Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. People-First Leadership Doesn’t Mean People-Pleasing People-first leadership isn’t about making people happy. It’s about helping people succeed. And sometimes helping someone succeed means saying something they don’t want to hear. You want to be a people-first leader. You care about your team. You listen. You try to understand what people need. You want them to feel supported...
14 days ago • 5 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. The Conversation You're Avoiding Isn't Getting Easier You're optimistic, even hopeful. But you’re also nervous and a little concerned. There's a problem that you've been having with an employee, and you're hoping it goes away on its own because you don't want to have that conversation. But you know what? It's not going to get any easier the longer you wait. In fact, it's...
21 days ago • 3 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. You Don't Have to Solve Every Problem Your Team Brings You Why You Fall Into the Trap of Wanting to Say Yes You want to be a helper. You have a tendency to say yes to everyone. You want to support people and give them what they need when they need it. That's part of why you became a manager. You have many of the answers. You're a problem solver. That's all part of who you...
28 days ago • 5 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. Why Your Team Keeps Bringing You Every Problem (And How You Trained Them To) You know the drill. Someone leans into your doorway, or a Teams message pops up, or your phone buzzes with a "quick question." Shutterstock "Do you have a minute? I'm not sure what to do about this." And here's the thing: you do know what to do. You could probably tell them faster than they could...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. The Fall Communication Reset: Is Your Style Still Working? Fall Is a Natural Reset Summer tends to loosen things up: Vacations and changing schedules Fewer people around More casual conversations Different routines Less structure Nothing wrong with that. But fall has always had a little “back to school” energy, even when you haven’t been in school for decades. As schedules...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. Hi Reader, Summer is winding down. Vacations are wrapping up, schedules are getting back to normal, and somehow we’re already looking at the final four months of the year. So, here’s a question worth asking: What do you want to be different by December? Maybe you want to feel more confident leading your team. Maybe there’s a difficult conversation you’ve been putting off....
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. Trivia Challenge What does Subway officially call the person making your sandwich? A) Sandwich Artist B) Culinary Technician C) Deli Engineer D) Bread Consultant (Scroll down for the answer) Management Is The Job. Leadership is the Skill. Here's something that's been bugging me. Every few weeks somebody starts a thread on corporate jargon. Circle back. Low-hanging fruit....
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. Trivia Challenge True or false: the term now known as 'imposter syndrome' was originally coined to describe struggling beginners. (Scroll down for the answer) Why New Leaders Feel Like They’re Faking It Leadership is learned through action, reflection, and adjustment, not before the promotion. Let me give you an analogy. Remember that time you had that special event you had...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Clarity ➡ Confidence ➡ Credibility Transitioning top individual contributors into effective people-first team leaders. Trivia Challenge What percentage of new managers underperform or fail within their first two years in the role? A) 25% B) 40% C) 60% D) 75% (Scroll down for the answer) Why Leadership Training Alone Doesn’t Create Better Leaders Every year, organizations spend millions of dollars teaching leaders how to lead. You attend workshops. You complete online courses. You leave with...
2 months ago • 4 min read