Coronavirus has drastically impacted our daily lives and how we collaborate with colleagues. Check out these three webinars to help you transition to a high performing virtual team. www.mamieks.com/webinars Webinar Bundle includes webinars 1 & 2 $15 for up to 10 team members (free for members of The Modern Manager community) Webinar 1: Work Productively From Home Monday March 23, 1-2pm Eastern Set yourself up for a productive day with these practical strategies for working from home. Get ide...
Mar 19, 2020•5 min
Do you ever feel like you are sandwiched between upper management and your team members? Being a middle manager is tough, especially when you’re feeling the pressures from all sides. Learning to manage up as well as down will make your job much easier, and make you a rockstar middle manager. Donald Meador has survived mergers, promotions, re-organizations, and downsizing. He is an author, award-winning speaker and the host of the podcast “The Corporate Middle” where he answers the most common mi...
Mar 17, 2020•29 min
Behavioral psychology has typically been used to help therapists provide effective counseling and designers build better products. But we all can benefit from insights about how our brains work. When we apply these lessons to our own work, we can positively impact our teams and our organizations. Matt Wallaert is a behavioral scientist working at the intersection of technology and human behavior. A multi-exit entrepreneur and product expert, he is passionate about focusing on behavior as the out...
Mar 10, 2020•32 min
You’ve planned a thoughtful agenda, sent materials as pre-work, and done everything in your power to set the meeting up for success. But then...someone takes the conversation off track. Or keeps bringing up old business and wants to rehash a decision. Or won’t stop talking. These disruptive meeting behaviors can make it hard to accomplish even the best planned meeting objectives. Effective meeting leaders are prepared to facilitate through these moments of tension to keep the meeting on track. T...
Mar 04, 2020•21 min
We live in a world of distractions. Between the endless buzzes and notifications, and the biological desire for dopamine, it’s almost impossible to expect anyone to concentrate and stay focused for more than 20 minutes. Yet that is exactly what is needed if we want to do deep, meaningful work. Jake Kahana believes that we can live a healthier life and do our best work by creating structures and environments that combat digital distraction. He is a cofounder of Caveday, a company established to m...
Feb 26, 2020•30 min
Whether you’re leading a single team or an entire organization, you can’t deny that culture plays a critical role in your experience at work. The challenge is that culture is hard to design, cultivate, and sustain. It’s often the small things that make the most difference. So what can you do to shape a strong, healthy culture? Tristan White is the founder & CEO of The Physio Co, a unique healthcare business that ranked #1 on BRW’s list of Australia’s 50 Best Places to Work in 2014. The Physi...
Feb 19, 2020•30 min
Good intentions just aren’t enough when it comes to being an inclusive leader and creating an environment that truly embraces diversity. I learned that the hard way. It requires a personal journey in which you learn about yourself and others, but by doing so, you are able to become an empathic and inclusive leader needed to build a thriving team in which all people flourish. Jennifer Brown is a leading diversity and inclusion expert, dynamic keynote speaker, best-selling author, award-winning en...
Feb 12, 2020•36 min
Decision-making can be one of the most challenging aspects of a manager’s job. You want to empower your team, but worry about whether they’ll make a decision that derails the project or negatively impacts your stakeholders. Finding the right balance is easier than you might think once you have a model for determining which decisions should be delegated and a clear method for identifying who will be engaged in the decision-making process and how. In this episode, I’ll walk through a few different...
Feb 05, 2020•18 min
Despite our best efforts, it's hard to ignore gender in the workplace. Gender roles and stereotypes have been reinforced in us since birth. Often, we don’t even realize our unconscious gender biases and their impact. If we truly want to create a work environment that rewards on merits, we must address gender with eyes wide open. Andie Kramer and Al Harris, they are married practicing lawyers. They have been mentoring women and speaking and writing about gender communication for more than 30 year...
Jan 29, 2020•28 min
With so much emphasis on employee engagement programs, there is very little emphasis on the root cause of employee dis-engagement. Despite the overwhelming research on the negative effects of employee dis-engagement, very little is actually being done to move the needle. No amount of money or attention on employee reward programs, wellness efforts, or engagement programming will make a difference if we don’t address the underlying issue. Tevis Trower helps organizations optimize their most preci...
Jan 21, 2020•29 min
Motivation is a complicated beast. Almost every manager questions how to best motivate their team members at some point. External motivators can only take us so far. The real magic happens when we align internal motivators with the work context. Then, you don’t have to motivate people at all - they’ll motivate themselves. Steve Sisler is a Behavioral Analyst, speaker and author. Steve's consultation involves personality difference, leadership strategy, cultural differences, and temperament strat...
Jan 15, 2020•35 min
Most people think of project planning as the execution plan: Who needs to do what by when. But before we get to milestones, RACIs, or fancy gantt charts, it’s important to align the team up front on the strategy and scope of the project. Without this critical step, it’s easy for projects to go off course, friction to arise between team members, and time, energy and money to be wasted. In this episode, I walk through a tool I’ve used for years to help me and my team plan projects. The Project Pro...
Jan 07, 2020•25 min
Organizations have up to five generations in the workplace, yet most people tend to congregate with others of the same generation. Even more problematic is the fear that sharing knowledge or making introductions for colleagues will somehow negatively impact one’s own career. As a manager, it’s your job to create an atmosphere of open dialogue where everyone can learn from one another, regardless of age. Phyllis Weiss Hazero is the foremost workplace expert on cross-generational dialogue at work....
Dec 25, 2019•20 min
Why are big tech companies so successful? It’s not just that they create amazing products leveraging the newest technology. According to this week’s guest, it’s how they approach their work by focusing on continuous customer engagement and measuring outcomes. Even if you’re a service business, or an HR team inside a manufacturing company, or a small business retailer, we can all improve when we measure outcomes instead of outputs. Jeff Gothelf. Jeff helps organizations build better products and ...
Dec 17, 2019•29 min
We all have moments when we get in our own way. Our conscious mind is saying “this is what I want” but our subconscious mind is saying “actually...I don’t think so.” This result is a confusing mess of self-sabotaging behaviors. David Neagle is the founder of the multimillion-dollar global coaching company Life Is Now, Inc, helping thousands of entrepreneurs, experts and self-employed professionals gain the confidence and find the right mindset to increase their revenue, turning their endeavors i...
Dec 11, 2019•28 min
Delegation is a critical skill for any manager, but did you know it’s also a mindset? Many of us have had less than ideal experiences delegating in the past, making us weary of trying again. It’s almost impossible to delegate successfully if deep down, you don’t believe it will work out. It’s time for a shift in mindset. In this episode, I talk through three common fears around delegating (which I’ve personally experienced and heard from other managers) and how to shift your approach so you can ...
Dec 03, 2019•19 min
Being a manager is tough. Being a new manager is really tough, even if you’ve done it before in another company or with another team. There are a few things you can do to start off strong whenever you’re taking on a new managerial role. But we can all learn from these lessons whether you’re brand new or have been with the same team for years. John Murphy is the author of 10 Key Traits of Top Business Leaders and creator of the First 100 Days Plan course for new managers. He is an internationally...
Nov 27, 2019•29 min
Fear is one of our most natural instincts. At its best, fear drives us to make good choices that preserve our safety and security, but at its worst, it inhibits us from taking risks and moving forward. After surveying more than 4,000 people, seven patterns of fear emerged. Knowing your fear pattern, and your colleagues', can help you all achieve your goals. Ruth Soukup is a New York Times bestselling author dedicated to helping women overcome fear and create a life they love. Through her blog, L...
Nov 19, 2019•30 min
It’s that time of year again, when many of us begin thinking about what we’ve accomplished and where we’re headed - in business and in life. Using a structured process to help you reflect on the past year and plan for the next year creates a sense of accomplishment and momentum to move you into the future. Doing it as a team helps build relationships, increases morale, and offers opportunities to support one another. Carey Jaros is Chief Operating Officer at GOJO Industries, inventor of PURELL® ...
Nov 12, 2019•31 min
How often does your team talk about goals (or impact or accomplishments)? And how often do you talk about your values? Too often team or organizational values are meaningless words on the wall (or website). Unless we intentionally take steps to bring these values, the beautifully crafted inspirational values will likely never become core to the culture. In this episode, I talk through various strategies to help bring your values to life. I discuss how to translate values into norms or behaviors,...
Nov 05, 2019•15 min
Do you ever find yourself doing anything but what you should be? Are you highly creative, imaginative and loving? Does it ever seem like you’re too empathetic? These are just a few characteristics of a highly sensitive person. Note: Being highly sensitive is not the same as being highly emotional. HSPs are more attuned to the world around them due to how their brain is wired. As you’ll soon learn, there are pros and cons to this ability. Heather Dominick is the founder and leader of the Highly S...
Oct 29, 2019•33 min
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Oh yah? Says who? Dr. Stan Robertson is an author, coach and speaker, and has come to be known as “the quit doctor” because of his relentless determination to heal the world of the stigma and shame associated with the concept of quitting. Dr. Stan and I talk about why quitting has a bad rap, when to quit and when not to, and how to quit successfully because quitting can be surprisingly difficult. Read the related blog article: Time to Stop: Quitting C...
Oct 23, 2019•30 min
A rockstar manager does more than make sure timelines are met and goals accomplished. They know how to get an individual or team to do the best work of their lives while finding satisfaction or meaning in the process. As this week’s guest learned, it’s not about being nice, but instead about how to be authentically yourself while enabling people to accomplish more than they ever thought possible. Lindsay McGregor is the co-author of New York Times bestselling book, Primed to Perform: How to Buil...
Oct 15, 2019•30 min
In his book Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business , Gino Wickman says you have to have “the right people in the right seats.” Team values help ensure you have the 'right people' by making explicit the way the group expects people to act and interact. By doing so, you are able to elevate 'how work gets done' to the same importance as 'what is accomplished.' In this episode, I explain what team values are, how they differ from organizational or personal values and how to create them with your team...
Oct 09, 2019•16 min
Respond, don’t react. Easier said than done. When our emotions take over, our logical brain shuts down, increasing the possibility we’ll say things we don’t mean or make poor decisions. Yet we have more control over our emotional response than you might think. Ron Shuali holds a Master of Education and has spent over 15 years presenting in the education marketplace. He is a best selling author, top motivational speaker and most importantly…He is funny. He presents keynotes, school assemblies and...
Oct 02, 2019•16 min
Meetings are one of the essential tools that managers use to get work done. While meetings are prolific, they’re only a tool to accomplish some larger purpose. How we design, structure, and engage people in these gatherings is critical. Lindsey Caplan has been gathering people for over 15 years - first to entertain, as a comedy writer in Hollywood, then to educate for companies like DreamWorks Animation and McKinsey, and now to transform as an organizational psychologist as the Head of Talent De...
Sep 25, 2019•31 min
We all have days when little things seem to bother us more than they should or when our emotions take over and we over-react. It’s hard to lead others when you’re feeling unsettled yourself. It’s even harder when you discover your life isn’t aligned with true purpose. Dolores Hirschmann is an internationally recognized strategist, Clarity Coach, TEDx Organizer, speaker, and author. She has over 20 years experience helping entrepreneurs and business owners realize their potential by guiding them ...
Sep 18, 2019•29 min
It’s hard to get into a collaboration groove when a team’s composition is in flux. Establishing solid relationships is critical to generating trust and a sense of good will. Any time there is a change to the team’s membership, there are emotions at play - hopes and fears about what this new person will bring. In this episode, I walk through the approach I use with teams to help a new colleague–whether a team member or team leader–and the existing team quickly integrate and orient to one another....
Sep 11, 2019•16 min
Are you living your values every day? It’s not always easy to do what’s right, to recognize your own biases and mistakes, to put people before profits. But these are things that moral leaders do. And the more you do them, the easier they become for yourself and for others who follow you. That’s moral leadership. Emily Miner leads LRN’s Ethics & Compliance Advisory practice. She helps organizations understand their company culture to inspire ethical behavior using an approach that is co-creat...
Sep 04, 2019•28 min
People and businesses are complex. In order for one to thrive, so must the other. Easier said than done. This is Shannon Adkins world. She lives it and helps others figure out ways to run a business that works for its employees and wins in the market. Shannon is a thought leader and CEO at Future State, a woman-owned, employee-owned consulting company with a triple bottom line where people get to be themselves. After years of working for startups, tech companies, and in corporate America, gettin...
Aug 28, 2019•35 min
