Bad feedback can quietly damage team trust, even when a manager has good intentions. In this episode of The Manager’s Mic, Paul Leon shares lessons from managing 17 direct reports and explains how new managers can give feedback that builds rapport instead of breaking it.

This conversation covers why self-awareness matters, how intention and impact are not the same, and why psychological safety is critical when giving feedback.

Paul Leon also breaks down a simple feedback framework for managers: be timely, be specific, and stay forward-looking. For new managers, feedback is not just about correcting behavior. It is an opportunity to build trust, improve communication, and create a safer team culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up.

Chapters

00:00 Why Bad Feedback Damages Team Trust

03:13 Self-Awareness for Better Manager Feedback

04:23 Fast Feedback Loop: Timely, Specific, Forward-Looking

06:29 Three Feedback Rules for New Managers

07:32 Building Rapport Through Difficult Conversations

Watch or listen to more from The Manager’s Mic on tips for new managers

• https://www.themanagersmic.com/
  

Legal Disclaimer

Leonsolutions, LLC, and the content it produces are for educational purposes; your results may vary. No guarantee of results is claimed. The publisher of this content is not responsible for any actions taken or not taken as a result of reading, watching, or listening to our content.

In my conversation with Dr. Heather Kidwell, she shared her expertise in strategic leadership. Her insights will help newer managers avoid burnout. Learn strategies to reconnect with your purpose to overcome a challenging work environment.

Follow Dr. Heather Kidwell

An Article to Overcome Burnout

https://humanitydrivenleadership.substack.com/p/its-not-just-burnout-its-something

Learn About The BurnUP Program

https://www.humanitydrivenleadership.com/the-burnup-sm-method 

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherkidwell/ 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Heather Kidwell

01:53 Defining Strategic Leadership

04:46 Management vs. Leadership

07:32 Trends in Young Professionals and Management

09:21 Personal Experiences in Corporate Leadership

11:07 Defining Your 'Why'

13:48 Navigating Career Transitions

16:30 Understanding Shame

20:18 Finding Happiness and Purpose

25:18 Future Focus: Convergent Depletion Syndrome

26:33 Understanding Burnout and Exhaustion

28:25 Convergent Depletion Syndrome Explained

30:27 Exploring Solutions and Support Systems

33:59 The Role of Spirituality in Leadership

34:49 The Performative Nature of Corporate Environments

Legal Disclaimer

Leonsolutions, LLC, and the content it produces are for educational purposes; your results may vary. No guarantee of results is claimed. The publisher of this content is not responsible for any actions taken or not taken as a result of reading, watching, or listening to our content.

Emily Green shares how she created a community for those seeking speaking opportunities. She shares her journey of owning a marketing agency, which she later sold. If you are a new manager looking to create engagement, this episode is for you.

Follow Emily Green

Website 

 https://emily-green.com/ 

Join The Love Means Business Community

https://emily-s-site-eec1.thinkific.com/products/communities/my-community-speaker-support  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Emily Green

02:49 Lessons from Selling a Business

04:13 Understanding Marketing Agency Dynamics

05:09 Client Success Stories and Growth Strategies

06:55 Building a Brand and Agency Culture

09:37 The Decision to Sell and Transitioning to New Ventures

12:01 Challenges Women Face in Business

14:41 The Importance of Support and Community

20:12 Exploring Love Means Business Community

21:02 Tips for Building a Community

23:46 Creating Value through Networking and Opportunities

26:30 The Art of Writing for Engagement

32:02 An Important Lesson from Emily’s Career Journey

Follow the podcast that helps new managers avoid the habits that kill rapport

https://www.themanagersmic.com/

Legal Disclaimer

Leonsolutions, LLC, and the content it produces are for educational purposes; your results may vary. No guarantee of results is claimed. The publisher of this content is not responsible for any actions taken or not taken as a result of reading, watching, or listening to our content.

#ThoughtLeadership #LoveMeansBusiness #WomenInBusiness #ManagersMic

Can sales skills improve in just 13 days? In this episode of The Manager’s Mic, I break down practical sales training principles that help sales professionals improve communication, sharpen their value proposition, understand buyer psychology, build a stronger sales pipeline, handle rejection, and follow up with purpose.

Follow me online for more sales management tips

https://www.themanagersmic.com/

In this video, you will learn:

• How to improve sales skills through consistent action
• Why a strong value proposition matters in every sales conversation
• How buyer psychology affects sales outcomes
• Why tone and communication style shape trust
• How to build and protect a healthy sales pipeline
• How to handle rejection without losing momentum
• Why persistence and follow-up drive more closed deals
• How relationship-based selling creates long-term success

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Sales Mastery
04:12 Understanding the Sales Process
09:36 Effective Communication Techniques
14:25 The Role of Follow-Up in Sales

#Sales #Management #Tips #ManagersMic

AI is changing how leaders are discovered, evaluated, and hired — and your personal brand may already be falling behind.

In this episode of The Manager's Mic Podcast, personal branding expert Melanie Borden (founder of Borden Group) breaks down exactly how to build a personal brand strategy that AI can not erase. From searchable leadership to digital visibility tactics that get you found, this is the AI personal branding conversation every manager needs to hear.

What You'll Learn:

• How AI is reshaping how buyers and hiring managers evaluate leaders

• What "searchable leadership" means and how to make it work for you

• Practical personal brand strategy to future-proof your career in the AI era

• The most common AI personal branding mistakes leaders make

• How to build real digital visibility as a manager or executive

About Melanie Borden: Melanie Borden is the founder of Borden Group, a personal branding agency helping executives and entrepreneurs build powerful, searchable digital identities.

Follow Melanie Borden

Website - https://humantobrand.com/

Book- https://amzn.to/3OhUL0Y 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieborden/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thebordengroup/ 

---

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Melanie Borden and Her Expertise 

01:24 The Impact of AI on Buyer Evaluation 

04:46 Embracing AI: Skills for the Future 

08:25 Defining Searchable Leadership 

11:02 Strategies for Enhancing Searchability 

16:56 Common Mistakes in AI Personal Branding 

22:01 Melanie's Personal Journey and Lessons Learned 

32:29 Future-Proofing Visibility in Leadership

---

Legal Disclaimer

This content is for educational purposes; your results may vary. No guarantee of results is claimed. The publisher of this content is not responsible for any actions taken or not taken as a result of watching or listening to this content.

Most sales managers inherit broken compensation plans and wonder why their best reps keep leaving. In this episode, compensation expert Scott Trumpolt breaks down exactly why most sales compensation plans fail and what you can do to fix it.

Scott shares his experience in designing pay structures that actually motivate your team, reduce sales turnover, and create clear career pathways for your salespeople if you're a new sales manager trying to understand why your top performers keep walking out the door.

This one is for you.

What you'll learn:

• Why most compensation plans backfire (and the psychology behind it).
• How to build a career roadmap that keeps your best reps engaged.
• The real difference between base + commission vs. commission-only roles.
• How market-based pay reduces sales turnover and boosts retention.
• Why transparency and simplicity are the foundation of sales performance management.

Follow Scott Trumpoltt

Book: https://amzn.to/4vf9XfN

Website: https://hrcompensationconsulting.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-trumpolt-m-a-g-r-p-257a6b317/ 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Scott Trompolt 

02:00 Plug to The Defragmented Consultant 

04:58 Sales Compensation Structures and Their Importance 

12:20 Understanding Sales Turnover Rates 

17:10 Creating a Career Roadmap for Sales Professionals 

24:16 Career Architecture and Growth Paths 

28:54 The Importance of Compensation Clarity 

34:48 Challenges in Commission-Only Sales Roles 

41:31 Key Takeaways on Transparency and Simplicity

#SalesManagement #SalesTurnover #SalesPerformance #Tips #ManagersMic

What can basketball teach you about leadership? Nick Reich breaks down his People First Playbook — a proven framework for building trust, purpose, and high-performing teams."

Follow Nick Reich

People First Playbook

https://www.peoplefirstplaybook.com/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-reich05/ 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Leadership Philosophy

02:46 The Journey to Coaching and Leadership

04:47 Lessons from Basketball in Leadership

08:18 Boundaries in Leadership and Team Dynamics

10:19 The Impact of Managers on Mental Health

12:36 Awareness and Responsibility in Leadership

15:11 The Six Components of the People First Playbook

20:33 Defining Purpose in Leadership

22:33 The Importance of Purpose in Leadership

24:20 Intentionality in Defining Purpose

26:08 Navigating Managerial Transitions

27:49 The Role of Communication in Leadership

29:42 Recognizing Humanity in Leadership

32:43 Building Connections and Trust

33:56 Activities to Boost Team Morale

"🎙️ Subscribe to The Manager's Mic for weekly leadership insights for new managers."

Free Gift

https://www.themanagersmic.com/newsletter/

Most new managers unknowingly fall into the hero complex, feeling like they have to have all the answers, fix every problem, and impress the team to earn respect. Marc Haine, author of Lights, Camera, Action, breaks down why that instinct is quietly destroying your credibility and what to do instead.

Follow Marc Haine

Marc’s Book Lights, Camera, Action - https://amzn.to/4rUE7lH

Marc’s Website - https://marchaine.com/  

Follow the podcast that helps new people managers avoid the habits that kill rapport

https://www.themanagersmic.com/ 

 Takeaways

• Extraordinary experiences are designed, not accidental.
• Every interaction has touch points that can be improved.
• Training is essential for effective leadership.
• The hero complex can hinder effective management.
• Intentionality in leadership leads to better outcomes.
• Recognizing and rewarding good behavior is crucial.
• Communication is key to managing expectations.
• A crisis can lead to reverting to old behaviors.
• Writing a book is a process of discovery and reflection.
• Serving others is more important than impressing them.

 Sound Bites

"If I train people, they might leave."

"Impressing or serving, pick one."

"We need to be coaches, not managers."

Chapters

00:00 Meet Marc Haine: Theater Thinking for Better Leadership

05:00 What New Managers Get Wrong About Expectations

12:18 How Company Culture Shapes Team Behavior

19:30 The Leadership Lesson That Became a Book

25:12 Perfectionism vs. Micromanagement: A Leadership Dilemma

31:32 Intentional Leadership: Serving vs. Impressing

41:17 How to Build Real Trust as a People Manager

If this episode challenged how you think about leadership, subscribe to new episodes that drop weekly for first-time managers navigating real team dynamics.

Legal Disclaimer

This content is for educational purposes; your results may vary. No guarantee of results is claimed. The publisher of this content is not responsible for any actions taken or not taken as a result of watching or listening to this piece of content.

What happens when your leadership strengths become your biggest blind spot?

I sat down with Curtis Sprouse of Eureka Connect to walk through 

My full behavioral assessment   and the results were uncomfortable, 

eye-opening, and honestly... accurate.

My discipline score? 96th percentile. My goodwill score? 3 out of 100.

That gap explains a lot. If you're a driven, results-focused manager 

who sometimes struggles to connect with your team, this episode 

might feel like a mirror.

In this episode, we talk about:

✅ Why your biggest strength can be your biggest leadership liability

✅ The "Curse of Knowledge" — and why your team tunes you out

✅ How high discipline turns into transactional behavior (and how to fix it)

✅ What it really takes to build influence as a leader

✅ Moving from judgment to curiosity in every conversation

✅ Why you should collect relationships, not accomplishments

This one gets personal. I share my fear of leaving my family with 

nothing, my struggle with an unhealthy need for approval, and what 

I'm choosing to do something about it.

If you manage people — or want to — don't skip this one.

🔗 Learn more about Eureka Connect: https://eurekaconnect.com/ 

The Manager's Mic helps new people managers avoid the habits that kill rapport with their teams. 

New episodes drop weekly.

📩 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome Back & Why This Episode Gets Personal

01:09 - Breaking Down Paul's Behavioral Profile

04:23 - Live Walkthrough of the Eureka Connect Assessment

11:24 - The 3% Goodwill Score (And What It Really Means)

13:06 - Does Your Drive Hurt the People Around You?

15:24 - The Fear Behind the Hustle

16:15 - High Discipline + High Reflectivity = Analysis Paralysis?

22:47 - Independence in Thinking & Operation

25:50 - Real-World Story: The Martial Arts Moment

27:51 - Moving From Judgment to Curiosity

31:56 - How to Build Influence as a Leader

#Leadership #PeopleManagement #NewManager #BehavioralAssessment #ManagersMic

In this episode, Paul Leon interviews Keith Willis, an expert in transforming sales teams into high performers through effective management techniques. The conversation explores lessons business leaders can learn from military experience, particularly the concept of servant leadership. Keith shares insights on the importance of communication, accountability, and the common mistakes new managers make. He emphasizes the role of discipline and consistency in management, the importance of one-on-one meetings, and the power of leveraging individual strengths to drive team success. The discussion also touches on the transition to entrepreneurship and the impact of AI on management practices, concluding with key takeaways for effective leadership.

Follow Keith Willis

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Takeaways

• Servant leadership is about serving your team to achieve results.
• High-stakes environments teach valuable leadership lessons.
• Clear communication is essential to avoid ambiguity in management.
• New managers often assume they must have all the answers.
• Discipline and consistency are key traits of effective managers.
• One-on-one meetings significantly enhance team performance.
• Leveraging individual strengths leads to better outcomes.
• Entrepreneurship requires self-development and accountability.
• AI can be a powerful tool for enhancing management effectiveness.
• Continuous learning is crucial for successful leadership.
  

Sound Bites

"You need to ask for help."

"AI is an amplification tool."

"You have to be learning constantly."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to High-Performance Leadership

02:42 Lessons from Military Experience

05:30 Defining Servant Leadership

08:26 High-Stakes Environments and Leadership

11:20 Communication and Ambiguity in Management

14:08 Common Mistakes New Managers Make

17:03 The Role of Discipline in Management

19:45 The Importance of One-on-One Meetings

30:48 Understanding CliftonStrengths and Its Impact

35:56 Career Development and Transitioning from Military to Corporate

41:47 Leadership Challenges in the Pharma Industry

44:30 The Role of AI in Management

47:11 Lessons from Entrepreneurship

51:54 Continuous Learning and Effective Management