The Modern Manager

Latest Episodes:

169: From Inclusion to Belonging with Josh Saterman Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

Organizations are increasingly investing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. As managers, we can take it a step further to truly create a sense of belonging. In short: Diversity is who is on the team. Equity is a sense of fairness for how the team functions. Inclusion is whether everyone is invited to engage. But Belonging is the eng game - it’s the experience our team members feel when DEI is working.

Today’s guest is Josh Saterman. Josh is the CEO and co-founder of Saterman Connect. Saterman Connect supports organizations facing culture evolution by empowering leaders to unlock the power of their people to unleash their full business potential. Saterman Connect specializes in leadership development, professional coaching, communication strategies and always has a lens that's focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Josh was a senior executive in the world of retail holding several different leadership positions before launching Saterman Connect in 2019.

We talk about moving beyond diversity, equity and inclusion to belonging - why we need to add this additional concept and how managers can truly cultivate belonging in their teams.

Josh has offered to hold a special 1:1 Get Connected Experience for members of the Modern manager. This is an exclusive event where you will join other members, and myself, for a facilitated session that offers the opportunity to network, interact, and explore your dimensions of diversity, all in a fun and engaging 60-min program. This will happen on September 23rd, 2021 at 5pm Eastern. To attend the event, become a member of the Modern Manager community.

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Read the related blog article: Why DEI Is Now DEIB (And What Managers Need To Do About It)

KEEP UP WITH JOSH

Website: www.SatermanConnect.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joshsaterman/

Instagram: @satermaconnect

Key Takeaways:

DEI practices should always lead to a sense of belonging (DEIB).
Belonging is feeling like you can show up as your full self and share your unique voice. It is built by an environment of trust and listening.
Employees who feel belonging feel like they are co-creators of the workplace experience rather than just passengers along for the ride. The organization or culture feels like it represents them.
To empower your team to speak up, create diversity councils or forums to regularly discuss how to create a more inclusive workplace (policies, procedures, norms, etc).
Talk about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion by sharing stories rather than ideologies. This allows people from opposing viewpoints to hear each other’s perspectives and develop empathy.
Don’t take feedback personally or employees won’t want to speak up. Thank them for the input and reflect on what you can learn from it.
Cultivating a growth mindset environment will encourage everyone (including managers) to share, listen, learn, and change.
Do your own research about your employee’s cultural background on Google without asking them to educate you.
Understand that each employee relates to their culture as an individual. When they ask for time off for a cultural reason, have a conversation to learn more about why that day is significant to them.
Everyone has a story to share. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is an issue that affects us all and includes all of us feeling like we truly belong.

mamie@mamieks.com

168: Optimize Your Team’s Productivity with Erin Jewell Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

Becoming more productive can feel like a never ending pursuit. Yet, many of us are constantly in search of the newest tool, hack or system that will help us make the most of our time. As managers, we are also responsible for helping our team members optimize their performance. According to today’s guest, the surprising truth about productivity is that it’s all about clarity, focus, and rest.

Today’s guest is Erinn Jewell. Erin is a Thrive Global Top 10 Coach of 2021, an Executive Mindset and Performance Growth Coach, an International Speaker and a Professor of Leadership at Villanova University. She has over 20 years of leadership experience in the healthcare sector at fortune 500 companies like Pfizer, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic, and was the founder of her own healthcare Start-Up.

As a global director, Erin was responsible for 80 million in revenue and managed 200 direct and indirect reports. Along the way, she developed multiple strategies on how to optimize team performance. As a coach, Erin is passionate about empowering leaders to get the most out of their teams so they can achieve the results they deserve.

Erin and I talk about how to increase the productivity of your team. What productivity is, the connection between biology and productivity, goals, stress and so much more.

Erin is offering a free 1:1 consult to members to help them discover the tools to put your WHY into your WORK and get your team the results they deserve. As an additional bonus, you get my favorite productivity hacks guide where I share my go-to tools and practices that I rely on to help me be most productive. Get them both when you join the Modern Manager community at www.themodernmanager.com/join

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Read the related blog article: Teach Your Team To Work Less And Produce More

KEEP UP WITH ERIN

Website: https://erinjewellconsulting.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinjewellcoaching
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinjewellconsulting/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinjewellgerst/

Key Takeaways:

Stress is good in that it helps us focus. We just need to take breaks to rest and digest between stressful events in order not to burnout.
Know how you operate best; are you an Event (task oriented) or Clock (time of day oriented) person? A morning person or night owl?
Multitasking can reduce your productivity by 28%. Our brains need to focus on one thing.
The higher an employee’s Meaning Quotient or sense of purpose, the more productive they are.
Productivity requires clear goals because in order to be productive you must be moving towards your goals.
Divide your tasks into 3 Buckets: work that is (1) directly related, (2) indirectly related, and (3) not at all related to your goals.
Highly successful people spend time taking care of themselves so they can focus and put energy into accomplishing their goals.
Have a group meeting with your team to discuss how everyone views productivity and share ideas for how to optimize productivity.
Have your team track how they spend their time according to the 3 Buckets over the course of 3 days. Discuss the results and brainstorm ways they could change how they spend their time to be more productive.

mamie@mamieks.com

167: Cultivate a Culture of Love with Mohammad Anwar and Frank Danna Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

Love in the workplace may seem like a big no-no, but when applied to the organization’s culture, it’s surprisingly appropriate. A culture of love puts people first which is not only good for morale and engagement, it’s also good for the bottom line.

Today’s guests are Mohammad Anwar and Frank Danna. Mohammad and Frank are co-authors of the Wall Street Journal Bestselling book Love as a Business Strategy. Mohammad is the CEO of Softway and in his spare time, he enjoys fitness, watching college sports, and butchering American idioms.

Frank is Director of Culture at Softway and in his spare time, he writes children’s books, makes silly videos, and also enjoys fitness.

Frank, Mohammad and I talk about the idea of love in business. What love is, why it matters, what they learned applying love as a strategy in their own work, and how you can adopt a similar approach.

Five members of The Modern Manager get a free copy of their book Love as a Business Strategy. Get 50% off additional copies until September 7, 2021. Learn more about membership and join at www.themodernmanager.com/join

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

Read the related blog article: Lessons For Managers From Love As A Business Strategy

KEEP UP WITH MOHAMMAD AND FRANK

Book: https://www.loveasabusinessstrategy.com/
LinkedIn - Mohammad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manwarsoftway/
LinkedIn - Frank: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankdanna/
Website: https://www.softway.com/
Seneca Leaders: https://www.softway.com/events

Key Takeaways:

Love as a business strategy works when we maximize profits by prioritizing our people. To do this, we need to create a culture of love based on six pillars.
The first pillar is inclusion; making sure everyone has a voice and seat at the table. Inclusion of both visible (like race and gender) and invisible (like educational background and personality) diversity elements is critical.
The second pillar is empathy; putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It is a skill that can be practiced and developed, not a trait.
The third pillar is vulnerability; taking ownership for your mistakes. This leads to greater trust.
The fourth pillar is (unpredictive) trust; believing our staff can handle what they haven’t yet tried.
The fifth pillar is empowerment; setting up your staff for success so they can own their projects and succeed.
The sixth pillar is forgiveness; letting go of the past. Without a culture of forgiveness, we will feel wronged, lash out, and create divisions and cliques.
Leading a culture of love requires introspection. Reflection is thinking about what actions you could do differently. Introspection questions your mindset itself and asks why you feel the way you or how you could interpret things differently.
Empathetic leaders are better than sympathetic leaders, because they not only acknowledge the pain, they get involved in collaborative problem-solving.

mamie@mamieks.com

166: Engage in Healthy, Productive Conflict Aug 17, 2021

Show notes

Every team experiences conflict at some point. Therefore, the question is not if or when, but how the conflict will unfold. Managers play an essential role in guiding the team’s ability to engage in healthy, productive conflict so that the team gets stronger and the work is better.

Today's episode is the second in a two part series about conflict. In this episode, I’ll get into the difference between productive and unproductive conflict, how to deal with conflict in healthy ways, and tips for how to get your team to confront conflict head on. In episode 162, I explained the five conflict styles and how they can be beneficial or not.

The full episode guide includes sample norms for dealing with conflict as well as additional guidance for helping your team engage in healthy, productive conflict. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.

Get the free mini-guide at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

Read the related blog article: How To Effectively Manage Conflict At Work

Key Takeaways:

Teams that prioritize productive conflict and use a healthy approach become better and closer. Unhealthy, unproductive conflict slows down teams and worsens relationships.
Productive conflict makes the work better. Unproductive conflict is a distraction.
A healthy approach to conflict is grounded in trust and respect, and addresses the conflict head on. An unhealthy approach ignores the conflict or addresses it with ill will.
Trust and respect are necessary for teams to feel safe sharing diverse perspectives and coming up with collaborative solutions.
Teams need to learn which problems to focus on and which to let go of.
Don’t try to “win” the argument. Go in with a curiosity mindset to learn about others’ perspectives and to explain your own.
If conflict is too heated, people won’t listen to each other and will become defensive or silent. Reflect on your own emotions and take a break to calm down if needed.
Have a team discussion on Ground Rules For Conflict by identifying 3-5 behaviors for what a healthy approach to conflict looks like. Post the Ground Rules behaviors somewhere visible in the office and refer to them when conflicts arise.
Decide whether to address conflict at meetings or individually, educate your team to recognize unhealthy conflict, and identify what skills your team needs more of.

Additional Resources:

mamie@mamieks.com

165: Have More Fun at Work with Dr. Bob Nelson and Mario Tamayo Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

Do you enjoy working? Would you say you have fun at your job? Unfortunately, most of us associate work with stress rather than fun. But fun at work doesn't need to be a rarity. Teams that incorporate fun and recognition boost morale, engagement and retention. And fun comes in many forms, so it’s possible to increase the fun without beer, ping pong tables, or karaoke.

Today’s guests are Dr. Bob Nelson and Mario Tamayo. Dr. Bob is considered the leading advocate for employee recognition and engagement worldwide. He has worked with 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and presented on six continents. He has been featured extensively in the national and international media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS 60 Minutes, MSNBC, ABC, PBS and NPR about how best to motivate today’s employees.

He has sold over 5 million books, including 1501 Ways to Reward Employees, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees, The Management Bible, 1001 Ways to Engage Employees, Managing For Dummies, and his latest book: Work Made Fun Gets Done! Easy Ways to Boost Energy, Morale, and Results.

Mario Tamayo is a Principal of the Tamayo Group, Inc., a no-nonsense, no-frills consulting firm specializing in leadership and organizational performance. With extensive experience in the human performance and organization development field, Mario has been training, coaching, and consulting with individuals and teams in leadership and communication skills since the late 1970s.

The three of us talk about how to have fun at work. Why fun is important, what fun really is in the context of work, and ideas for how to incorporate fun into various work settings. Get ready to have some fun!

Members of The Modern Manager get a free copy of the book Work Made Fun Gets Done! Easy Ways to Boost Energy, Morale, and Results. Get your copy when you join the Modern Manager community.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

KEEP UP WITH DR. BOB AND MARIO
Website: www.drbobnelson.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drbobnelson
Website: https://tamayogroup.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-tamayo-809b7791
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Work-Made-Fun-Gets-Done/dp/1523092351

Read the related blog article: What “Having Fun at Work” Really Means in 2021

Key Takeaways:

85% of employees feel overworked and underappreciated.
Create “Daily Fun Habits” like rewards for unexciting tasks and “Fun Lists” in addition to “To-Do Lists” to be sure to include at least one enjoyable activity each day.
People have different opinions about what is fun. Ask your team what they want to do with an online poll and scheduling options.
Create a “Fun Committee” responsible for planning fun events for the whole team, department or organization.. The most effective fun events at work are often low or no cost.
The Greatest Management Principle In The World is: what gets recognized gets repeated (and done even better). Recognition is crucial for people to feel valued at work.
Send out a survey asking how your team likes to be recognized. Do praise rounds where everyone shares what they like about a colleague. Seeing ourselves as others see us is a moving experience
You can program fun into virtual meetings with things like sharing photos of favorite vacations, doing home tours, or pet intros.
You can assign “praise buddies” for virtual staff so that each person notices and shares the good that another does with the team.

Additional Resources:

Episode 153: Humble Inquiry with Edgar and Peter Schein

mamie@mamieks.com

164: How to Effectively Partner with HR with Tracee Hunt Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

HR is an often misunderstood business function. HR can do a lot more than the obvious work policies, employee benefits, and performance issues. Yet not enough managers take advantage of the support and partnership that HR offers.

Today’s guest is Tracee Hunt. Tracee is the Owner & CEO of Total HR Solutions, LLC. With over 25 years of experience in the field of Human Resources, her responsibilities have spanned all facets of HR to include the transformation of entire HR functions, as well as leading the charge in reshaping the culture of the organizations that she has worked with and for. Recently, she authored her first book “Silent Overcomer” which conveys her life’s journey and how the power of reframing was integral in turning life traumas into life triumphs.

Tracee and I talk about how managers can engage with HR as a partner rather than a resource to call upon only when there are problems, and how this partnership can help enable your team members to show up as the best version of themselves.

Members of The Modern Manager can get 1 of 3 copies of Tracee’s book Silent Overcomer in which she shares her own story of turning trauma into triumphs and offers lessons and insights she’s learned along the way. To be eligible, join the Modern Manager community.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

Read the related blog article: 5 Ways To Use HR You Probably Never Considered

KEEP UP WITH TRACEE:

Website: www.traceelhunt.com

Facebook: Tracee L. Hunt

LinkedIn: Tracee Hunt

Twitter: @tracee_hunt

Key Takeaways:

HR is more than transactional. Instead of working with HR in a reactive way, only when there are problems, proactively build a strategic partnership that continually supports you and your team.
HR is meant to be a “change agent” that navigates change with managers and employees to realize goals.
HR can strategize how to create safe spaces that give employees the confidence to share their life’s experiences and career aspirations with you.
HR can help craft mission statements and ensure consistency of culture throughout different teams in organization.
HR can coach managers to grow their employees’ skills and conduct effective performance reviews.
HR can collaborate on “Employee Value Proposition” documents for recruitment to explain why someone would prefer this organization over others.
HR can strategize methods of supporting teams so that each person is able to bring their “best” not their “whole” self to work.

mamie@mamieks.com

163: (In)Civility in the Workplace with Robin Rosenberg Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

Everyone deserves to work in a respectful environment but what does that really mean? Unfortunately, incivility in the workplace is not uncommon. Whether it’s aimed at a specific person or more generally disrespectful behavior, incivility can sour any team dynamic. It’s a manager's responsibility to foster civility which can transform an employee's daily experience.

Today’s guest is Robin Rosenberg. Robin is the CEO and Founder of Live in Their World, a company that uses, in part, virtual reality to address issues of bias and incivility and upskill employees for respectful engagement. Robin is a clinical psychologist and is board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology. She has taught psychology classes at Harvard University and Lesley University.

Robin has combined her interest in immersive technologies with her coaching and clinical experiences to foster in employees a deeper understanding of how and why other people may feel slighted or marginalized, and how to approach such interactions differently.

Robin and I talk about civility and incivility in the workplace, the difference between general disrespect and microaggressions, and how to respond when you notice disrespectful behavior on your team.

Members get Robin’s Best Practices for Giving and Receiving Feedback. To become a member go to themodernmanager.com/join. If you work for a government or nonprofit agency, you get 20% off any membership level.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

KEEP UP WITH ROBIN

Website: www.liveintheirworld.com

Twitter: @LiveNTheirWorld

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/29341962

Read the related blog article: How Managers Can Encourage Greater Civility In the Workplace

Key Takeaways:

Civility is about thinking how your words and actions can impact others, and adjusting your behavior accordingly.
“Theory of Mind” are stories we make up of how other people will hear and respond to something we say or do.
Understanding the need to monitor yourself is not a new concept for marginalized people but is for others.
Incivility is low level, frequent acts of disrespect, including interrupting and cracking hurtful jokes.
Microaggressions are disrespectful behaviors based on one’s personal group identity.
Take turns at meetings being the “process person” taking note of problematic behavior and helping the group act more effectively and respectfully.
Decide as a team what respectful behavior looks like and put these guidelines on every agenda.
Support employees who complain about disrespectful behavior and ask if/how they want you to be involved.
Bring in the offender and ask how they experienced the situation. If they apologize, brainstorm how to support them in the future. If they refuse to change, get HR involved.
Check in with your colleague if you notice disrespectful behavior directed toward them.

mamie@mamieks.com

162: Five Approaches to Dealing with Conflict Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

Conflict exists wherever there are humans in relationship to one another. It’s a natural part of teamwork and therefore dealing with conflict is an essential aspect of any manager's role. When address well, conflict can be a source of strength for a team, leading to better ideas and stronger relationships. When address poorly, or not at all, conflict can undermine even the best of us.

Today's episode is the first in a two part series about conflict. In this episode, I’ll walk through conflict styles and how they can be beneficial or not. In episode 166, I’ll get into the difference between productive and unproductive conflict, how to deal with conflict in healthy ways, and tips for how to get your team to confront conflict head on.

The full episode guide includes an overview of each conflict style and what they’re best used for as well as a sample agenda to guide your team through the conflict identification process. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.

Get the free mini-guide at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides.

Read the related blog article: The 5 Approaches To Dealing With Conflict At Work.

Key Takeaways:

The five conflict resolution approaches are accommodating, avoidance, competing, compromise, and collaboration.
Accommodate when the outcome is unimportant or when disagreeing is not worth the energy.
Accommodating develops trust and avoids insignificant conflicts but may build resentment. Never accommodate for large, important issues.
Avoidance can give people time and space to get into a better headspace before addressing the conflict. Sometimes conflicts will naturally resolve themselves.
Avoiding the conflict may make the problem worse, undermine your role as leader, and create a culture where conflict festers.
Compromise is a lose-lose approach that tends to make both parties unhappy.
Compromise when you’re short on time and need to come up with a solution quickly.
In a competing approach, any compromises or alternatives are rejected..
Competing is useful when you step in and make the call, but may make your team feel bulldozed and unheard.
Collaboration is a win-win approach of hearing everyone’s viewpoint and deciding on a solution together.
Collaboration is time-consuming yet is the best for building relationships and creating effective solutions.
Reflect as a team on your individual go-to conflict resolution styles and identify the best approach for common workplace conflicts.

mamie@mamieks.com

161: Unleash the Potential of English Language Learners with Katie Nielson Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

In the US, we often take English language skills as a given. But for the millions of immigrants, refugees and foreign language speakers, English can be a barrier to contributing their best and reaching their potential at work. As managers, we have the opportunity to support our language learning colleagues which in turn give us access to greater talent pools while simultaneously enabling people to thrive inside and outside of work.

Today’s guest is Katie Nielson. Katie is the founder and Chief Education Officer of Voxy EnGen, a public benefit company that leverages proprietary technology to deliver high-quality, needs-based English instruction to immigrants and refugees. Voxy EnGen rapidly gives language learners the tools they need to advocate for themselves and their families and improve their economic outcomes. Katie has dedicated her career to making language learning more accessible and effective using innovative technology and research-based best practices. She earned her PhD in SLA from the University of Maryland in 2013, and she holds ten patents on the technology she designed to deliver language learning at scale.

Katie and I talk about the challenges and opportunities that often exist when working with colleagues who are still developing their English language skills, how to better engage and support these colleagues, and how to distinguish what English skills are truly needed so you can unleash the potential of each person regardless of their current level of English proficiency.

As a special guest bonus for five members, Katie has generously offered 30 minutes of personalized consulting on how to make their organization, product, or workplace more welcoming to speakers of other languages, whether those speakers are clients, employees, consultants, or the community at large. To be eligible, you must be a member. Learn more and join at www.themodernmanager.com/join.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

Read the related blog article: How to Support English Language Learners In The Workplace

KEEP UP WITH KATIE

Website: www.voxyengen.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katienielson/

Key Takeaways:

To work on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we need to include supporting immigrants and refugees in gaining the English language skills they need to thrive.
In the US, we meet the needs of a mere 4% of adult English language learners. This means we’re leaving a lot of talent untapped.
Language is often taught wrong. It needs to be relevant and experiential. Employees should learn from real examples of people talking with managers, doing customer service, and reading through employee manuals, to get the specific English they need for the workplace.
The hiring process can be full of bias, like hesitating to hire someone with an accent because they are harder to understand or foreign degrees might not feel as “familiar” or “acceptable”.
Consider whether specific degrees or credentials are really necessary or whether they may be prohibiting you from tapping a wider talent pool and building a diverse workforce.
Consider your responsibility in improving communication. Slow down when speaking to help the other person understand you better or ask them to repeat themselves indicating you value what they have to say and want to be sure you’ve understood them.
Ask what they feel their strengths and weaknesses are and what areas of English language they need support in.
There are four skills to fluency, which includes the receptive skills of listening and reading and the productive skills of speaking and writing. Someone may be fluent in some areas and not in others, and not all skills are critical for each role.

mamie@mamieks.com

160: Develop a People Strategy with Andrew Bartlow Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

You’re probably familiar with the terms business strategy or product strategy, but what about people strategy? Shouldn’t we be as thoughtful about how we approach expanding our teams as we are with how we grow organizations and develop new products?

In this episode, I speak with Andrew Bartlow, founder, and managing partner at Series B Consulting. Andrew has 25 years of Human Resources and Talent Management experience at organizations across a wide spectrum of sizes, maturity stages, and industries. He is the co-author of “Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations,” has a master’s degree from the top program in his field, and has been CECP, SPHR, Six Sigma, and executive coaching certified.

Andrew and I talk about how to develop a people strategy - how to prioritize the most important work and focus your team structure and roles on doing that work so you’re investing in the right people doing the right activities at the right time in the organization’s life cycle.

As a guest bonus, members of the Modern Manager community can get a free 25-minute “coach-sulting” session with Andrew to get advice and recommendations on your people strategy, scaling, or culture development. To be eligible, you must be a member - join the Modern Manager community today.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.

Read the related blog article: Align Your People With Your Priorities.

KEEP UP WITH ANDREW

Website: https://www.peopleleaderaccelerator.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bartlow https://www.seriesbconsulting.com/
Book: Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High-Growth Organizations

Key Takeaways:

Your team needs to ruthlessly prioritize their top three goals that will make the biggest impact. You can move three things a mile or thirty things an inch.
Like a waterfall, your team’s actions, culture, and hiring processes should all flow from those top three goals.
To determine the highest priorities, use a (1) bottom-up approach to decide as a team the top three things to move your organization forward or (2) a top-down approach where you decide the top three goals on your own and invite your team to ask questions and raise concerns until everyone is on the same page.
If someone, including you, want to add another goal, negotiate what to remove.
Check in with your critical stakeholders e.g. senior management, other departments or investors, to make sure they are in agreement about the top three goals.
Hire and add new roles in alignment with your goals. Consider if it’s possible to promote from within, especially if you invest in a bit of professional development, or if you need to hire from the outside.
Use a portfolio approach of sometimes hiring from within and sometimes from without. If you always hire from without, you will discourage your team by not providing growth or advancement opportunities. If you always hire from within, you may not get the talent you need.
Resist promoting just because someone has been there the longest. Don’t stick with your team just because it’s comfortable. As the needs for various roles change, be transparent while also treating people with generosity.
Pay attention to the spans and layers your structure is creating. A span is the number of direct reports a manager has. Layers are the number of managers managing managers.
A manager can handle a span of up to 20 in simple, similar roles and a span of 4-6 when dealing with more complicated, diverse roles.
More layers make communication, efficiency, and connection more challenging. Each manager needs to find the “Goldilocks” level of spans and layers that works for them.

Additional Resources:

Patrick Lencioni - 6 Critical Questions

mamie@mamieks.com

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