failure. You've gotten pretty far in life, why should you bother with all this self-reflection when you've got plenty of other things to do? In this episode, we talk about three reasons understanding your talents matters. Specifically, we discuss...

As supervisors, we have to deal with performance management. Sometimes our employees simply aren't living up to our expectations. This can be stressful when you're already overwhelmed with just trying to get your own work done. But when you identify an employee that's failing, are you looking at the entire picture? Yes, there are employees who simply don't care or aren't t...

Did you start this semester feeling behind and overwhelmed? The amount of work many of us are asked to do seems out of reach. So what can you do to decrease your stress and improve your wellbeing when you're being asked to do the impossible? In this episode, we'll discuss how changing your belief about your current workload can give you more freedom, make you feel more confident, and imp...

It's New Year's Resolution time, but who has the time or energy? You know things need to be different, but you're already exhausted from just trying to keep up. In this episode, we discuss three easy things you can do to get exponential results for you and your team. With as little as two minutes a day, you can start making changes that will lead to a more productive and less stress...

In the final part of our 2021 Wrap Up series, we tie everything together. If you've been struggling to balance your supervisor role with the giant pile of work on your desk, you're not alone. Supervisors aren't given the training or support they need to be successful,  but in this episode we talk about how you can invest in yourself and transform from an overwhelmed and stressed sup...

In part three of our 2021 Wrap Up series, we talk about how you can use your unique talents to transform from an overwhelmed supervisor into a confident, authentic leader. When you focus on your talents and become more aware of how they show up for you, you can see how they help you be more productive and when they're getting in your way. The difference between the two is you maximizing your...

In the second part of our series to wrap up 2021, we look at how you can transform into a more effective supervisor by upgrading your systems. In this episode, we talk about how our brains actually work, including the important role our subconscious plays in being a supervisor. When your systems aren't aligned with your goals, you waste you and your team's energy. Learn how to quickly as...

If you're tired of feeling tired and overwhelmed, maybe it's time to supervise differently. Most supervisors haven't been given the training and support they need to be successful, so if you're struggling you're not alone. In this episode, we talk about how important it is to get research-backed training on how to effectively supervise to conserve energy. When supervisors...

The holidays are upon us. Most supervisors try to do a little something to show their team their appreciation for what they've done throughout the year. But one of the best things you can give your team is your own investment in your role as a supervisor. While that may just seem like something for you, by investing in your growth as a supervisor you're actually improving your teams&apos...

Higher Ed is stressful. The amount of work folks expect we do is impossible, but to make matters worse we often unknowingly increase our own stress. In this episode, we're going to talk about how our talents, systems, and stories can create more work for us. We'll also talk about how you can stop yourself from doing it.  For more information about the Supervisor Strengths Institute - htt...

In a recent article in Inc.com, "Why Your Most Valuable Employee Is Often the 'Invisible' Employee," caught my attention. It talked about how seemingly unimpressive employees that seemed to fly under the radar solving problems without much fuss were actually valuable because they reduce a supervisor's stress. I was intrigued, but as I read the article I realized there were...

It’s October so as we prep for Halloween, we thought we’d explore some of the scariest parts of being a supervisor. Now there are general scary things that impact most supervisors – like downsizing or budget cuts, but the rest of the scariness is really determined by your talent themes. In this episode, we talk about how to identify those things that are most scary for you as a supervisor in terms...

This is a weekly podcast, but last week it didn't happen. Why? Because my Strategic was upset. In this episode, we talk about what happened to me last week that prevented the podcast and how our talents can be impacted by what's going on around us, including stress and our emotions.  If you’re listening to this podcast, you take your role as a leader seriously. You want to be more effect...

It's a stressful and overwhelming time for supervisors in higher education. Getting frustrated with ourselves because we're not doing things differently just adds to the stress without leading to positive changes. In this episode we discuss how we all need to give ourselves some grace, because we're doing the best we can. We also discuss how to make meaningful change when it's...

Our talents automatically show up every day - for better or worse. They'll often show up in a way that helps us accomplish our goals, which is a Strength. But sometimes they actually get in our way and are showing up as a weakness. Because our talents are on autopilot, the only way to really know if they're helping your or getting in your way in different scenarios, is to pay attention a...

We've talked about how our talents can show up as strengths or weaknesses in other episodes, but what if we don't know how our talents are showing up. When this happens and it's showing up as a weakness, it's a blind spot. In other words, you keep doing _____ and getting negative results but you don't even know you're doing it. That can cause stress and frustration to...

We've talked about quite a few topics in different episodes of this podcast. In this episode, we put things together to show how important it is to take a wholistic approach to your supervisor role. It's far to easy to think of professional development as learning new supervisor skills, but if you don't put that information into the context of who you are, you'll most likely ha...

We just celebrated Labor Day. Hopefully everyone had an opportunity to rest and recover from the beginning of the semester. If so, you have the Labor Movement's efforts to thank for this long weekend. The Labor Movement worked to support workers so they had a safe environment in which to work and get a fair wage for a fair day's work. These ideals should not be a thing of the past. In th...

Now that all the students are finally on campus, it's easy to fall into our fall semester routine. But before we do that, we need to think about whether everything in that routine is productive. It'd going to be a busy and stressful semester, but what's one thing you can pick to change up your habit or systems to make you a more effective leader. In this episode, we talk about why m...

It's almost September. That means we made it through August - trainings, registration, move-in, orientation, and that first week of classes! But before we jump into our fall semester routines, let's take some time to celebrate. In this episode, we review why it's so important to celebrate milestones like this - even when it seems like the work is still stacking up.  And don't f...

It's still August. You're still busy...probably too busy. In this episode we talk about the Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80-20 rule. What's the 80-20 rule? Research has show that typically you get about 80% of your outcome from only 20% of your effort. What does this mean? That huge to do list you have can be trimmed way down and still be extremely effective. It's o...