The Manager Track

This week on The Manager Track podcast, we're talking about one of the biggest role misunderstandings in management. Most managers think their job is to organize, divide, and execute the work. It feels productive and responsible, but it also keeps them stuck operating way below the level where real leadership value is created. Because the true job of a manager is not just delivering output. It is...

If you've ever tiptoed around a leader's ego, reworded feedback ten different ways, or held back a good idea just to avoid a blow-up, this episode is for you. We're pulling back the curtain on executive ego fragility: what causes it, how to spot it, and how to deal with it without losing your mind (or your voice). Here's what you'll take away: The root causes behind fragile egos in leadership (hin...

We all want to be seen as kind leaders. But too often, we confuse kindness with niceness. In this week's episode of The Manager Track, I talk with leadership strategist and executive coach Andrea Wanerstrand, founder of A3 Culture Lab. Andrea spent more than 25 years inside Microsoft, Meta, and T-Mobile studying what helps leaders earn trust and build strong teams and what quietly erodes it. We un...

This week on the Manager Track podcast, we're tackling a moment nearly every leader will face: receiving hard-to-hear feedback. Not the kind you can brush off or fix with a quick tweak, but the kind that hits a nerve, stirs up emotion, and sticks in your head. What you do next matters more than you think. In this episode, Ramona walks through what happens in your brain when criticism lands, and wh...

Most of us enter leadership with a quiet script already playing in our heads. Be calm. Be confident. Be likable. Never micromanage. Always have the answer. We carry those ideals with us until reality shows us that they don't always work. And in some cases, they do more harm than good. In episode 284 of  The Manager Track , Ramona Shaw challenges the assumptions many first-time managers carry...

Have you noticed the widening gap between how we expect leaders to behave in the public sphere versus in corporate organizations? In episode 283, Ramona Shaw tackles two timely and important questions:  What is happening to leadership and how do we keep our standards intact? From headlines of public leaders dodging accountability to viral social media figures equating leadership with dominanc...

You want to grow as a leader, but your team can’t function without you. You’re stuck in the weeds because delegating feels risky. You know you should make space for creativity, but the urgent stuff always comes first.   Sound familiar?   This week’s episode is all about  deliberate leadership  and why it’s the non-negotiable factor in company success.   Larry R. Armstrong,...

You reschedule a meeting and feel the need to explain exactly what happened. You set a boundary, then wrap it in 3 paragraphs of justification. You say no to a project and immediately start listing all the reasons why.   Sound familiar?   This week’s episode is all about overexplaining, including why we do it, how it shows up in subtle ways, and how it chips away at our leadership presen...

When two equally capable managers get very different outcomes…   We’ve all seen it (maybe lived it, too). Two people with: Similar skills Similar résumés Similar results Yet one gets tapped for the big meeting, lands the promotion, and becomes the go-to voice in high-stakes moments while the other gets a pat on the back and stays in the same position.   This week's episode is about the i...

When the “real meeting” happens after the meeting…   We've all been there (likely on all sides of this story):   People nod along in the team meeting. No one pushes back. A decision gets made.   Then, moments later, Slack lights up with doubts, hallway chats surface all the real concerns, and suddenly progress slows.   This week’s episode is about those team patterns we all kno...

We don't talk about it much, but most leaders eventually feel it:   That shift in team dynamics after your promotion. The conversations that stop the second you walk into the room. The heavy pressure from above that you can't share with your team.   It's not about needing more friends. It's the unique isolation that comes with leadership.   In this week's episode of The Manager Trac...

We don't like to admit it, but every leader has been there:   That Friday afternoon email from your boss. The team member who “forgets” a deadline. The rising heat in your chest right before you snap.   As much as we wish frustration and anger weren't part of leadership, they are. The real question is: What do you do with it?   In this week’s episode of The Manager Track, we share:...

Executive presence isn’t about faking confidence; it’s about sending the right signals. And no, that doesn’t mean standing like a superhero before your big meeting.  In this episode, we talk with Dr. Scott Hutcheson about how biology, not bravado, drives leadership impact. His argument? Leadership isn’t about personality or charisma. It’s about biology. And the good news is, biology can be in...

You were confident in your role as an engineer solving problems, writing code, and being the go-to person when things broke. Then the promotion came, and the work changed. More meetings. More people decisions. Less hands-on time with the code you know so well.   In this episode of The Manager Track , Ramona Shaw shares the four shifts that often make the move into management feel harder than...

But when you’re the one staying late, fixing mistakes, and picking up the slack, that “helpfulness” becomes a leadership trap. And if you don’t catch it early, it’ll quietly sabotage your team’s growth. In this episode of The Manager Track podcast, Ramona dives into the sneaky habit of self-sacrificing managers who end up doing everyone’s work under the disguise of being “helpful” or “collaborativ...

You’re succeeding on paper... rising through the ranks, trusted by leadership, seen as reliable and driven. But under the surface, there’s fatigue, maybe even frustration. Why does it feel like the more you give, the more is expected? In this episode, we peel back the layers behind high-achieving discontent.   In this episode of The Manager Track , Ramona unpacks a quiet leadership dilemma: w...

You nod in meetings even if you'd like to call BS.   You say “no problem” when your plate’s already full.   You follow along while wondering what on earth is actually going on here?   Welcome to the workplace, where everyone’s wearing a mask (and not the kind you pick up at Walgreens).   In this episode of The Manager Track podcast, Ramona goes beyond the surface of human behav...

You block your calendar. You try to stay focused. You tell yourself today’s the day you’ll finally catch up. But then the messages roll in. Someone needs help. A fire pops up. And suddenly, the work that actually matters gets pushed... again.   In this episode of The Manager Track podcast, Ramona gets real about why time management feels so hard, especially for managers who genuinely want to...

Stepping into leadership is a big shift. You go from being great at your job and knowing how to succeed to being asked to do a whole new job with different skill requirements, while still maintaining that same high performance. In this episode (a replay of episode #100), Ramona and three former students from the Leadership Accelerator, who know that feeling all too well, talk about the messy, ofte...

Ever notice how being certain about something can feel really good?   You've got the answer. You're confident in your decision. You know exactly what’s going on.   But here’s the catch: when we’re sure we’re right, we stop thinking. We stop questioning. And without realizing it, we stop seeing all the other options we could be considering.   In this episode, Ramona unpacks the sneak...

If you’ve ever held back from giving feedback because someone already seemed on edge… Or struggled to say no because you didn’t want to disappoint anyone… Or felt annoyed but didn’t say anything because you didn’t want to stir the pot… Then this episode is for you! Ramona sits down with Elise Boggs Morales, leadership coach and author of Lead Anyone, to unpack what emotional intelligence really lo...

Ever been told to roll out a new initiative or share a message that felt... off? Not illegal. Not dramatic. Just something that didn’t sit right with you. Like telling your team “everything’s fine” when you know layoffs are coming. Or backing a tool you’re not confident in. Or pushing out a company message that feels disconnected from your own values. If that’s ever been you - or might be one day...

What changes when you stop seeing your team as "below" you and start seeing everyone as equals working beside you?   In this episode, Ramona explores the concept of vertical vs. horizontal relationships and how this simple shift can transform your leadership entirely.   If you've ever felt that tension between authority and connection, or wondered why some feedback lands while other feed...

Does this sound familiar?   You're in a leadership meeting and someone asks, "What's our AI strategy?" or "How should we be using ChatGPT?"   If you've been in one of these conversations lately, you've probably felt the pressure to have an answer. But here's the thing, you might be asking the wrong question entirely.   This week, we're diving into insights from tech humanist Kate O'...

Some parts of leadership come easily. Others? Not so much. Maybe you’re the one who keeps everything moving but you find it hard to delegate. Or you’re known to be super supportive but you avoid tough conversations.   In this episode, Ramona shares the 7 Manager Archetypes , the real, relatable patterns that show up in how we lead.   Once you know your archetype, you'll have a better und...