Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here. An Old Tool I Still Use Have you ever fixed a problem only to have it show up again a week later? So, you fix it again. Maybe you add a reminder. Schedule a check-in. Create a tracker. And somehow, there it is again. At some point, it's worth asking whether we're actually fixing the problem or just doing a really nice job managing the symptoms. There's an old tool I learned early in my career that I still use for exactly this. I spent my early career in...
23 days ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here. The Most Dangerous Six Words? Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic. But “We've always done it this way” should at least make us pause. Sometimes there's a perfectly good reason we've always done something a certain way. We've tried other approaches. We've learned some things the hard way. We know what works. That's called experience. Use it. But sometimes “we've always done it this way” really means: This is the way I know. This is the way I'm comfortable...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! One of the strange things about moving from peer to manager is that you probably don't feel all that different. You may be leading people you worked alongside last week. You still know the same people, laugh at the same things, and have opinions about the same stuff. But something has changed: your title means something now. The people around you may start hearing your words differently, even when you're saying them exactly the way you always have. Same...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! It Sounds Clear Enough. “When you get a chance…” “I'd love for you to…” “Maybe we should…” “Let's try to get this done soon.” Managers say things like this all the time. We think we're being flexible. Approachable. Maybe even a little less bossy. Meanwhile, the employee is trying to figure out what we actually mean. Is this a suggestion? A request? A priority? And what exactly does “soon” mean? Today? Friday? Before the end of the fiscal year? What we mean...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! Every team has that one employee. You know the one. They deliver. They're reliable. They know their job. When something important needs to get done, they're usually the person you count on. They're also the person nobody wants to work with. Maybe they dismiss teammates in meetings. Maybe they ignore processes everyone else follows. Maybe they're just difficult in ways that are hard to describe but impossible to miss. And because they perform, it gets a pass....
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! Ask a manager how they're doing and you'll probably hear the same answer. "Busy." Somewhere along the way, busy became a badge of honor. A full calendar must mean we're important. A packed inbox must mean we're productive. Back-to-back meetings must mean we're leading. Not necessarily. Being busy doesn't automatically make us effective. Sometimes it just means everyone else's priorities became ours. A Different Scorecard. One of the biggest misconceptions...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! The interview was fantastic. They answered every question with confidence. They connected with the team. They asked thoughtful questions. You walked away thinking, we found them! Then Monday arrives. The confidence disappears. They forget things you just explained. They send an email that makes you wonder if they interviewed for a different job. Where did the interview version of this person go? Nobody interviews as their completely natural, unrehearsed self....
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! Somehow it is already mid-year. Which means one of two things is happening: You are feeling good about the progress you and your team have made.You just looked at the calendar and briefly considered filing a complaint against time itself. Mid-year is usually when managers start realizing what habits actually stuck, what goals quietly disappeared, and which "temporary busy season" apparently became a lifestyle. The problem is we as managers spend so much time...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I’m glad you’re here! Something Shifted in How We Talk About Accountability "Just checking in… sorry to bother you." Sound familiar? No. Not sorry. You're managing. The fear of being labeled a "micromanager" has quietly created the opposite problem. Managers who hesitate to check in, avoid accountability conversations, and have convinced themselves that disappearing is the same thing as trusting their team. The result? Teams end up unclear on priorities, ownership, deadlines, and...
4 months ago • 3 min read