You're the Boss, Now What? | Team Emotional Intelligence for Managers and Leaders

“My employee doesn’t seem to care anymore… what do I do?”

They used to be reliable.
 Motivated.
 Easy to manage.

And now?

You feel like you’re micromanaging just to get the bare minimum.

It’s frustrating.
 And honestly… a little confusing.

Because nothing “big” happened.

Here’s the shift most managers miss:

It’s not always that they’re lazy.
 It’s that something changed.

And if you keep treating everyone the same…
 you’ll keep losing your best people without realizing it.

In this episode, we break down what your employees actually crave from you as a manager.

Not theory.
 Not more work.

Simple shifts that help your team feel understood, valued, and motivated again.

Because different people need different things.

And when you miss that…
 you unintentionally shut them down.

Links mentioned in the episode 

Take your Working Genius assessment 

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Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

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This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

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The Last Letter - Rebecca Yarrows 

Last week we talked about what it looks like when you hit survival mode.
 This week is one simple step to get yourself out of it.

What’s the thing you keep putting off?

The appointment you haven’t made.
 The email you haven’t sent.
 The task that keeps popping into your head… over and over again.

It feels small.
 It feels like a minor inconvenience.
 So you keep pushing it to “later.”

But here’s the problem… it doesn’t go away.

It follows you.
 It sits in the back of your mind.
 It turns into mental clutter that you carry into your work, your leadership, and your time at home.

In this episode, I’m sharing a personal story about finally making an appointment I had avoided for over a year… and what changed the moment I stopped guessing and just got the answer.

Because whether it’s your health, your work, or something simple on your to-do list…

It’s better to know.
 And it’s even better to be done. 

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Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

Have you ever had an employee where you think…
 “Do you even care anymore?”

They used to show up early
 They used to go above and beyond
 And now… something feels off

You try to motivate them
 But nothing seems to work

Here’s the shift:
 You can’t make someone care
 But you can make it easier for them to stop caring

And most managers do it without realizing it

In this episode, we’re breaking down a few mindset shifts to help you look at this differently

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN:

•  Why “they don’t care” is often an assumption 
•  How disengagement can be a form of protection 
•  What might actually be causing the shift in motivation

Additional episodes to catch-up on 

Using The 5 Love Languages at Work to Build Loyal Teams 

How to Stop Your Newhires from Checking Out Early

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

Get your copy of Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead  

Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything feels hard… and you’re just trying to make it through as a manager?

The kind of week where your energy is low, your team needs more from you, and your workload keeps growing?

This is one of the biggest challenges in leadership development.
 Most managers wait until things get hard to figure out how to handle it.

But by then, it already feels overwhelming.

Because mental strength isn’t built in the hard moments.
 It’s revealed in them.

In this episode of the podcast for managers, I’m sharing a simple concept that can completely shift how you approach stress, pressure, and team management.

It’s the idea of “walking into the wind.”

And it’s about choosing to do hard things before you have to… so when challenges hit—whether it’s conflict, overwhelm, or difficult employees—you’re ready for it. 

This is especially important when it comes to how to handle conflict at work.
 Because the managers who navigate tough conversations well aren’t the ones avoiding hard things…

They’re the ones who have built the capacity for them.

We’re talking about how to build resilience as a leader, how to strengthen your mindset, and how this shows up in your day-to-day leadership and team management—even when nothing feels urgent.

By the time you finish listening, you’ll learn:

•  How leadership development actually happens in the small, everyday moments 
•  How to build mental strength so you can handle stress and conflict at work 
•  What “walking into the wind” looks like in real life and team management 

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

If you don’t have energy, you can’t lead well.

And yet… most managers are trying to push through exhaustion instead of fixing it.

You finish your workday drained.
 You go home with nothing left to give.
 And the things you want to do? They keep getting pushed to the bottom of the list.

So you tell yourself you’ll rest more.
 You’ll take a break.
 You’ll “fill your cup.”

But nothing actually changes.

Because the problem isn’t that you’re not trying.
 It’s that you’re trying to fix burnout the wrong way.

In this episode, we break down the 4 buckets that actually help you get your energy back—without adding more to your plate. This is real-life leadership development for busy managers who want to show up better at work and at home.

By the time you finish listening, you’ll learn:

•  The 4 buckets that help managers rebuild their energy without burnout 
•  Why most “self-care” advice doesn’t work (and what actually does) 
•  Simple ways to improve your energy, focus, and team management starting today 

This episode is your reminder that being a great leader isn’t about doing more.

It’s about having enough energy to lead the people around you well.

Read Desiree's Book  Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead 

Additional Episodes 

Manager Tips for Better Sleep 

Secret to All Day Energy (Glucose episode) 

Mindset Shifts for Sustainable Goals 

How to Perform at a High Level Without Burning Out 

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

Have you ever felt like you’re doing everything “right”…
 but still running on empty?

As a manager, it’s easy to think the answer is to do more.
 More routines. More habits. More discipline.

But what if that’s not the problem?

A lot of leaders are already overwhelmed.
 Their schedules are full. Their energy is low.
 And their default solution is to keep adding.

More meetings. More expectations. More pressure.

This is where leadership development gets missed.
 Because energy isn’t built by adding more…
 it’s often built by removing what’s draining you.

In this episode, we’re flipping that mindset.

Instead of asking what you should add,
 we’re asking what you need to take away
 so you can show up better for your team.

By the time you finish listening, you’ll learn

•  How to increase your energy as a manager without adding more to your schedule 
•  Why removing things can be more powerful than building new habits 
•  3 simple ways to refill your cup so you can lead your team more effectively 

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

In this episode, I sat down with Tessa Kampen to talk about what happens when purpose isn’t clear on a team.

Because when people define success differently…
 you start to feel it.

Priorities compete
 Communication gets messy
 Work slows down

Not because people don’t care.
 Because they’re aiming at different targets.

We pulled from The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle,
but really this is about what we both see happening on teams every day.

The gap between effort… and direction.

In this episode:

•  Why teams feel off even when everyone is doing their job 
•  How unclear purpose shows up in day-to-day work 
•  What causes teams to drift in different directions 
•  How to bring people back to the same goal 

Resource mentioned:
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

Connect with Tessa Kampen 

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

Have you ever looked at someone else’s job, routine, or leadership style and thought…
 “Why would anyone enjoy that?”

And then found yourself trying to do it anyway?

A lot of managers get stuck here.

You’re trying to lead like someone else.
 Work like someone else.
 Structure your time like someone else.

And it doesn’t fit.

So you start second guessing yourself.
 You feel inconsistent.
 And leadership feels harder than it needs to.

This is where most leadership development advice falls short.

Because it tells you what to do…
 but not how to make it work for you.

In this episode, we’re flipping that.

Because not everyone works the same way.

Some people love brainstorming and big ideas.
 Others just want to get clear and execute.

Some people love running.
 Others would rather lift, walk, or do anything but run.

Neither is wrong.

But when you force yourself into something that doesn’t fit…
 you burn out faster and show up worse as a leader.

This episode will help you rethink how you approach your work, your leadership, and your life so you can stop forcing what doesn’t fit and start building something that actually works.

By the time you finish listening, you’ll learn:

•  Why trying to lead like everyone else is holding you back as a manager 
•  How self-awareness improves leadership development and team management 
•  A simple shift to help you make your work, leadership, and routines fit you

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

Struggling with hard conversations on your team?

In this episode, we’re talking about vulnerability, and what it actually looks like at work.

Not oversharing.
 Not making things uncomfortable.

But the kind of vulnerability that helps managers build trust, improve communication, and handle conflict more effectively.

Because when vulnerability is missing:

•  feedback gets avoided 
•  tension builds 
•  and small issues turn into bigger problems 

If you’re working on your leadership development, this is one of the most practical leadership tips you can apply right away.

In this episode:

•  What vulnerability actually looks like in team management 
•  Why teams avoid hard conversations 
•  How vulnerability helps you handle conflict at work 
•  Simple ways to start using this as a manager 

Resources

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

Connect with Tessa Kampen 

If this episode helped you think differently about your team, share it with another manager.

Follow the show for weekly leadership tips on team management, communication, and leadership development.

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...

Have you ever felt like you’re putting in the work… but not seeing the results yet?

Maybe you’re trying to grow as a leader.
 Trying to build a stronger team.
 Trying to improve communication, delegation, or team accountability.

And after a few days… or even a few weeks… it feels like nothing is changing.

This is where most leaders start to question themselves.

Is this working?
 Am I doing the right things?
 Should I just go back to what’s easier?

But here’s the truth… you can’t hurry results. 

In this episode, Desiree shares a simple but powerful reminder using a real-life story from teaching a group fitness class. Just like building strength physically, leadership development doesn’t show up overnight.

In fact, the work often feels hardest right before the results start to show.

Whether you're a new manager trying to build confidence, or an experienced leader working on team dynamics, this episode will help you stay consistent even when the results feel slow.

Because leadership isn’t about quick wins.
 It’s about doing the work long enough to see the impact.

By the time you finish listening, you’ll learn:

•  Why leadership development and team growth don’t show immediate results 
•  How to stay consistent when leading feels hard or unclear 
•  What it really takes to build stronger teams and long-term leadership success

Sign up for Desiree's Weekly newsletter

Take the DISC or Working Genius Assessment and get a FREE 20 minutes debrief with Desiree 

Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead

Connect:  Linked In | Instagram | Website

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

If this episode helped you:

Share it with anoth...