The Manager Track

Do you ever end your day wondering where all the hours went? Your to-do list is longer than it was in the morning, and it feels you got nothing important accomplished. If you can relate to this, then you're not alone. As an IC (individual contributor) your main job was to get "stuff" done. Your performance was measured based on how much you accomplished and how fast you achieved your goals. So tha...

Ever been super convinced that your idea was the best but then to your complete surprise your boss decided to take a different route? The reason for this might have been your boss's different perspective and rock-solid reason for that but it could also have been due to the fact that most of our decisions are based on emotions, not logic! If you rely mostly on data, logic, and facts to make your ca...

“No random actions, none not based on underlying principles.” — Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor and one of the main Stoic philosophers) Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that is applicable today as it was back then. Plus its surging popularity in recent years demonstrates the usefulness of these principles when it comes to dealing with stress, fast-paced environments, lots of change, and uncertaint...

40-60% of new managers fail or underperform within their first 2 years on the job! It's shocking, and it hurts! If you're new to leadership then you basically have a 50-50 chance of succeeding. Now, you might think your past success will protect you from future failure but here is the thing: what got you here won't get you there! If you underperform you obviously miss opportunities for career grow...

Most of us aren't born with rock-solid, bulletproof confidence.  Instead, we have to build it, rebuild it, and protect it as we go through life and as we grow as humans and as leaders.  So, I'm curious.... where is your confidence level at today? Want to do a quick assessment with me?? 🤓 If so, answer the following questions... What is your current confidence level on a scale from 1 to...

Does this sound familiar?... You‘re excited about a new employee you hired. They start, you introduce them to co-workers, clients, and leadership and you can't wait for them to lighten the workload you're currently carrying. Then a week or two go by and even though at first you don’t want to admit it, you realize you’re not seeing the progress or perhaps the skills, or maybe the attitude or work e...

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 eyes are on you. And so it’s critical to start out strong. In essence, you’ll want to focus on the 4 following objectives during your first 30 days. Buil relationships Learn, learn, learn Establish expectations Assess the current status In this episode of T...

Attitude is (almost) everything! The pressure of leadership, personal issues, and life, in general, can impact your mood, energy, and attitude. And, attitude matters more than you might realize. Without saying a word, your attitude permeates from your skin. Even when you think you are hiding it and that no one sees it, people are highly likely to pick up on it. Plus, your attitude impacts how you...

A couple of years ago, I heard Melanie Perkins, 34-year old co-founder and CEO of Canva, say that she doesn’t think that the employees work for her but that she works for the employees. It stuck with me because it highlighted one of the big myths so many of us have about what being a “leader” really means. Today, I come across these kinds of misconceptions all the time and I see how they can misgu...

Interviewing isn't easy and with the added pressure to find the right match quickly, this process is a common challenge so many of my clients have. And this is why I decided to bring to you an expert in Talent Acquisition and to discuss best practices for hiring managers. Join me and Mark Langlie , a highly experienced Director of Talent Acquisition, in this week's episode of The Manager Track as...

Becoming a new manager can be both exciting and overwhelming. The biggest challenge is that most new managers don't receive any leadership training. Yet, the skills you need to succeed as a manager are completely different from the skills you needed to perform well as an individual contributor. Because it's such a big transition, it’s very likely that you’ll make some mistakes as you ramp up in yo...

"Please micromanage me!"... said NO employee, EVER! Yet, 60-80% of employees (depending on the study) say that they've been micromanaged at least once in their professional lives. The point is that there are a lot of "micromanagers" getting up this morning, making themselves a cup of coffee, and starting their workday. Yet, the vast majority of them don't realize that they are being perceived and...

You'll walk away from this episode with actionable tips on how to increase your presence as a leader. Bain & Company found that among 33 leadership traits, being mindfully present is the most important one. As a present leader, you'll be better at coping with stress, staying level-headed, empathizing with others, and listening attentively. Plus, I'll share an insight from one of my coaching ca...

...How committed are you to yourself? To your personal growth, your happiness, and your contentment? So committed you would stop WHAT you are doing and see HOW you are doing when you're feeling triggered, hurt, anxious, restless, or stressed? So often we are in such a hurry to do things and get stuff done that we completely ignore ourselves. We break the promises and commitments we made to ourselv...

What if things that you've learned in school are actually more hurtful than helpful now that you're in a leadership role? This episode will spark your thinking about what lessons you might have learned in the past that actually don't hold true anymore.  Personally,  this is a topic I'm very passionate about, especially since becoming a mom.  We think thousands of thoughts each day a...

Do you know what Dr. Seuss, Oprah Winfrey, JK Rowlings, Elvis Presley, and Walt Disney have in common? They all FAILED epically early on in their careers. Many people would have given up but not them. They got back up and kept trying. They failed FORWARD. Failing forward means to... See failure as part of the process Continue to belief Take new risks Think "I failed or it failed" Practice compassi...

In this episode, you'll learn how you can use the Johari Window as a tool to help you uncover blindspot and build better relationships with others and with yourself. There are four panes or sections on the Johari Window: Open Area: This quadrant represents the actions, behaviors, and information that are known to you and those around them. Blindspot Area: Behaviors and tendencies in the blindspot...

Great leadership begins with great self-awareness. Successful leaders understand their natural preferences and they know how to flex their style to get the most out of any workplace situation. Using a personality-type assessment like the Myers-Briggs (aka 16 Types) assessment is a great way to develop self-awareness and create a better understanding of your own but also other people's natural pref...

Think of your greatest achievements. Do you feel proud of what you've accomplished? Or do you feel like a fraud and think your success was either luck, good timing, or because of other people? Does a promotion or new job feel great and bring you a sense of accomplishment? Or do you dread that, one day, people will realize that they made a mistake and you shouldn't be in that role? If you experienc...

In this short but powerful episode, we explore why effective leaders people love to work for are both liked and respected. - WHAT YOU'LL WALK AWAY WITH - How the focused pursuit of being respected can backfire Why and how wanting to be liked too much can get us into trouble The 3 questions to ask yourself and immediately course-correct if you noticed you fear being rejected The two components of c...

How often do you find yourself distracted or interrupted at work? Maybe you keep checking Slack, or you walk to the fridge more often you should, or maybe your team members ask a lot of those "quick questions" which makes it hard for you to stay focused and engaged with the work in front of you for longer than 10 minutes at a time. If that sounds like you then this episode is for you, my friend. W...

When we think something over and over again, they quickly become patterns and those patterns then turn into beliefs.  Now believes can either be positive beliefs, things that will actually help us and support us and make us feel more confident and be more effective.  Or beliefs that can make us doubt ourselves very more and be less effective and not create the results that we really want...

You’ve probably heard about the benefits of 1-on-1s but you’re not sure how you should run them effectively and not turn them into simple status update meetings? When done right, 1-on-1 meetings have a huge ROI for you and your direct reports. In this episode, I share what often goes wrong and makes 1-on-1 meetings feel like wasted time and the 5 best practices you can start applying today to prev...

This is a live coaching conversation about transitioning from being a peer to being the new manager. Jen got promoted into her first leadership role about a year ago and she is managing her former peers. This comes with two specific challenges. One, she has to completely shift her mindset and skillset to switch from the role of an IC into the role of a manager, and two, she has to gain respect fro...

Failures and mistakes... We all make them. You might have bombed an interview, dropped the ball on a high-stake project, missed a deadline, wrote buggy code, you name it...  We're human and we are far from perfect. BUT... we have a choice in how we respond to failures and mistakes. And that choice is what will drive your future actions. Will you worry, always strive for perfection, procrastin...