Management Development Unlocked - Management & Leadership Training

Popular guest Al Dea returns to the show on this 100th episode of Management Development Unlocked. Al is the founder of The Edge of Work, a leadership development firm helping organizations develop the next generation of leaders inside their organizations while building high-performing and highly engaged cultures. Like Eric, Al has a passion for developing leaders and managers.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Al Dea’s observations on managers’ role in employee career development and why it’s important.
2. Finding ways to prioritize career development and what that could look like.
3. Al’s thoughts on offering career coaches or mobility teams inside organizations.
4. Why all leaders should be talent developers and make it a priority.
5. The interconnectivity between doing your job, investing in talent, and developing talent and Al Dea’s suggestions for implementing it.
6. He advises how organizations, talent development, and L&D can play a role in this process.
7. Some of Al’s exercises for implementing talent development at your workplace.

Connect with Al Dea:

Website

LinkedIn

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

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On today’s Management Development Unlocked, Eric shares his third power session of the Lead Like a Pro Course. This session focuses on the transition into management and what differentiates managers from leaders. You’ll hear the objectives of this session, the three groups of people whose expectations matter, and how your time distribution in a management role differs from that of a contributor. Lastly, Eric explains the importance of accountability.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Eric’s guidelines for his Lead Like a Pro class.
2. What makes managers different from leaders.
3. The objectives and agenda for this session of the Lead Like a Pro course.
4. The three groups of people whose expectations you should be concerned with and the questions you should be thinking about.
5. Your time distribution in a management role and some prompts to help you determine the adjustments you can make to how you spend your time.
6. Holding yourself accountable with a partner.

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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Today’s episode of Management Development Unlocked is part two of the Lead Like a Pro power sessions. Eric outlines why empathy is imperative at work, four things empathy improves, and its three components. He shares three action items to increase your empathy, improve your listening skills, and the two questions you can ask someone at work to change the depth of your conversations. Empathy is no longer an unimportant skill in the workplace. Instead, it is a key to building better relationships throughout your career.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why empathy is an imperative skill at work.
2. Four things empathy improves: innovation, engagement, retention, and inclusivity
3. What empathy is and the three components of empathy.
4. Three things you can do to increase your empathy.
5. The three levels of listening and how they can improve your empathy skills.
6. The two questions you can ask someone at work to change the depth of conversations.
7. The skills you should have at the end of the Lead Like a Pro course.

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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In the first of five Power Sessions, Eric outlines his Lead Like a Pro course and what each session offers. Eric offers these sessions to clients for free and wants to offer them to podcast listeners as well. You’ll hear an outline of the Lead Like a Pro course, why empathy is invaluable in management, and the differing expectations employees, managers, and peers have of you at work. Eric explains the process for defining goals and setting targets, the impact of trust and integrity in the workplace, and the objectives that drive the full Lead Like a Pro course.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why empathy matters in management.
2. Eric’s personal experience with an empathetic manager as he grieved his mom’s death.
3. The definition of empathy and how it differs from sympathy.
4. The differing expectations of employees, managers, and peers.
5. Defining goals and setting specific targets.
6. Trust and integrity’s impact on the workplace.
7. The objectives behind the full Lead Like a Pro course.

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!

On today’s episode of Management Development Unlocked, Eric sits down with Brian Walch, owner of Shiftfocus Coaching and Consulting. Brian is based in Anchorage, Alaska, and he helps organizations develop their managers. Brian also assists organizations in building best-in-class management cultures. He has a 25-year career in IT consulting and decided to move over to helping managers make a bigger impact while helping people develop in their careers.

Eric and Brian cover the challenges managers face after they move past the honeymoon stage, Brian’s advice for burned-out managers, and why burnout can happen even when you love what you’re doing. He shares four domains you should consider as a manager, what to do when you believe you’re ready for more responsibility, and the one thing that can benefit brand-new managers most.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. The challenges managers face in their own careers once they move past the honeymoon stage.
2. Brian Walch’s advice for burned-out managers and why internal motivation matters more than external.
3. Why burnout can happen even when you love what you’re doing.
4. Investing in yourself for the long haul and reaping the benefits.
5. Continual progression even as you become more comfortable with your management position.
6. Brian's four domains to consider as a manager: relationships and influence, skills and experience, results, and systems.
7. What to do when you think you’re ready for more in management.
8. Brian’s business, Shiftfocus, and what it can help you with.
9. The one thing Eric believes can benefit brand-new managers.

Connect with Brian Walch:

Website

LinkedIn

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!

On today’s Management Development Unlocked, you’ll hear part five of Eric’s six-episode series of his audiobook, Lead Like a Pro: The Essential Guide for New Managers. Building a healthy coaching habit can help break three vicious cycles at work, and Eric shares some tips for becoming a great coach for your team. You’ll learn about the GROW model, becoming an active listener, and some questions you can use in your next coaching session. You’ll also hear why feedback is crucial to a successful team. Eric outlines why feedback should be a habit—both constructive and positive—and how to handle adverse reactions to feedback and reward and recognize your team without money.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Building a coaching habit and the three vicious circles at work that it can break.
2. Evolving beyond your own tasks and taking proactive steps to help your team perform better.
3. Coaching and feedback and the three things it can help you do as a new manager.
4. Why you should always coach in private, be curious, and avoid statements that may make the coachee defensive.
5. Questions that can help you evaluate your team’s performance.
6. Challenging your assumptions and digging deeper.
7. The purpose behind coaching at work.
8. Four essential coaching skills and the GROW (goals, reality, options, and way forward) model for coaching.
9. GROW in practice and avoiding offering advice.
10. Six behaviors or active listening.
11. Seven essential coach-like questions to get a coaching session rolling.
12. Making feedback a habit and the simple things you can do to ensure it is received well.
13. Keeping a record of the feedback you provide.
14. Handling negative reactions to feedback.
15. The coaching-feedback-coaching technique.
16. Offering rewards and recognition to team members.
17. The three ways to reward and recognize your team that doesn’t involve money and how to do it.

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!

On today’s episode of Management Development Unlocked, Eric welcomes Roberta Ndlela to the show. Roberta is a member of the Zulu tribe in South Africa and grew up under the apartheid system. Apartheid ended when she was 18, and at 19, she began her corporate career in the transportation industry, where she honed her communication skills. Later, as she taught English in South Korea, Roberta recognized the value of adaptability.  She credits her communication and adaptability skills for her success today.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How Roberta Ndlela defines “soft skills” as human skills.
2. Why you need soft skills in addition to technical knowledge.
3. The top eight behaviors that successful managers or leaders possess.
4. The data behind soft skills, why CEOs spend 20% more time learning soft skills than the average person, and the increased productivity rates of their teams.
5. Quiet quitting and workers’ reluctance to do more than the minimum at work.
6. Roberta Ndlela’s free 30-minute call to assist listeners with speaking or leading people.

Connect with Roberta Ndlela:

LinkedIn

Instagram

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!

On this Management Development Unlocked replay, Eric interviews Roger Martin, co-founder and CEO of ThriveMore Brands. ThriveMore is a platform company with franchise brands under its umbrella, including RockBox Fitness and beem® Light Sauna. They also have a nutrition company and are discussing bringing an overseas franchise concept to America. The company employs 27 people in its home office.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Roger Martin’s company, ThriveMore Brands, and an overview of what it does.
2. His tips for overcoming imposter syndrome and why you’re probably not growing if you haven’t experienced it.
3. What competency-selective interviewing tactics are, and how they contrast with just using your gut to hire.
4. The impact of AI in the workplace and what makes it a powerful tool.
5. How managers deal with failure, take responsibility for it, and work to fix the problem at the speed of trust.
6. Psychological safety and the value of feeling safe to make mistakes and grow.
7. The franchise brands that make up ThriveMore Brands and the goal of those brands.

Connect with Roger Martin:

LinkedIn

ThriveMore Brands

Instagram

TikTok

Twitter/X

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!

On this episode of Management Development Unocked, Eric welcomes Brian Nelson-Palmer back to the show for a friendly debate. Brian is the founder of Productivity Gladiator and teaches personal, practical productivity skills. Brian’s target audience is recently promoted office people managers. Brian and Eric have different productivity styles, and this episode is all about their dueling opinions on various ways of remaining productive, including calendars, task lists, what time work should start, and more. While they may disagree on their methodology, Eric and Brian share a passion for getting things done in a timely manner.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. The five things Eric and Brian Nelson-Palmer are in disagreement about.
2. Using a calendar for tasks and events (Eric) versus Brian’s use of a calendar and a separate task list.
3. The paradigm differences that may make Eric’s method work for one person but Brian’s method for someone else.
4. Planning every facet of your day versus leaving room in your schedule to remain flexible.
5. Why Eric works out in the afternoon but starts work very early.
6. Brian’s preference to sleep in later and work out earlier in the day.
7. Brian’s explanation that meditation does not work for him other than getting back to sleep.
8. The benefits of meditation that Eric loves.
9. Why Brian loves Amazon’s Subscribe and Save and Eric’s dislike of it.

Connect with Brian Nelson-Palmer:

LinkedIn

Website

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!

Today’s episode of Management Development Unlocked comes from chapters five and six of Eric’s bestselling book, Lead Like a Pro: The Essential Guide for New Managers. These chapters outline how to perform a SWOT analysis of your team and the importance of building trust with your team members. Eric shares how to implement the Tuckman model of team development, the five dysfunctions of a team, how to overcome or avoid the five dysfunctions, and eight values to incorporate into your leadership style. Finally, Eric shares some important takeaways from The SPEED of Trust by Stephen R. Covey.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How to perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to focus on your team’s internal and external factors.
2. Holding a team meeting to discuss a SWOT analysis together.
3. An alternative method of a SWOT analysis suggested by the Harvard Business Review.
4. Performing SWOT analysis regularly for your team and yourself in conjunction with the brainstorming methodology mentioned in chapter three.
5. Why using a SWOT analysis can help you identify where to focus your coaching efforts and training programs and develop a plan to improve team performance and achieve goals.
6. Implementing the Tuckman model of team development (forming, storming, norming, and performing) and what to expect.
7. Setting expectations with your team as you use the Tuckman model.
8. The importance of building trust within your team.
9. The essential concepts all managers should know to build trust with a team and how it can benefit managers.
10. The five dysfunctions of a team.
11. Overcoming or avoiding the five dysfunctions of a team.
12. The key to a successful team.
13. Why managers must lead by example and demonstrate a commitment to the team.
14. The eight values to incorporate into your leadership style.
15. Takeaways from The SPEED of Trust you can use with your team.

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Head over to girardtrainingsolutions.com to take a look at the 20+ courses I offer for new and experienced managers! Get your copy of the Amazon #1 Bestseller and #1 New Release Lead Like a Pro - The Essential Guide for New Managers while you’re there!

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Please subscribe and comment!