Have you ever been overwhelmed as a leader? Stupid question...of course you have! Sometimes the whirlwind of leadership feels like quicksand – the more we struggle to get out the deeper we sink. Mark Miller has written several best-sellers on leadership, and in this episode he and Chris walk though some key strategies from his book " Smart Leadership ", where he'll give us some tips on how to take control of our uncontrollable circumstances. Take the leadership assessment mentioned in the blog: ...
Jun 09, 2022•37 min•Ep. 50
What would it be like if we could ask our team members, or our managers, the questions we REALLY want to ask? And what if they could think about the answers before answering them? In this episode Chris shares how you can ask questions that will deepen relationships with your team members in a way you might never have imagined. And do you want to build trust with your team by having REAL conversations? Start with the right questions. Download our FREE guide to 35+ great 1:1 questions! Related blo...
Mar 24, 2022•12 min•Ep. 49
If you've been a manager for very long, you know the difficulty in managing different types of people – especially in the are of accountability. In this episode, taken from Uptick's "Next Level 1:1s" course, Michael and Chris take about 3 perspectives on accountability and how to lead your team according to how their perspective. Related podcast: How to build (or rebuild) trust with your team by Uptick Course mentioned in the podcast: "Next Level One-on-Ones" by Uptick You can follow Chris at @c...
Feb 22, 2022•9 min•Ep. 48
Every manager has different biases, and that makes performance reviews difficult for team members. What one manager values may be different than what another values. This is problematic, since most people don't have strict numerical goals that are easily evaluated. In this episode Michael and Chris talk honestly about these realities and they share a couple ideas of how to build trust by giving rich, real-time feedback. Related blog post: Let's Radically Rethink Year-End Reviews by Uptick Course...
Feb 08, 2022•6 min•Ep. 47
Many managers feel boxed in by the review processes their company requires. In this episode Chris shares some ideas that will help you comply with your company's process while still giving your team members the kind of review that will build trust, increase productivity and take the pain out of what is often an awful experience for both team member and manager. Related blog post: How Managers Can Take the Dread Out of Year End Reviews by Uptick Review prompts Chris mentioned in the podcast: Comp...
Feb 02, 2022•7 min•Ep. 45
If you feel out of your depth when navigating conflict, consider turning to the experts: hostage negotiators. These professionals have mastered the art of defusing conflict when it’s literally life-or-death. In this episode Chris summarizes the topic and adds some insight as to how to use your one on ones to both mitigate conflict and deal with it as it happens. Related blog post: Conflict Management Skills Managers Can Learn From Hostage Negotiators by Uptick Book referred to in this episode: N...
Jan 28, 2022•10 min•Ep. 46
Performance reviews can suck, and one of the main reasons is that there hasn't been adequate preparation. As Chris shares in this episode, there are several things you can do that will make a performance review not only tolerable, but a great way to recognize the growth you've seen in your team member throughout the review cycle. This will help establish healthy relationships with your team members and build the great team you want to lead. Related blog post: How Managers Can Take the Dread Out ...
Jan 24, 2022•11 min•Ep. 44
Sometimes performance reviews seem void of any meaningful purpose. Why do we do them? Compliance? Professional development? Performance improvement? And are they supposed to serve the company, the team member of the manager? In this episode Chris suggests that "all of the above" is a reasonable answer and can bring new purpose to performance reviews. Book mentioned in the podcast: Atomic Habits by James Clear Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Course...
Jan 18, 2022•10 min•Ep. 43
Rigid, "black and white" performance reviews are awful. Managers hate giving them, and team members are afraid of them. We've made them presentation instead of conversation, and we neglect to make the meeting a human experience. Chris shares some of his own failures while bringing to the conversation some ideas on how to make review a better experience for everyone. Related blog post: Let's Radically Rethink Year-end Reviews by Uptick Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out o...
Jan 10, 2022•6 min•Ep. 42
For many of us, our experience with on-on-one meetings is less than stellar. Talking about the local sports teams, the weather, the weekend or simply giving status updates feels like a waste of time for both managers and team members. In a business climate that is more competitive than ever, why should we spend more time in meetings? In this episode, Chris revisits his recent blog post that explores why one-on-ones may be the most important thing you can do to build great teams and keep your bes...
Oct 12, 2021•13 min•Ep. 41
Leaders are often overworked, and they can forget how their behavior can affect the morale of the team. When team members don't have a consistent workplace, they can become tentative, unproductive, confused and even a little scared. In this episode Chris flies solo and talks about 6 key elements to being a consistent leader and how if positively affects the team. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Course" You can follow Michael @jmichaelprobert and C...
Oct 01, 2021•10 min•Ep. 40
Skip-level meetings can be fraught with land mines, and they can be scary to the team member. "How much should I share about myself? How much should I share about my manager? Or the company?" In this episode, Chris and Michael talk about how to honor the purpose of the meetings, how to make them relational and how to make sure both people have a dialogue that's mutually beneficial. Related blog post: What are Skip-Level Meetings and How Do You Make Them Worthwhile? by Uptick Questions for skip-l...
Aug 24, 2021•19 min•Ep. 38
Uptick is a small company, and when organizational changes happen they tend to affect people differently than when similar changes happen in larger organizations. Everyone knows each other well, and when a co-worker turns into a manager that can present some unique challenges. Michael and Chris are experiencing that real-time, and in this episode you'll hear more about how they're handling the process. Related blog post: Managing Change in the Workplace – How To and How Not To! by Uptick Related...
Aug 17, 2021•19 min•Ep. 39
All too often goals are set up at the beginning of a quarter, (or a year!), and the next time they're discussed is when it's time to set up new goals. That makes the goals meaningless, and can even become a distraction for the team. We have been on that treadmill, too, and while working on the new goals module in Uptick, Michael and Chris thought more about how to get started building meaningful goals. They discuss their journey in this episode. Blog post mentioned: 5 questions to answer when cr...
Aug 10, 2021•20 min•Ep. 37
"Should I have to change my style for other people? Can't they accept that this is how I communicate?" Sure, they can. But if you want to influence people and have them understand what you're sharing with them, you'll probably need to understand something about how they take in certain styles of communication. In this episode Michael and Chris the importance of knowing the people you're talking with, and adjusting based on their needs – not yours. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's...
Aug 03, 2021•16 min•Ep. 36
Does my team like me? Is there someone else here that could do a better job? How am I going to get all this done? These questions often pop into our heads when we're busy and a little stressed. Or a lot stressed. In this episode Michael and Chris discuss how focusing on the questions you CAN answer will help you remove stress instead of adding to it. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Course" You can follow Michael @jmichaelprobert and Chris at @chri...
Jul 27, 2021•15 min•Ep. 35
Routines and habits are vitally important to making sure the important work gets done. But when those routines aren't evaluated, they can often become a time suck with little or no effectiveness. We'll tell ourselves it's our job, but is it? In this episode Michael and Chris discuss the importance of regularly evaluating your work so you aren't just "playing work", but actually moving the needle for your team. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Cours...
Jul 20, 2021•15 min•Ep. 34
As a manager and a leader, there are always issues coming up with other leaders that matter to your team. When should you let them into the process? At the very beginning? When a decision has been made? In this episode Michael and Chris discuss the importance of letting people into the the process as soon as you can, and how that helps get great feedback and build trust with your team. Blog mentioned in the podcast: How to Cultivate Transparency in a Zoom World by Uptick Want to learn more about...
Jul 13, 2021•17 min•Ep. 33
We tend to be drawn to people who are like us, but when hiring for a team, we need to find people who have gifts and abilities that compliment each other. That means looking for different types of personalities with different skills. But there is one important caveat – the things we care about and the way we relate to our teammates needs to be the consistent foundation of whatever we build on top of it. On that we need to have agreement. In this episode Michael and Chris talk through their curre...
Jul 06, 2021•14 min•Ep. 32
The truth is sometimes uncomfortable – whether it's about issues going on if your organization or the direct feedback you need to share with your team members. But people are smart, and they'll get a sense when you're keeping something from them, and it will inhibit the trust you seek to create. In this short episode Michael and Chris talk about how courageously sharing the truth, where it's feasible, is better than having them figure it out on their own. Related blog post: Managing Change in th...
Jun 29, 2021•9 min•Ep. 31
Project deadlines are a fact of life in most businesses, and when facing missed deadlines managers have to understand that each person on their team may deal with it individually. This can make it difficult to keep morale high and the project moving forward. So how do we remain realistic and upbeat? In this episode Michael and Chris talk through a current deadline they're facing that faces this exact issue. Book mentioned in the podcast: Shape Up by Basecamp Want to learn more about how to have ...
Jun 22, 2021•20 min•Ep. 30
What would it mean if we changed the way we thought about our team's productivity? For many managers, we fixate on how to get more from our teams, but what if that started by giving more? In this episode Michael and Chris discuss how giving, not getting, it the key to building a successful team. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Course" You can follow Michael @jmichaelprobert and Chris at @chriszaugg . -- Let's Talk Teams is a podcast by Uptick the ...
Jun 15, 2021•19 min•Ep. 29
Sometimes managers feel like allowing team member's to pursue their professional development will distract them from their primary responsibilities. But in today's competitive workplace, up and coming leaders want to grow in their careers now more than ever. If you want to keep your high performers, you have to find a way to balance this tension. In this episode Michael and Chris discuss how your team's success is highly influenced by your investment in professional development. Related blog pos...
Jun 08, 2021•31 min•Ep. 28
When working together in an office, by simple proximity you were able to develop relationships with your team members. By watching how your manager treated other people, you could imagine how you would be treated. By watching people interact in the lunchroom, you began to understand their sense of humor, what was important to them, and you’d get a picture of how they were wired. In this episode Michael and Chris will give you some tips on how to cultivate transparency in this new remote, Zoom wo...
Jun 01, 2021•26 min•Ep. 27
When team members are faced with a decision between working on a goal or working on something they know they have to do as a part of their ongoing responsibilities, the urgent or necessary things crucial to the team's success, they usually often make the right decision. But in doing that, they can feel bad about not making progress on their long-term goals. In this episode Michael and Chris talk about that tension and how managers need to ensure their team members see the value in the work they'...
May 25, 2021•16 min•Ep. 26
You can't just show up with a title, a fancy business card and a corner office and expect your team to give you the authority you need to lead. You earn authority by working "with" your team, not "above" them. In this episode Michael and Chris talk about how to develop the kind of credibility with your team that will allow you to lead effectively. Here's the book we mention in the podcast: Credibility by Barry Posner and James Kouzes Related blog post: How to Cultivate Transparency in a Zoom Wor...
May 18, 2021•28 min•Ep. 25
Building trust with your team isn't a positional, "I'm the boss" thing, it's a relationship thing! To have a truly high-performing team, managers need to work on building trust as the foundation of a high-performing culture. In this episode, taken from our "Next Level 1:1s Course", Michael and Chris will give you some tips on how to build, or rebuild trust with your team. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Course" You can follow Michael @jmichaelprob...
May 11, 2021•12 min•Ep. 24
From "Where's the coffee machine?" to "How will my performance be evaluated?", new team members have a lot of legitimate questions. The best place to address those questions is in a 1:1, but how do you get started? In this episode, taken from our "Next Level 1:1s Course", Michael and Chris will give you some tips on how to get rolling with your 1:1s with new team members. Want to learn more about how to have great 1:1's? Check out our "Next Level 1:1s Course" You can follow Michael @jmichaelprob...
May 04, 2021•16 min•Ep. 23
How do you lead differently based on your team's talent, the size of your company and your experience? In this episode, Mitch Moeller, CEO of Corvida Medical, talks with Chris about his leadership journey and how he has had to change his style based on the uniqueness of the companies he's led. For a full transcript , go to https://uptickapp.com/podcast You can follow Chris at @chriszaugg . -- Let's Talk Teams is a podcast by Uptick the one-on-one tool that helps managers and their team members c...
Nov 27, 2020•39 min•Ep. 22
Foggy brain? Check. Anxiety? Check. Difficulty staying on task? Check. COVID-19 has put most of us in situations we were unprepared to handle. In this episode, Chris gives 4 tips that should help you both retain your sanity and encourage productivity for you and your teammates. Related blog post: How These 5 Companies Are Prioritizing Employee Health in the Era of COVID-19 by Uptick You can follow Chris on Twitter at @chriszaugg . — Let’s Talk Teams is a podcast by Uptick the one-on-one tool tha...
Nov 17, 2020•10 min•Ep. 21
