The Modern Manager

Questions are one of the most useful tools that managers can use. Questions can unlock new thinking, show support, strengthen relationships, and much more. Learning to ask the right questions can enhance any manager’s leadership capability. 

In this episode, I walk through different types of questions to ask and how to ask them so you cultivate trust and solicit answers that move work forward productively. 

The full episode guide includes an overview of different types of questions and my favorite questions to ask. 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.

Learn to navigate the different personality types and work styles to make managing your team easier than you ever imagined. Check out the Managing by Personality live course that starts on March 11, 2021. Learn more and register at www.themodernmanager.com/courses/personality

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Read the related blog article:  How Questions Can Help Us Be Better Managers

Key Takeaways:

• Questions are not just for gathering information. They also help us build relationships, increase psychological safety and trust, open up thinking, and uncover hidden thoughts.
• Instead of yes-no questions which often create a false binary, ask a rating question e.g. On a scale of 1-5, how confident are you in this plan?
• Asking what, why and how will lead to different answers so be thoughtful about what question you’re asking.
• Asking what if, how might, and why not will open the door to more creative, alternative thinking.
• How you ask and how you respond also impact what type of response you will get now and in the future.
• Asking a difficult question in a calm, warm tone shows support.
• Responding to an answer you don’t like or didn’t expect with appreciation will encourage people to be honest going forward.

Additional Resources:

• Episode 40: The Power of Questions with Pete Mockaitis

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Like most things in life, moderation is key. This is particularly true of urgency. When everything is urgent, either we can’t distinguish what’s really urgent or we burn out trying to do it all. 

Today’s guest is Brandon Smith. Brandon is a leading expert in leadership communication and curer of workplace dysfunction. Known as “The Workplace Therapist,” Brandon is a sought-after executive coach, TEDx speaker, author and award- winning business school instructor. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, CNN, Fox News.com, NPR, Forbes and many others for his expertise. His book The Hot Sauce Principle: How to Live and Lead in a World Where Everything Is Urgent All of the Time helps readers to master urgency so they can more effectively lead others, manage others’ unrealistic expectations, and prevent burnout at home. 

Brandon and I talk about how to use urgency in the right ways, the interplay between urgency and trust, boundary setting, and how to talk to your boss and your team members about when there is just too much to get done and not enough time, plus a whole lot more.

Get 50% off the Happiness at Work Formula workbooks when you join the Modern Manager community. This workbook series helps you clarify the 3 things you need to find true happiness at work - The right job, the right workplace culture, and the right boss. 

Register for Managing by Personality: https://tga7q1na.pages.infusionsoft.net - Live course begins March 11th.

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Read the related blog article: How A Feeling Of Constant Urgency Became The New Work Norm And What We Can Do To Fix It

Key Takeaways:

• The rise in iPhones, constant communication, and the fallout from the 2008 recession led to an increase in workers feeling more burdened and workplaces filled with a greater sense of constant urgency.
• Small doses of the anxiety that comes from urgency can be a good thing, but too much will result in an exhausted team. 
• To reduce the constant urgency to be responsive, agree with your team to schedule emails written during “off hours” to be sent during work hours on workdays only. 
• To gain credibility points with your team members or manager, respond to emails that you’ll get to later with a simple confirmation that you received the message. 
• If you have too much on your plate, ask your manager to help you prioritize tasks or find more resources to help.  
• Create psychological safety by being vulnerable and authentic yourself, so that your team will feel comfortable being vulnerable and asking for help.
• Limit how many “urgent” projects you give out at a time so as not to overwhelm your staff. 

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There are many forms of intelligence, but EQ, emotional intelligence, may be one of the most important for managers. Our ability to accurately “read” and interpret the emotional state of our colleagues gives us an advantage when it comes to motivating, supporting, and engaging with our team members. Additionally, our ability to recognize our own emotions and respond intentionally instead of automatically, enables us to show up productively even during difficult moments.

Today’s guest is Ilana Zivkovich. Ilana is the Founder and CEO of Werq, a strategic leadership advisory firm headquartered in Austin, TX, serving clients around the country and abroad. An experienced executive leader and Certified Executive Coach and certified Genos Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, Zivkovich helps leadership teams align their people, processes and strategy so that businesses can achieve exceptional results.

Ilana and talk about EQ, emotional intelligence - what it really is, why it’s a critical skill set for managers, the three different dimensions of it, and how to develop your emotional intelligence capabilities. 

Werq has offered 10% off their Team Chemistry Workshops. These workshops are the perfect way to reach new levels of success using data-backed personality assessments alongside proven coaching mythology for an incredible team strengthening experience. To get this discount, become a member of The Modern Manager community by going to www.themodernmanager.com/join.

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Read the related blog article: Emotional Intelligence Is A Skill. Here’s How To Improve Yours

Key Takeaways:

• Emotional intelligence is a learned skill. 
• The cornerstone of EQ is self-awareness. There are two types of self-awareness; big picture awareness and momentary awareness. 
• Big picture self-awareness means being aware of who we are; what we’re good at, our general communication style, understanding how people perceive us, and how we tend to behave in the world. 
• The best way to improve our big picture self-awareness is through feedback. 
• Momentary awareness is being aware in the moment of what we’re experiencing by honestly observing and assessing our automatic reactions to experiences.
• To improve your momentary awareness, use the POWER acronym. Pause when you feel yourself reacting to a difficult situation. Observe what you are thinking and feeling. Widen your perspective to think about the greater context behind how you’re responding. Elect to make a choice about how you want to show up in that moment. Respond how you see best. 
• In order to improve your EQ in relationship to others, the most important things to do are to focus and pay attention. 
• If you’re dealing with a lot of Zoom calls these days, turn off the “self-view” on your camera so that you aren’t thinking about what you look like.

KEEP UP WITH ILANA

• Website: https://werqpeople.com/blog/
• Twitter: @Werqpeople

Additional Resources:

• Top 25 Team Building Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021: https://blog.feedspot.com/team_building_podcasts/

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If you’re listening to this podcast, you likely are or aspire to be a great manager. But what if those around you don’t have the same appreciation for being a positive influence on the team? Sometimes, we find ourselves in the unlucky position of working with a toxic boss or employee. In these cases, it’s important to do what you can to manage the unhealthy dynamic, protect yourself, and know when it’s time to say goodbye.

Today’s guest is Dr. Paul White. Paul is a psychologist, speaker, and international leadership trainer who “makes work relationships work”. His company, Appreciation at Work, provides training resources for corporations, medical facilities, schools, non-profits, government agencies, over 700 colleges and universities, and in over 60 countries. He is the coauthor with Dr. Gary Chapman of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, which has sold over 400,000 copies. Paul was also a guest on Episode 99: Show Authentic and Meaningful Appreciation.

In this episode we talk about toxic behavior. We get into the three components of a toxic workplace, how to navigate toxic behavior from your boss or colleagues, what toxic behavior looks like in a remote work environment and more.

Members of the Modern Manager community can access The Motivating By Appreciation Inventory for FREE. This assessment helps you discover your preferred language of appreciation and provides an individualized report and list of action items you can share with your team members to help them “hit the mark” in showing YOU appreciation. Get this bonus when you join the Modern Manager community.

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Read the related blog article:  The 3 Elements of A Toxic Workplace

Key Takeaways:

• There are three major components of a toxic work environment: (1) toxic systems, (2) toxic leaders, and (3) dysfunctional colleagues.
• Poor communication habits is a hallmark toxic work environments, especially for larger organizations. Teams avoid directly addressing issues and instead use indirect methods of communication. Additionally, there is consistent lack clarity about what decisions were made and who is responsible. 
• To reduce chances of confusion, have your team run through a list of questions after a meeting about what the decision was, who is responsible, when the next step will happen, and how you will know it’s happening. 
• Toxic leaders are often extremely competent, talented, and charming. They look good because they sell well, but their actions fail to line up with their promises.
• To deal with a toxic leader, find a sounding board to process what’s happening at work. Don’t get side-tracked with fixing the toxic situation. Document the decisions and expectations from meetings.
• Include measures of effective collaboration as part of performance reviews to help identify toxic colleagues and provide grounds for termination 
• If your emotional and physical health is deteriorating from work stress, this may be a sign you need to leave your job.
• Toxic or dysfunctional employees often have chronic functioning problems in. Dysfunctional people tend to blame others and make excuses rather than accept responsibility.
• To deal with toxic colleagues, set boundaries and document well. Let them know you can’t rescue or cover for them. Make clear what your work is and what you’ve accomplished to minimize being held accountable for their failures. 
• Have an open conversation with your boss about concerns with your dysfunctional colleague. Present the data and let your boss come to her own conclusions. Ask your boss for advice on how to handle the situation rather than casting blame on your coworker.

KEEP UP WITH PAUL

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/appreciationatwork/ and

Facebook.com/DrPaulWhite

Twitter: @5Appreciation and @drpaulwhite

Pinterest: www.pintrest.com/drpaulwhite 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dr+paul+white

Blog: www.appreciationatwork.com/blog

Website: www.appreciationatwork.com
Book: Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

Additional Resources:

• Pamphlet: How to Know When It’s Time to Quit Your Job

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For far too long accountability was measured by time in the office or goals met. As we’ve shifted to virtual work, “face-time” in the office has all but disappeared as a proxy for accountability. Focusing on goals is critical, but only part of the picture. As managers, we must consider the fuller scope of a person’s performance. Holding people accountable and supporting them to be successful is an essential responsibility for any manager. 

In this episode, I talk through the four types of accountability and how to best enter those accountability conversations. 

The full episode guide includes an overview of the four types of accountability and a suggested process for having accountability conversations. 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: Managing More Than Performance: The Four Types of Accountability

Key Takeaways:

• There are 4 types of accountability: Results, Responsibilities, Behavior, Growth
• Results: Did you accomplish the goal (output or impact) you intended to?
• Responsibilities: Are you managing the tasks or activities within your job?
• Behavior: Are you acting professionally and in alignment with our team/company values?
• Growth: Are you developing in ways that will allow you to be successful in this job and advance your career?
• Accountability is not about punishment or blame. It’s about ownership and doing even better in the future.
• Start by clarifying expectations. Collaboratively establish what the person is being held accountable for/to.
• Have both real-time check-ins and regularly scheduled check-ins or one-on-ones to reflect on accountability.
• Celebrate and offer praise when accountabilities are met. Investigate when the person falls short.
• Entering the accountability conversation from a place of curiosity takes off the pressure, lowers defenses, and enables you to work together to discover the root cause and find a solution.

Additional Resources:

• Episode 112: How to Use Impact, Output, and Process Goals - www.themodernmannager.com/podcast-112
• Help design the Modern Manager intensive program by pre-registering for free: www.themodernmanager.com
• The Modern Manager’s Guide to Effective Delegation course -  www.themodernmanager.com/courses/effective-delegation (member get 20% off!)

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Most of us are terrible at estimating how long work will take. For any given task, that may not matter. But if you’re trying to plan your week or create a project plan with your team, the lack of accurate forecasting can become a major point of frustration and stress.

In this episode I talk with Jessica Katz. Jessica’s organization, Liberated Elephant, provides Agile coaching and change management to transform successful startups into commanding enterprises. Jessica focuses on the human potential of the organization - How to move from where you are, to where you want to be, while retaining team engagement and increasing revenue.

Jessica and I talk about how to more accurately estimate the time required to complete work, and how to continually improve your estimates, how to get your team to adopt a mindset for effective time and task planning, and more. 

Members of The Modern Manager get 15% off a one hour coaching session with Jessica to help improve your leadership, intentionally design your career path, or better navigate your life and work in alignment with your core principles. To join go to themodernmanager.com/join 

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Read the related blog article: How To Accurately Estimate Your Tasks and Projects

Key Takeaways:

• It’s difficult for human beings to estimate how long complex tasks will take. We don't consider all the things that could go wrong (planning fallacy) and we generally assume things will go well (optimism bias).
• To improve your time estimation, break tasks down to the smallest thing you can do that still has value. 
• Estimate the amount of time each task will take. Keep track via a simple spreadsheet of how long each item took to complete.
• Build empirical data by tracking actual time against projections. Use the data to make more informed guesses on how to plan out your time. 
• Estimate a reasonable amount of time for a task based on your data, not just a pure guess. You can then decide who's going to work on what and how you're going to schedule it based on capability and capacity.
• Don’t set your plans in stone. Focus on what you’re trying to achieve and adjust your plan as you go along.
• Allow for experimentation,adjust for context changes, and review your plans every 2- 4 weeks with your team. 
• Get your team on board by modeling the behaviors you're expecting. If you want your people to work at a more sustainable pace with less hours and to keep track of and manage their time better, you should also. 
• Host a meeting to discuss what your goals are: Are you looking for better time management or less employee stress? What difficulties are you or your organization experiencing? Talk through ideas about how you can improve, and review your plans frequently. 

Additional Resources:

• Use SweetProcess to document regular workflow and include time estimates www.SweetProcess.com/modernmanager
• Preregister for and help me design the new Modern Manager intensive program - Go to www.themodernmanager.com 

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Process documentation often feels like a burden. Who has time to write down all the steps, detailed instructions, with screenshots, no less. In reality, we often spend more time communicating and fixing process issues because of a lack of documentation. Sharing information verbally makes it hard to remember and leaves no path for future reference. When you document your processes, you open the door for greater autonomy and improved productivity. 

Today’s guest is Owen McGab Enaohwo. Owen is the CEO and Co-Founder of SweetProcess; an easy-to-use and intuitive business process management software founded in 2013. The software makes it possible for company executives and their employees to collaborate together to quickly document standard operating procedures, processes, and policies.

Owen and I talk about the importance of documenting your processes and procedures, how to do that documentation effectively and efficiently so it doesn’t feel like a burden, and why using a process specific software like SweetProcess is useful.  

For an extended free trial and reduced price for SweetProcess go to www.sweetprocess.com/modernmanager. Members of the Modern Manager community get a 30-minute session with me to facilitate process documentation or answer questions / provide feedback on your documentation. Learn more and become a member at www.themodernmanager.com/join.

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Read the related blog article: How And Why To Document Your Processes Collaboratively

Key Takeaways:

• While documenting processes can feel time consuming, it saves time in the long run.
• When we do effective, collaborative documentation, we give our team members time to focus on improving their game rather than on understanding basic operating information.
• When critical information is documented, you can provide greater freedom and autonomy for your team members to do their jobs creatively.
• There are three main areas of documentation. A procedure is a checklist of steps to accomplish a certain task, like directions from how to get from point A to point B.  A policy is information - such as a dress code policy or vacation policy - that provides general guidelines. A Process is a longer, complicated set of tasks that involve many steps. For each step in a process, there are often procedures or policies. 
• To begin documentation, start with either the most common workflow / task-related questions that come up, the tasks that will most help your team achieve its goals, or the tasks where accuracy is most critical. 
• Start small by documenting the title of the procedure and the main steps. Get your whole team involved to fill in additional detail and provide enhancements as time goes on. 
• While performing documented tasks, employees have the opportunity to update missing or inaccurate information in the documentation. 
• Documenting work processes is a constant work in process; as you learn, you can improve the procedures. 
• Mistakes are opportunities to figure out the real problem. If a documented task is still not done properly, consider if the issue is with the process, the documentation, a lack of skill or motivation, or capacity. 

Additional Resources:

• www.sweetprocess.com/modernmanager
• Sweet Process webinar: https://my.demio.com/recording/OuosUYm6
• https://www.themodernmanager.com/courses/effective-delegation

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Daily routines are a powerful way to increase productivity and improve overall well-being. When designed well, a routine will help us quickly get into the right mindset and achieve our goals, whether those be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. 

In this episode, I share my four daily routines as examples of my goals and activities that help me start and end my day effectively. I also review the process I used for creating my routines and various examples of activities you might incorporate into yours.

The full episode guide includes a list of potential activities to incorporate into your routine as well as an overview of how to design an effective routine. 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: Create Your Daily Routines for Increased Productivity and Well-being.

Key Takeaways:

• Daily routines are a series of activities that achieve a specific intent.
• Routines can be designed for any purpose but are often focused on increasing productivity, mental and physical health, reducing stress, living your values, etc.
• The four optimal times for daily routines are morning wake up, start of the workday, end of the workday and bedtime. 
• To create a routine, consider what you currently do. Then determine what your goal for the routine is, including how you want to feel when the routine is complete. Then select the activities you believe will lead to those goals. 
• An effective routine is manageable and sustainable. The time it takes fits into your life and you can regularly complete the routine without feeling like it’s a heavy lift.
• Experiment with your routines. Start small and add over time. Create a routine that is truly yours.

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In Genesis 12:2 God says, “You are blessed and you shall be a blessing.” This particular interpretation is a modern read, but one that is quite interesting to consider in the context of contemporary life regardless of your faith orientation, or lack thereof. What does it mean to be a blessing to your team members? How can we approach being a manager as if it’s our chance to elevate and honor our colleagues?

Today’s guest is Mark S. Young. Mark is passionate about strengthening the experience and opportunities for the professionals who help make a thriving workplace, both in the Jewish community and beyond.

For 20 years, Mark has held leadership roles in human resources, education, and leadership development for Jewish organizations and other non-profits. Bless Our Workforce, Mark's first book, builds off his previous writing and presentations on how to best invest in Jewish community professional talent, including his $54,000 Strategy series on ejewishphilanthropy and his 2016 ELI Talk: Mah Tovu.

Mark and I talk about what he’s learned in the process of writing his new book Bless Our Workforce about how to invest in and support the talented staff on your team. We touch on a number of different ‘blessings’ as he calls them and how you can apply them to your people, even when working at a distance during COVID.

Get one of 10 free 20-minute coaching calls with Markt when you join the Modern Manager community. Plus, get additional member content, bonuses, coaching and community. Purchase the full episode guides and Modern Manager merchandise at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.  

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

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Read the related blog article:  Be A Blessing To Your Team.

Key Takeaways:

• When we invest in our teams, our organizations become more productive, healthier, and profitable. 
• In order to help our staff, we need to know what they need to do their best work and what work feeds their creative drive and motivates them.
• Instead of squeezing people into a rigid job description, hire talented, quality people and fit a job around their interests and needs.  
• When people’s needs are met at work, they feel like they're part of something greater than themselves. When people are committed, they’ll more happily do the more mundane tasks to help the organization thrive. 
• Sit down with teammates individually and get a sense of their needs and interests. Ask about their journey; What brought them to this organization? What mentors did they have that inspired them? What motivates/demotivates them and how do they feel about their work and compensation? Whether or not you can actually raise their pay, that information will still be valuable.
• If you don’t feel ready to have a personal conversation, start off small with what feels most comfortable. Maybe just ask one question, or create a group conversation where everyone shares their journey. 
• To promote collaboration, look for ways to invite your team to give input on issues affecting the greater organization, even if it doesn’t involve their specific role. 
• Especially during COVID, when many methods of operation will need to be reevaluated, ask for feedback from your staff about how to build systems that benefit everyone.
• During current times of instability, your staff needs to feel like they matter more than ever. Feeling like they are part of something greater than themselves will help build their strength and resilience. 

KEEP UP WITH MARK:

• Website: blessourworkforce.com 
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P5FFWLX
• Twitter: @msy226nyc
• Email: [email protected]

Additional Resources:

• Bless Our Workforce 10 Questions List: http://bit.ly/bless-our-workforce-questions

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You might say that a manager’s central job is to help their team members become their best selves. When we help our colleagues live up to their potential and optimize their strengths, we can achieve the magic combination of high performance and satisfaction.

Today’s guest is David Hassell. David is a serial entrepreneur, business columnist, and speaker, who believes that when leaders support their employees in becoming their best selves, high engagement, performance and uncommon loyalty naturally result. As co-founder and CEO of 15Five, David and his team have developed industry-leading performance management software that helps leaders and managers drive high performance and build phenomenal cultures via a suite of features including weekly check-ins, OKR tracking, 1-on-1s, and peer appreciation. While at 15Five, David created the science-inspired Best-Self Management methodology that helps leaders and managers address the hidden factors that stimulate sustainable growth and development – things like intrinsic motivation, growth mindset, strengths, positivity, and psychological safety in the workplace.

David and I talk about the ideas behind the best self methodology. We get into behaviors, mindsets and models that can help you be the kind of manager you wish you’d had.

Get the 50% off  15Five’s Best-Self Management program when you become a member of the Modern Manager community at themodernmanager.com/join. Plus, take advantage of the holiday Buy One - Get One holiday special. Get one month of free membership to give to the person of your choice when you become a member before December 31, 2020.

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Read the related blog article: How To Help Your Employees Become Their Best Selves

Key Takeaways:

• Managers can help employees become their best selves by combining psychological safety with the growth mindset. 
• To create a healthy environment of trust and psychological safety, employees need to feel like they can speak openly without negative repercussions. 
• Move from the Victim/Villain/Hero Triangle mindset into a space of curiosity called the Coach/Creator Mode by entering a conversation with curiosity about the problem rather than a fixed opinion. 
• Ask yourself: “Am I Above The Line (curious and open) or Below The Line (fixed and blaming)? Employees will react defensively if you go into situations with a rigid perspective.
• Seeing “The White Space” means seeing an employee’s strengths and the potential for who they could be. A manager who believes deeply in an employee’s abilities despite their struggles can transform someone blocked by self-doubts.
• Focus on developing your staff’s strengths rather than improving weaknesses. Find where their natural talents and passions overlap - called the Zone of Genius - to create fulfilled, productive teams. 
• Be wary of falling into the trap of the Zone of Excellence, in which the person is good/skilled at the activities but it’s not their passion. 
• Embrace your own imperfections as someone on the same growth journey. Admit your own vulnerability and show your team that you are also journeying together with them to become your best selves. 
• Growth mindset only works when combined with an environment of psychological safety. Focusing only on growth can leave employees feeling burdened by “never being good enough.” They need to know that they can share their struggles and you’ll be there to listen.

Resources:

• https://conscious.is/resources

KEEP UP WITH DAVID

Website: 15Five.com

Twitter: @dhassell

Podcast: Best-Self Management podcast - 15Five.com/podcast

Best-Self Management program:  https://academy.15five.com/bundles/from-manager-to-leader

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