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As managers, we're trained problem solvers, making it oh so tempting to jump in with solutions when a team member is stuck or needs help.
The problem is, when we jump in too quickly, we prevent our team member from learning from a setback, trusting themselves solve problems, or bringing their own creative ideas to a situation.
In this episode we talk about how to stop ourselves from problem solving as managers and what to do instead.
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Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
We've all been there: we have that employee who we know isn't happy, but we have so much on our plates already that it's hard to know what to do about it.
In this situation you have two options, work to fix it, or work to support that person in finding the next thing, and that's what we dive into in today's conversation. Tune in and you'll be so much more setup for success to handle this situation.
AND, if you are eager to bring more clarity and ease to the work happening on your team, so you know everyone (including you!) is working on all of the right things that move your business forward, reach out at [email protected] to talk about bringing the Ops Playbook to your team.
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
What do the importance of personal development, finding a sense of purpose in our work, and the sad reality that impostor feelings never quite go away have in common? These are three of the many topics I dive into with my guest Rachel Smith on today's episode.
In our conversation, we cover:
- Making time to check in with your teams and making feedback a two-way street
- How a focus on personal development fuels greater job performance
- The importance of skip level meetings
- And yes, the sad reality that even the most senior leaders in our companies don't feel like they have it all figured out.
About Rachel:
Rachel is a seasoned leader and manager who has dedicated her career to helping individuals and teams do great work. She has worked at Google for over a decade, and previous to that, she was a leader in multiple high growth start ups.
Resources mentioned:
Gallup data on top 2 reasons people become managers
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
One of the most common things I hear from managers is that you want to build an inclusive team, you know it's important, but... you don't quite know how to do it.
In this episode, I share 3 concrete "must do's" for having an inclusive team, with specific examples of how to bring these to life so that you create an environment where not only people feel like they can make a meaningful impact on their teams, they also want to stick around for the happy hours.
Based on one of my most popular workshops and LinkedIn learning course that hit over 20k listeners, this episode is one you're gonna want to bookmark and come back to, whether you're a manager in the corporate word, running a startup, or a small business owner.
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
When motivation is low and it feels like our team members aren't bought in, it can make us dread managing because we worry that this lack of motivation is going to slow things down or potentially result in losing team members. The good news is, this can be a moment to reignite a sense of purpose in your team members, which can shift people's mindset from disengaged and job searching to being so freakin excited about working on your team or in your company.
In today's Sunday Scaries episode, I talk about how to make this shift.
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
As managers or business owners, the ultimate goal is to hire great people so we can both learn from them and step out of the way and let them step up as leaders; but it can often take a few tries and lessons learned to get there.
In today's episode, I talk with Audrey Saccone, Founder and CEO of Audrey Digital, a digital design team about how to create a strong culture when managing a remote team, when to know it's the right time to make a hire, and the awesome moment when we see our team members stepping up and solving problems better than we would have.
About Audrey:
Audrey Saccone is an experienced marketer and launch strategist with multiple 7- and 8-figure launches under her belt. Following 5.5 years in the non-profit sector, Audrey moved into the online marketing space, where she's worked for major players like Marie Forleo and Sophia Amoruso.
Today, she serves the online business community through her full-service marketing and launch agency, Audrey Digital, and her education platform, Launch BFF. She takes the tried-and-true methods she's learned from working with the best, coupled with a healthy dose of resourcefulness, to help established entrepreneurs find success with tools and strategies that work and are the most authentic to them.
Learn more about Audrey Digital: audreydigital.co
Follow Audrey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreysaccone/
Follow Audrey Digital on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreydigital/
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
Working in some of the most influential organizations in the world, on teams shipping some of the most cutting edge projects - do you want to know the #1 differentiator between teams that excelled and the ones that struggled?
An ownership mindset.
The ownership mindset is a quality that allows small business owners and entrepreneurs to scale, and managers in the corporate world achieve even the toughest of project timelines.
This is what I talk about in today's episode - how to create, foster, and fuel this sense of ownership on our teams, resulting a flywheel that reinforces itself.
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
Thought feedback was hard enough when you have to give it to your team members? How about giving it to your own manager or to an executive in your management chain? Thanks but no thanks? Same.
This is something that can make us start to sweat just thinking about it, but fear not, because In this episode I share a 5-step framework for delivering feedback up the chain.
And for business owners or founders who do not have a management chain, I encourage you to think about how you can apply this 5-step framework to giving feedback to yourself about how a situation or conversation went.
Give the framework a try, and I assure you it will set you up so much better than if you just wing it.
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
Want to build more influence as a leader? Start with your story.
In today’s episode, Alex Street, Storytelling Coach joins me to discuss the power of storytelling in motivating our teams, building a stronger sense of purpose across our organizations, and becoming a more influential leader. Yeah… storytelling is THAT powerful.
We cover why storytelling is such an important leadership skill and how to do it effectively even if it’s new to you. You are not gonna want to miss this one.
About Alex:
Alex believes when you share your story you change the world. As an actor, youth pastor, and public speaker for more than 20 years, he knows firsthand how powerful storytelling is when it comes to personal development, business strategy, and creating authority.
Connect with Alex:
Instagram: instagram.com/streetsays/
Web: alexstreet.ca
30 Second Stories: alexstreet.ca/30s
--
To get on the list for my upcoming live Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
Today we're making feedback a lot more fun!
I promised we'd be talking about feedback a lot on this show ;)
Why? Because feedback is one of the most important skills for managers, but more than that, because feedback needs a rebrand.
Feedback is such a tough issue because we tend to think of it as all of the bad stuff - the things we did wrong or messed up.
But that's not actually what feedback is - feedback is information about how we're being perceived, GOOD or BAD - and when we start to support our teams in reframing feedback from criticism to information, we start to build more comfort talking about feedback as a whole.
And this episode talks all about how to effectively give positive feedback to bring more safety to the conversation around feedback, motivate your team, and reinforce the great behaviors you want to see more of.
--
To get on the list for my upcoming Q&A sessions and "manager tip of the week" exclusive to my community, send the text MANAGER to (415) 234-5716. This text goes right to me, so feel free to ask any questions there as well, or share your questions for upcoming AMA episodes.
Looking for support for your team? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more about one of my four core focuses for teams:
Manager Development - Micro to Macro Manager Development Program
Employee Engagement - Focus Groups & Action Planning Workshops
Retaining Women - Accelerate Group Coaching Program for Women
For Entrepreneurs & Founders - Billion Dollar Ops Playbook for Million Dollar Businesses
--
Connect with me!
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/liagarvin
Instagram: instagram.com/lia.garvin
Web: liagarvin.com
Music by Y8S: isaacy8s.com
Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo
Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.
I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.
Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: [email protected]
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin
--
© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple
From the publisher's feed
Managing Made Simple is a weekly leadership and management podcast for people managers, business owners, and founders who want to lead high-performing teams without falling back into the work themselves.
Each week, host Lia Garvin- 3x bestselling author and former team operations leader at Google, Apple, and Microsoft- breaks down the real, everyday challenges of leading teams, giving feedback, delegating, creating team accountability, high performing culture, retention, and more with performance with practical strategies you can implement immediately. Lia’s work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune.
With Lia, you get real talk and actionable leadership insights that make it easier to manage your team and get better results from your people.
If you’re asking leadership questions like:
• How do I get my team to take ownership and accountability for their work?
• Why do I have to repeat myself constantly as a manager?
• How do I know if I hired the wrong employee?
• How do I delegate effectively without things falling apart or micromanaging?
• How can managers tell if team members are overusing AI at work?
• What actually motivates employees today?
• How do I give feedback that actually moves the needle?
• How do I communicate vision, expectations, and strategy clearly?
• What are best practices for performance reviews, compensation, and growth conversations?
How do you lead a team through change, uncertainty, and rapid growth with confidence?
You’ll find the tools, frameworks, and leadership strategies you need to lead your team better, starting today.
Managing Made Simple:
✔ Corporate managers navigating continual change
✔ Founders & Business Owners scaling teams without burning people out
✔ Entrepreneurs balancing business strategy and people leadership
✔ Experienced leaders ready to modernize how they manage teams
New episodes drop every Tuesday, delivering leadership lessons, people management tools, and team-building strategies you can apply immediately.
Learn more at liagarvin.com

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