The Manager Track

In this episode, I'll share what an Entry Interview is and how it can help you ignite strong relationships with your new hires. The Entry Interview is a concept I first heard about from Adam Grant. I consider it an important step in the employee onboarding experience to have quality time with their new manager and to discuss their personal goals, preferences, and needs beyond what was shared durin...

As we're kicking off 2022, I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about goals and goal setting. But don't you worry.. I'm not gonna go down the SMART goal lane and this is also not about New Year's resolutions. Instead, in this week's episode of The Manager Track podcast I talk about the 3 biggest issues I see with goal setting and why so many of us lose steam along the way. Think about th...

This is a re-release of one of the most popular episodes of The Manager Track podcast. And if you were recently promoted into your first leadership role and are ready to kick the new year off on a strong foot, then this is definitely one for you. _______ During these first few weeks as a new manager, everyone will be watching you - from your team members to your boss, and to your new peers. All ey...

This is a re-release of one of the most popular episodes of The Manager Track podcast. Whether you just got a pay raise or you feel deflated after a flat year-end conversation, this episode will give you ideas on how to prepare for a pay raise all year long. _______ Tell me if this sounds familiar... You're a high-performer and are doing great work for your company. You're constantly exceeding exp...

I'm thrilled to share this interview with Michael McGill, CIO at Medical Service Company, with you.  Michael has successfully led his department through a rollercoaster of change and adversity over the last 2 years and in this conversation, he shares with us... What he wished he knew on day 1 of his leadership career The challenges he experienced when he transitioned from an IC role into a ma...

Being in a leadership role comes with a lot of unspoken rules. Things that are not written in your job description, yet are critical for you to know in order to succeed. More precisely, these unspoken rules are all about these small, often overlooked things that can make a big difference in how people see you, how they feel in your presence, and the trust they have in you. I got thinking about the...

How high do you set the bar for yourself and for others? If you're anything like most of my clients then your answer is probably "pretty high." The questions that beg to be answered are... is having high standards a good thing or a bad thing? And how do you know if your standards are just high or if they're in fact unrealistic? There are two very important aspects to consider when answering these...

Imagine this: you’re a high-performing manager taking your career seriously. Lately, though, you've been feeling exhausted and worn out. You know, intellectually speaking, that when people take care of themselves, they feel better, and maybe even work better. But deep down, you also believe that working harder and longer than everyone else is what made you successful, and in the fast-paced, intens...

Do you sometimes ruminate for hours over a critical comment from a co-worker or from your boss? Or when you evaluate your team member, do you find it easier to spot the mistakes than to see the great thing they did? If the answer was yes to either of those, then rest assured that nothing has gone wrong... As humans, we tend to focus a lot more on negative things than on positive events or circumst...

Have you been trying to be more confident or assertive at work? Or have you been wanting to block out more time for strategic thinking? Or maybe you've really tried to delegate more to free up your calendar a bit? ...But despite the effort and the commitment, it's been harder to change that behavior than you thought it would? If you can relate then read on. And please bear in mind, changing behavi...

Get this... 96% of leaders say they lack the time for strategic thinking and 43% of managers cannot stat their own strategy (HBR). That's crazy, right?! As leaders, we MUST carve out time (i.e. ruthlessly prioritize) time to operate on a strategic level, to think about, discuss, plan, and then repeatedly communicate our strategies.  But let's be real. I know it's easier said than done to carv...

Whether we like it or not, the discussion on vax mandates will become more prominent over the next few months as companies who aim to return employees to offices will have to decide what requirements they'll put in place (unless the government makes that decision for them, of course). And unless all of your team members are fully vaccinated, you as a front-line or mid-level manager will likely fin...

Could it be that your "expert mindset" is what got into your first leadership but now actually gets in the way of your leadership effectiveness? I heard Dr. Alison Horstmeyer address this very question and it piqued my interest. Alison is an executive coach and a humanistic researcher who focuses on the topic of curiosity and I'm thrilled to bring her on as a guest in this week's episode of The Ma...

"Is it me or is it them?" This is a question that I hear so often from new managers.  So, let's peel the onion on this one in this week's episode. Part of your job as a leader, whether explicitly stated in your job description or simply implied, is your responsibility to manage people's performance. For most, this is the "sticky" part of leadership. The shadow side of all the good stuff that...

What do you think makes a great leader? Intelligence, confidence, charisma, or expertise? These all sound reasonable, right? But over the many years, I’ve spent as a coach helping new and mid-level managers become great leaders, I’ve realized that the truth about good leadership comes down to skills and behaviors that are a lot less showy and obvious. When you let go of the image of what makes you...

Today, I want to take you behind the scenes of my coaching practice and introduce you to my proprietary APS Method. Here is the thing... If you want to be a high-performing leader, be respected and liked by your directs, and be admired by your peers, then in my view, this is the fastest path to get you there. The APS Method emerged out of coaching and training hundreds of new and mid-level leaders...

Here is the thing when it comes to our egos... It is a lot easier to see someone else’s than it is to see your own. It’s like that little piece of spinach stuck in between your teeth. You can go all day not knowing it’s there, but everyone else sees it. When you finally look in the mirror and discover that it's there, it’s like, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” But let's be clear. Having an ego isn’t...

The responsibility of leading other people comes with the responsibility to lead yourself - and this is what we call Self-Leadership. A big component of Self-Leadership is Mind Management and I believe that it is one of the greatest skills that you can learn to evolve your leadership. Plus, I see it as one of the most overlooked aspects of leadership development. In this episode, you'll learn what...

Join Stacey Ashley and me in this conversation as we discuss how leaders can increase their effectiveness and expand their impact without adding more hours to their workday. Stacey shares how you as a leader can... Differentiate yourself from an average leader and morph into a great leader Get organized versus being busy and what discipline has to do with it Better honor your leadership responsibi...

The vast majority, let's say 95% of people are good, caring people who have no intentions to hurt anyone. But then there are a few people who demonstrate behaviors that are hurtful towards others. They may be intentionally hurtful. They may intentionally push people's buttons. Or exclude people and make them feel less than, or insecure. Now I use quotation marks around the word "toxic" in this tit...

Although giving advice could be so much easier and faster, when you apply a coach-like approach as a manager, you increase self-responsibility and self-belief in your team members. Through your questions, you're giving choice wherever possible, while also providing them with a good balance of support and challenge. You'll walk away knowing... the benefits of asking even one question the 4-step pro...

I got a question for you... How do you feel when someone else is having a negative emotional reaction because of something you did or said? If you feel guilty and responsible for how they feel then this episode is for YOU! I often talk about emotional responsibility which means not to blame others for how we feel because our feelings are created by our own thoughts (not by other people or outside...

How do you know if you're doing a good job at work? Is it praise and recognition from others? A promotion? A bonus? Or a good performance review? The likelihood is pretty high that one of those sounded right to you. But what all these answers have in common is that these results are not fully in your control. All of them depend on other people and their needs and wants or on external factors such...

When it comes to leadership development, I take a hard stance against simple plug & play kinda playbooks that completely leave out awareness building and core leadership principles. Because in my view,  this IS the foundation of great leadership. Yes, frameworks and tools are amazing, especially for new managers who are often thrown into completely new situations and challenges. So having...

Managing an ambitious high-performer who is maybe even more knowledgable than you or who wants to become a people leader and have your job one day is not always easy. Yes, it's awesome to have a star on your team. In fact, it should be your goal to develop high-performing employees. However, while they have their work covered and don't need much guidance from you, you do have a crucial role to pla...