The Manager Track

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...

It's the perfect time to start thinking about pursuing that next goal in your career or to finally achieve a goal you may have been forced to put on hold last year. But rather than talking about a few tactical steps, in this episode, we will cover exactly... how to set up your action plan, how to create new habits and behaviors that will get you the result you want, and how to overcome the obstacl...

In December, I checked out my podcast stats to see which topics seemed to resonate most with all of you.  Here are the top 3 episodes of 2020: Navigating Difficult Conversations at Work   (Episode 6) Delegating More Often & More Effectively (Episode 7) How to Negotiate a Pay Raise (Episode 26) Clearly, navigating difficult conversations is top of mind for so many of you. And I'm in t...

Listen in to this insightful coaching call with Sue. Yes, you kinda get to be a fly on the wall :-) We cover three main questions: What makes you special as a leader? How could your strengths show up as overdone strengths? What are your conflict triggers and why? As you listen to this coaching call and reflect on your own answers to these questions, you'll gain a new level of insight (and you'll l...

When we look at research about 96%. of leaders say they lack time for strategic thinking. Even though most leaders know that they need to be more strategic to reach the next level in their career. Yet, they don't make the time. They're too busy dealing with the day to day work.  But here's, what's so important. The higher up that you go in your career, the less you're going to be paid to scra...

Recently, someone reached out to me on LinkedIn and asked if he could purchase one of my training programs as a Christmas gift for his girlfriend.  I loved that he thought about that! Not for me but for him AND for her! Because giving a gift of self-improvement or professional growth, not only does it demonstrate his support for her career but it is also a gift that will keep giving back.&nbs...

In this episode, we discuss the importance of a year-end review and reflection with your team and how to create a social contract as a team.  A social contract is a contract that your team agrees on that covers how you interact as a team and the desired behavioral norms that set your team up for its highest level of performance.  Here is a set of questions that you could use to discuss the social...

This is a live coaching conversation about making a career decision.  Elaine is currently in a good role at a good company and working with a good team... but then a new opportunity arose and she got intrigued.  Listen in as she finds clarity on why she is considering this opportunity, what it is that makes her get excited about a job, and what to do next.  Plus, we talk about: How to gain clarity...

Join me in this episode as I speak with Sadie St. Lawrence, the founder and Executive Director of Women in Data. We talk about her mission to increase diversity in tech and about her own career and leadership journey as she built and expanded this global network that now reaches over 12,000 members.  - RESOURCES MENTIONED - Women in Data: https://www.womenindata.org/ Sadie St. Lawrence: http://sad...

Being nice and kind doesn't mean that you'll be spared from conflict. Facing conflict and opposition is part of being human and part of working with other people.   In this episode, we go all in and you'll walk away knowing... What the 3 phases of conflict are Why we don't all react the same way in conflict and how understanding this will shift the way you perceive other people...

Biden won the race but the election-related anxiety and the stress won't dissipate as political conversations, disputes, and POTUS tweets will continue to dominate the news cycles.   Plus, for many people, their attention is partially moving away from work and into social media and news outlets to try to stay up-to-date.  As leaders, this is a time when thoughtful communication is key.&n...

One of the biggest mistakes that I see managers make is to ignore their blindspots. We all have them but there are specific ways to uncover and overcome them. – BY THE END OF THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL KNOW – The two most common blindspots I see managers have and how that holds them back in their ability to lead The 3 different driving values that motivate us at work at home How to ask for feedback in a...

When it comes to getting ahead you need more than a manager and a mentor; you need someone who advocates for you when you’re not in the room. That takes someone who believes in you, cares about you, and has a level of influence to make things happen. Find out how you can secure support from a sponsor at work. – BY THE END OF THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL KNOW– The two only factors that influence your chanc...

Tell me if this sounds familiar... You're a high-performer and are doing great work for your company. You're constantly exceeding expectations, are always going the extra mile, and have been taking on more and more responsibilities... ...without actually getting that pay raise you deserve! Maybe you're thinking that your work will speak for itself and the pay raise will come one day. Or you worry...

I'm thrilled to bring Ravi Rajani to you and to pick his brain, on your and my behalf, about how to confidently speak and present ourselves online and offline, be this on stages or in meetings. - YOU'LL FINISH THIS AWESOME EPISODE KNOWING - Why it's so important to practice presentation, communication, and public speaking skills early on if you intend to climb the career ladder What...

We first focus on building hard skills, then we invest in strengthening our soft skills.. but when do we actually spend time in up-leveling our mindset? In our 20s we focus on hard skills, getting the right education and trainings, etc. ... and then we reach a point when we realize that our soft skills need some help... But many of us miss the importance of understanding how our brain works and wh...

"Can I Be Friends With My Direct Reports?" This is a question I often get asked when I do management trainings in organizations.  I'd love to say YES but my answer is NO on this one and I'll explain why in this episode. - YOU'LL WALK AWAY KNOWING - The reason why I encourage you to set clear boundaries The issue with "perceived" favoritism and why that's imp...