New Manager Conversations with Fexingo: First 90 Days, Managing Former Peers, and Leadership Basics

Episode 57 tackles one of the trickiest transitions for a new manager: shifting from peer to boss without losing the friendship or the respect of your former teammates. Lucas and Luna break down a real scenario involving Allison, a new engineering manager at a midsize SaaS company who found herself still getting pulled into after-work gossip and last-minute favor requests from her old squad. They...

Episode 56 tackles the hardest conversation a new manager can face: terminating an employee. Lucas and Luna walk through a real case from a mid-size SaaS company where a first-time manager had to let go of a peer-turned-direct-report. They discuss the signals that indicate termination is the right call, how to prepare legally and emotionally, and the script for delivering the news with respect. Th...

In episode 55 of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the hardest but most essential skills for first-time leaders: asking your own boss for resources—whether that's headcount, budget, time, or tools. They break down the specific case of a new product manager at a mid-size SaaS company who needed a second developer but was terrified of seeming incapable. Lucas shares a three-par...

In Episode 54 of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most common traps new managers fall into: the urge to personally solve every team problem, especially during their first 90 days. Lucas opens with a specific example from a tech company where a first-time engineering manager spent 30 hours debugging a production issue that three senior engineers could have fixed in hal...

Episode 53 of New Manager Conversations tackles one of the hardest transitions: learning to say no to your own boss. Lucas and Luna break down a real scenario from a first-time manager at a midsize SaaS company who had to push back on an unrealistic deadline from her VP without damaging the relationship. They walk through the exact three-part framework she used: acknowledge the objective, share th...

Lucas and Luna walk through what a new manager should do after making a public mistake in their first 90 days. They use a specific case: a new team lead at a mid-size SaaS company who sent an email with incorrect budget figures to the VP of Sales. The episode breaks down the three-step recovery playbook—own, fix, learn—and highlights why silence is the worst response. Lucas shares data from a CCL...

In this episode of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore a specific strategy for new managers: conducting deep listening tours in their first 30 days. They break down how to structure one-on-one conversations with each direct report, what questions to ask, and how to avoid the common trap of solving problems too quickly. Using the real-world example of a first-time manager at a mid-siz...

In this milestone 50th episode, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the toughest challenges for new managers: mediating conflict between two direct reports. Using a real-world example from a mid-size SaaS company where a senior engineer and a product manager clashed over sprint priorities, they break down a practical four-step framework called the 'Trust Triangle' — separate the people from the problem,...

In Episode 49 of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the most stressful moments in a new manager's first year: the performance review cycle. They walk through the story of a first-time manager at a mid-sized SaaS company who had to evaluate a former peer while also advocating for a strong performer on her team. Lucas breaks down the three key moves she made—pre-writing calibrat...

Episode 48 of New Manager Conversations tackles one of the most overlooked aspects of stepping into a leadership role: establishing explicit team norms. Lucas and Luna explore why written norms—covering meeting behavior, response times, decision-making protocols—prevent confusion and conflict, especially when managing former peers. They walk through a concrete example from a 50-person marketing ag...

Lucas and Luna tackle the most common struggle for first-time managers: giving up control and delegating a meaningful project. They walk through a concrete case of a new manager at a mid-sized SaaS company who had to hand off a critical client deliverable to a junior team member. Lucas shares a specific framework called the 'three-layer brief' for delegating without micromanaging, and Luna pushes...

In this episode of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna tackle a crucial skill many first-time managers overlook: leading a team retrospective. Lucas breaks down the specific structure he used when he managed a five-person content team at a B2B SaaS company in 2023 — including the three-question format ('What went well?', 'What didn't?', 'What will we change?') and how he avoided common pitfa...

In this episode of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna tackle a high-stakes challenge many first-time leaders face: making hiring decisions without a track record to lean on. Lucas shares a real case from a mid-stage SaaS company where a new manager, three months in, had to replace a departing team member. The episode drills into one specific decision framework — 'hire for pattern, not promi...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the hardest transitions in a new manager's career: moving from peer to supervisor. They walk through the story of a marketing team lead at a mid-size tech firm who had to manage three former colleagues after a promotion. Lucas breaks down the key mistake most new managers make—trying to keep everything the same—and offers a concrete framework: the nine...

Episode 43 of New Manager Conversations tackles a subtle challenge: giving praise that actually motivates. Lucas and Luna explore why generic 'good job' doesn't land, and how specificity, timing, and audience matter. They break down the science of effective recognition using a real example from a study of 1,200 software engineers at Microsoft, where the most-valued feedback was tied to a specific...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how new managers can transform their weekly one-on-ones from status updates into genuine coaching sessions. They anchor the discussion on a concrete framework: the '80/20 rule' for one-on-ones — 80% listening and asking questions, 20% directing. Lucas shares a specific example from a first-time manager at a mid-sized SaaS company who cut her own talking time...

Episode 41 of New Manager Conversations tackles impostor syndrome head-on. Lucas and Luna discuss why so many new managers feel like frauds in their first 90 days, using the example of a first-time manager at a mid-sized tech company who discovered that 70% of her peers experienced the same doubts. They break down practical strategies: naming the feeling, collecting concrete evidence of your own c...

In Episode 40 of New Manager Conversations, Lucas and Luna tackle a skill rarely taught in leadership training: how to effectively communicate your team's wins, challenges, and needs to senior leadership. Using a concrete example — a product manager whose team shipped a feature on time and under budget but got zero recognition at the all-hands — Lucas breaks down the 'upward briefing' framework. H...

Episode 39 of New Manager Conversations tackles a critical gap in most first-time manager playbooks: building a culture where direct reports actually seek out and act on feedback, rather than just receiving it. Lucas and Luna examine a real case from a mid-size B2B SaaS company where a new manager named Priya inherited a team conditioned to avoid difficult conversations. Using a specific framework...

Episode 38 of New Manager Conversations tackles a paradox many first-time leaders face: the need to seek guidance without undermining their authority. Lucas and Luna break down why asking for help actually signals strength, not weakness, using the example of a product manager who inherited a struggling team. They discuss specific framing techniques — like shifting from 'I don't know' to 'I want to...

In this episode of New Manager Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a topic every new manager faces but few prepare for: setting expectations with your very first direct report. They walk through a concrete example — a new manager named Priya who inherits a senior engineer, Marcus, who has been at the company for six years. Lucas breaks down the four key conversations Priya needs to h...

Episode 36 of New Manager Conversations tackles the single most common mistake new managers make: solving problems instead of coaching their team through them. Lucas and Luna break down the 'tell vs. ask' trap using a real example from a product team at a mid-sized SaaS company. They discuss the Socratic method for one-on-ones, how to resist giving the answer when you already know it, and why the...

Episode 35 of New Manager Conversations tackles office politics — a topic new managers are often told to avoid, but can't afford to ignore. Lucas and Luna break down how to recognize influence networks and build strategic relationships without compromising your values. They discuss real scenarios like navigating cross-functional friction, understanding who actually makes decisions in a reorg, and...

In this episode of New Manager Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna break down the specific tactics new managers can use in their first 90 days to build genuine trust with their team. They use the example of a product manager at a mid-size SaaS company who started by running 30-minute 'listening tours' with each direct report, asking three structured questions, and then publicly implemented...

New manager and feeling pressure to generate brilliant ideas in your first team brainstorm? In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down a specific case: a new engineering manager at a mid-size SaaS company who inherited a team of senior ICs skeptical of her process. They walk through the before-and-after of a failed brainstorm that turned into a productive one — using a technique called the 'brainw...