Welcome to the New Manager Podcast. I'm your host, Kim Nickel. Hello and welcome. I'm glad you're here and I hope you're doing well. My name is Kim Nickel. I am your host. This is the New Manager Podcast, and I am a life coach, a leadership coach, a mindfulness teacher. I want to help you feel more calm and confident and capable
every day, and not just at work. Work is a big place that we do life, and so I think it's really important to take the time to really understand what does it mean to be a great manager. How do we tap into the leadership capabilities that you already have? And we don't do this in a vacuum, meaning both the environment that you're working in is part of what you're dealing with, but also who you
are as a person. The experience that you've had while you're on the planet, all of the things that you've learned about how to be effective, how to make things happen, how to communicate and respond with lots of different personalities, it all comes into play. I'm thinking of this in part because over the last week I was at a really cool conference. It's called Transform, and it's
focused on the workplace. There's a lot of HR people, a lot of people, team people, a lot of folks thinking about what does it mean to work well together in our organizations and how can we do it better? How can we learn from each other? How can we, you know, share perspectives about, you know, how how people are doing that in their organizations? And two things really stood out to me that I wanted to share with you.
One is that there are a lot of people who care deeply about helping everyone work Better Together. I mean, that's kind of the only reason why that conference exists, exists. And there were thousands of people there from all different kinds of organizations. And you know, there are a lot of people who care.
How do we work well together? What does that look like in today's constraints and workforce reality like the conversations around that were really rich and I saw so much positive intention of people trying to solve for some of the complex challenges that are showing up every day in the workplace. So that was thing number one,
people really care. The other thing though is that so many people, teams, thinking about HR, people, operations, like whatever that's called in your organization, they're also under a lot of stress. They have competing demands and not always the abundance of resources that they would like to have in order to organize and implement things. There's the vision of what they want to create and then there's the process by which they will do that.
Now, in light of all of that, you know, here we are, right? Like, I, when I, when I create, created this podcast, I really created it not for the HR people, but really for the folks who are dealing with the managing challenges every single day. And one of the reasons why that felt important to me is because I don't want you to wait for things to get better at an organizational level in order for you to be able to make progress on what you're facing
right now. And let me give you an example of what I of what I mean by that. So some time ago I was working with a very large corporate client and they had this desire to create a new program for their managers, you know, an internal manager development program. That was the main reason they were talking with me and they had a lot of people on their people team and had a lot of people who cared about how to create something that would help the managers across the
organization. And this was a large company, it's a publicly traded company. There are a couple of 1000 managers in this organization all around the world. So it was a big task and one of the conversations that have has always stayed with me was I was thinking about, you know, hey, can we do this experiment, can we create this class or workshop or run this program? Like can we get started in this way? And what I heard back from someone else on the people team was they said we can't move
forward until later in the fall. And I said, oh, why is that? And they said, well, we've paid all this money for our executive leadership team to work with these consultants. And they're going to create the new 3 words. And I was like, wait, what is that? And they said, well, you know, the management team, the upper level executives, they need to identify the three words that will be like the guiding light for everything that we do.
And until we have those 3 words, we can't create something because we might have to change it. Like, it all has to fit. It all has to fit together. And I remember thinking like, you know, so am I hearing this correctly that until the executive team goes away on retreat and works with these consultants and come back, comes back with these three magical words until that happens sometime later in the year. You're saying that we can't teach people how to have difficult conversations.
We can't help the current managers right now who are getting ready for performance reviews. We can't help them learn how to have performance conversations. Are you saying that the people that you're hiring or promoting right now into manager roles, they get nothing, nothing at all until like all these other things happen?
That makes no sense to me. And and I share this in part because, you know, I want you to understand that organizations of any size have different levels of complexity, different levels at which people are trying to solve problems.
And one of the reasons I'm glad you're here and why I'm here is because in the midst of all of that complexity and all of, you know the ways that organizations and people in organizations try to get things done on a very big systemic level, in the meantime, we have an incredible opportunity to do something. There's a big difference between something and nothing.
And I don't want you to feel powerless in the face of decisions that are being made about your organization and about your resources that you're not a part of. So often there are other people who influence the budget and the direction and what resources are available to you and to all of your colleagues. I don't want you to have to wait for that. We don't have time. You know, like you're in your life now, you're in your work now you're managing people and now you're needing to tap into
that leadership capability. And now the thing too is that when we start thinking in these terms, if we start thinking in terms of like layers, right. So there's the organizational layer at which people team and the HR team like they're doing, let's just say they're doing their utmost best with what they have available. And you know, they're really trying to get something put in place that will help you.
But in the meantime, we're here. Like in the meantime, give yourself credit for finding this podcast. In the meantime, there is coaching available to you. In the meantime there, you know, I offer a group program sign up to the wait list so that you can join that in the meantime. So you're not having to both kind of watch.
Sometimes it feels like watching a slow motion car crash when you can see that something about the way we're working isn't working, but there's no time to think differently about it.
Or you have no support to, you know, kind of explore your vision and figure out who you'll need to talk to and create a plan or a strategy around it. When we're caught up in the weeds of the moment and we're caught in this reactive place where there's difficult to get a a bigger perspective, it's kind of like watching that slow motion car crash and you think
it doesn't have to happen. But I don't know how to stop it, and especially if you feel like you're waiting on someone else in your organization to come in with the answer with a training, with whatever you might be waiting a long time. And I don't want that for you and I don't want that for your team. So number one, I want to give you credit for being here because it really signals that you care and that you are actively engaged in finding a solution that will work for you now.
Let's do something about it now. And then the other piece about this too that ties in is this question of what support do you need. Think about this one. I find it so easy to reject that question when you are someone who is good at being very self reliant. Whether it's because you've had to be throughout the course of your life or whether it's because you've kind of learned that maybe in the, you know, workplace where you are there
might not be a lot of resources. So if you know, if you're either feeling concerned about like oh I don't want to take resources from somebody else, or if you've always been hyper self reliant, then when you hear this question, what support do you need? Your instinct might be to reject it and simply say I'm good, I have everything I need. I'll make it work. Don't worry about me.
I'll figure it out like it can be so easy to turn away from resources of support that are available, if only you ask for them. This is something I also see when people get promoted. So if you get promoted into a leadership role, into a manager role, your organization might ask you what resources do you need? And if it's the first time you've been in that role, you might not even think to ask for that.
And so when you hear the question, you might just say, oh, I don't know, I'm good, you know, I'll just ask for help when I need it. But instead I want to offer this idea, like plant this seed of a thought, which is when someone asks what support do you need, have something that you want to ask for. I am a huge advocate of telling people I would like to work with a coach. I'd like to work with somebody one-on-one For these reasons.
These are the things I want to get better AT, and I often find too, you know, there's so many different ways you can learn a thing. And the thing I like about one-on-one coaching as a way to learn is that you get all of the attention. You're actively engaged in the learning. So it's not like, you know, watching a series of videos or reading a book or, you know, even to an extent listening to this podcast, right?
You can listen to it while you're doing other things, but with A1 on one coach, you have a thought partner who's talking with you, asking you questions, helping you think through so that you're you're actually developing your own mindset, your own strengths, you're learning. What is the specific piece for you that you want to get better AT? And how will you apply that in the coming days, in the coming week? And so you actually get so much more support in that in that
format. Like if that's the kind of learner that you are, ask for that. It's also really great because there's so much that you do in the coaching call. So it's not like there's homework after. So if you've got a lot to do and the last thing you need to do is then, you know, watch a video course or do something, you know, read a book, get coaching. And so many leaders do this, like, this is a very normal
thing to ask for. So when you get promoted, when you step into a higher level of leadership and responsibility, if anyone in your organization asks you what support do you need, tell them I would love to work with A1 on one coach. What is our professional development budget? You might tell them there's a coach I've been listening to. I want to work with her. I'm going to schedule a consult, get clear about what the goals will be, how we'll work
together. That's what the support that I would love to have And your work might be delighted that you're asking for this because number one, it signals to them that you're thinking through what is the support you will need, especially if you haven't done this before. And #2, it means that they don't have to do the work to try to guess what is the support that you'll need. They don't have to try to imagine, oh you know, what do we
think this person needs. Just tell them, say this is what I'd like to have, What can we do about it? What budget do we have? Like what can we can we talk about how this will work? It provides a bit more clarity, direction and groundedness. And so, you know, imagining that your internal people, team, they're working really hard to get programs in place in the meantime, you can make things easier for yourself and for them by simply saying this is the support that I want, This is why.
What can we do? That is what it is to be a leader. You're identifying a need, You're advocating for it, and you're doing it from this position of collaborative power, not from this position of, you know, feeling like a little kid who's asking an adult for something and hoping that they grant your wish. It really is more like, OK, given what I'm seeing is what's required of me. This is what I'll need in order to be able to do this most effectively, and I want to add
to that most sustainably. We want you to be sustainable in your work, meaning you're not going to burn out. You're not going to have to sacrifice your personal life, your family life. This is part of how I want you to think about growing in your career and growing as a leader is to include the intersectional humanness of you being aware of what are the things that are important to you.
How can you ensure that all of the pieces of you and your life are benefiting and thriving and being cared for as you step into bigger responsibility and some different mindset changes as your work changes? We want to include the both of those because number one, I mean that's just a personal choice, right? So much about how we do leadership and how we do work is really a personal choice. So if you can choose it, why would you not choose it?
Like it's available, but you might need to choose it and then be intentional about how you develop that. And then secondly, I'll just share you know my personal perspective is it is very rewarding to me when I see my clients growing in responsibility and you know having that expanded positive effect in their work and realizing it's not going to cost them personally as much.
This is something I see a lot, especially if you feel like you're working really hard at the current level you're at. The fear is it's already costing me so much time, energy and Peace of Mind. If I get more responsibility, it's going to cost me more and I can't bear that. I don't want to give up more of my personal life or my Peace of
Mind or my time or my energy. And so part of the work that we do and what I help my clients with is I help you learn how to develop the mindset and the skills that you'll need to be able to take on bigger responsibilities while not giving up more of your time, more of your energy, more of your Peace of Mind, and want you to feel calm and confident and capable at work so that you have also the space for a rewarding
personal life. I think that's good for our organizations, to have humans in them that are not burning out or that are not kind of being depleted or sacrificing their well-being or their family's well-being. Like, I think that's just a good thing. That's what I would like to help Foster and to nurture in our shared world. So I'm thank you for being here and being part of this community because, you know, if you're listening, then you're a part of this too.
So that is the picture of what I wanted to share with you. You know, think about what support do you need. Be willing and feel comfortable asking for it. Realize that the people, OPS and HR people in your organization, they probably care more than you can see or realize. But also don't wait on them to get things to you, because there's a lot of other stuff that they're trying to deal
with. Good news is that we live in a time where it's not all or nothing, where there's a lot of possibility between where you are now and where you want to be with your organization. And final note, this is about
practice, not perfection. So everything that you're going to be learning in terms of the mindset shifts, the skills that you develop for communicating, time management, executive presence, like all of those things that start to become more vividly important when you step into manager role and leadership role, it's about practice, not perfection.
And the more intentional you can be with that practice, the faster you'll learn and the more kind of confident and at peace you'll feel because you'll feel like OK, I've got a a strategy, a plan, a bit of a handle on this starts to reduce the self judgement and the pressure that comes along from trying to get things absolutely right the first time. If that is something that you want help with, come talk to me.
I'm taking new clients. I would love to talk with you about your situation, your goals, and share how I can help you through my one-on-one coaching. Find the link in the show notes to sign up for a consultation or go to my website kimnickel.com. You'll see a link to schedule a consult with me if you're curious about my group program. That one, You need to sign up for the wait list for us to be notified when it opens again. That's also in the show notes.
Or you can go to kimnickel.com and go to the new managers page. Sign up for the wait list there and you'll learn more about it. And lastly, thank you for being you. Thank you for being here. It is not always easy being a human working with other humans, but we do it every day and we try to do it with grace, with gratitude and remembering kind of what. What the point of it all is We're here to share the planet, to recognize and use your gifts and make a positive contribution in this world.
So thank you for that, and I will talk to you next time. When you're more effective at work, you're happier in your life. And when you're happier in your life, you're more effective at work. I can help. Go to my website, Kim Nickel Com and sign U for a coaching consult. It can get better.