Management Development Unlocked - Management & Leadership Training

On this episode of Management Development Unlocked, Ryan Weber joins Eric to talk about his path into leadership and how his youth spent playing hockey helped develop his skills. Ryan is Vice President of Workforce Planning and Tax Pro Experience at H&R Block. He’s been with the company for 14 years, working in various roles. Ryan shares how he honed his leadership skills with a course at Xerox, why moving to Hawaii taught him relationships matter, and when corrective action at work can be positive.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Ryan Weber’s journey into leadership at H&R Block, how youth sports helped start him on that path, and the impact Xerox’s sales course had.
2. The three things that have impacted Ryan’s sales leadership roles the most.
3. How a move to Hawaii taught him to foster trust and build relationships, which carried over to his work.
4. Dealing with career setbacks and how to overcome and learn from them.
5. Asking leadership what you can do to improve as a part of propelling your career forward.
6. The influential forces on Ryan’s career outside of his family.
7. When corrective actions can be a positive influence at work.
8. Ryan Weber’s advice for new leaders today.
9. His experience as a hockey player throughout childhood and why he’s more nervous about coaching his kids’ teams than adults at work.

Connect with Ryan Weber:

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 this episode of Management Development Unlocked, Eric sits down with Ashley Virtue from the National Conflict Resolution Center. Ashley travels around the country, teaching people how to resolve conflicts and disagreements in a healthy manner. While their conversation is focused on conflict at work, Ashley and Eric also explore what’s driving the increased conflict in our culture, some tools you can use to handle it, and what Ashley points to as the catalyst.

Ashley shares some strategies workplace leaders can use to help their teams communicate effectively. She also reveals NCRC’s three steps for responding respectfully when you hear something you disagree with: 1) demonstrating understanding, 2) acknowledging the impact it has on the other person, and 3) identifying what the underlying needs are. Ashley emphasizes that simply feeling heard is critical to feeling fairly treated and moving forward. 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Ashley Virtue’s role with the National Conflict Resolution Center and what her organization does.
2. The diversity of her work and why there are so many commonalities across industries.
3. Increased conflict in the culture and workplace and the new tools you can utilize to deal with it.
4. What Ashley points to as the catalyst behind the increased divisiveness.
5. Some strategies workplace leaders can use to help their teams communicate effectively.
6. The three components of responding respectfully when you hear something you disagree with.
7. Why Ashley finds her work to be a form of self-care and how it encourages her.
8. Training and workshops NCRC offers in addition to mediation and conflict resolution.
9. Eric’s perception of new managers’ soft skills in leadership roles.

Connect with Ashley Virtue:

LinkedIn

National Conflict Resolution Center

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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 episode of Management Development Unlocked, you’ll hear the final installment of Eric’s audiobook, Lead Like a Pro: The Essential Guide to New Managers. This episode focuses on change and why managers must be willing to adapt to new ways of doing business and relating to people. You’ll hear the elements required to handle change effectively, the benefits that come from it, and how the five stages of grief relate to change. Eric reveals three places you can focus your time and how to divide them up to decide where to invest your time and energy. He also outlines the Kubler-Ross model of change and the Bridges transition model. Finally, you’ll hear the five common reasons behind resistance to change, some steps you can take to address it, the three things resistance to change represents, and learning to view change as an opportunity.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Change and the need for managers to adapt to new ways of doing business and relating to people.
2. The elements of handling change effectively as a manager and the benefits you can get from managing change well.
3. How understanding the five stages of grief can help you handle your team members’ reactions to change.
4. A real-life example of what happens when a manager doesn’t prepare a team for a big change.
5. Reflecting on how you view change and what it models for your team.
6. Three places you can focus your time and how to divide them up to decide where to invest your time and energy.
7. The Kubler-Ross model of change.
8. Reducing resistance to change in your organization and how it manifests.
9. The five common reasons behind resistance to change and some steps you can take to address it.
10. The three things resistance to change represents and how to overcome it.
11. Giving team members space to adjust to the change.
12. The Bridges transition model.
13. Beginnings and new understandings, values, and attitudes.
14. Gaining control of your own responses and viewing change as an opportunity.
15. The path to action: fact, story, feel, act.
16. Remaining connected to your peers and boss through the change and maintaining a positive attitude.

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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 this episode of Management Development Unlocked, Eric welcomes Jen Recla to the show. Jen works in the coaching and team development space, helping leaders build engaged, collaborative, and resilient teams. She uses coaching, team development work, leading retreats, and leadership workshops. Jen is a believer in the use of fun and levity to improve team dynamics and project outcomes. She has 12 years of experience in this space, leading teams and learning functions at various organizations before opening her business. 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Jen Recla’s work with leaders and what she offers them.
2. How fun can help develop a high-performing team by reducing stress and burnout, creating connections, building trust, and improving communication.
3. Incorporating fun to improve team dynamics and project outcomes and one of Jen’s favorite activities to do this.
4. Implementing AI into your team-building activities.
5. Balancing productivity with a fun and engaging environment and asking for feedback.
6. The practicalities of introducing fun into your team environment.
7. Using small gestures to ingrain levity into your day-to-day environment.
8. Jen’s advice for leaders uncomfortable introducing fun into a traditional or serious workplace culture.
9. The risks of adding in fun and creating toxic positivity.
10. The services Jen offers to her clients and organizations.

Connect with Jen Recla:

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.

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On today’s Management Development Unlocked, Eric shares his fifth power session from his Lead Like a Pro Course. This episode focuses on the art of delegation. You’ll hear why entrepreneurs have to learn how to delegate, questions to ask yourself as you delegate to your team, and your five responsibilities when you delegate.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why entrepreneurs must learn the art of delegation.
2. A poll asking participants if they delegate too much or too little and why.
3. What you should be able to accomplish by the end of this session and the agenda.
4. Some questions to ask yourself as you delegate work to others.
5. The five responsibilities you have as you delegate to your team.
6. Playing “Delegate That” and discussing it with other participants.
7. Delegation best practices and the questions you can ask to determine that.

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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 Management Development Unlocked is the fourth installment of Eric’s power sessions series from his Lead Like a Pro course. This episode focuses on goal-setting. You’ll hear the objectives and agenda behind a goal-setting session, some common flaws, and how to set quantitative and qualitative goals. Finally, you’ll hear the four things you should be able to do by the end of the goal-setting session.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. Eric’s guidelines for this session.
2. The objectives and agenda of the goal-setting session.
3. The common flaws in goal-setting and previewing what a good goal looks like.
4. The questions a good goal answers and SMART goal criteria.
5. How to set a quantitative goal.
6. What a qualitative goal is and how to set one.
7. Setting team goals, receiving input from everyone on the team, and encouraging out-of-the-box thinking.
8. The four things you should be able to do following this session.
9. Creating a chat waterfall to share ideas.

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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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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!