1 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,400 Welcome to the New Manager Podcast. 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:16,400 I'm your host, Kim Nicoll. Hello and welcome. 3 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,960 I'm glad you're here and I hope you're doing well. 4 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:24,440 Today I want to talk with you about two things that are always 5 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:29,880 going to affect the way that you are managing people, but might 6 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:35,800 not always be obvious. And my intention is that if I 7 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:41,560 can help you to see that these things exist, then you actually 8 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:47,960 have more agency in deciding how you want to engage with and 9 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:54,560 within these two things. So the first one is systems, the 10 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,080 2nd is environment. And what's interesting is that 11 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,880 both systems and environment are things that can be rather 12 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:09,000 invisible. And there are formal kinds and 13 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,960 informal kinds. And I'll explain that a bit more 14 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:16,280 as we go, but I want to start by sharing a quick story to help 15 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:18,880 illustrate where we're going to go today. 16 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,160 So in my neighborhood there is an ice cream shop. 17 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,000 It is very, very popular. It smells so good. 18 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,240 It's the kind of place where it just walking by, you smell the 19 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:38,200 waffle cone scent and you slow down and it just, it smells so 20 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,640 good and there's all, you know, almost always a big line out the 21 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,400 door. And I once had gone in there 22 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,280 because I wanted to get some ice cream and there was a huge line 23 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,360 out the door. This was over the summer, so 24 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,440 lots of people feeling, you know, very excited and talking. 25 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:58,560 And you know you're in line for ice cream. 26 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,960 So you know, you're, you're not in too much stress. 27 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,200 You're just like, OK, I'm in line because I'm going to have 28 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,520 some ice cream today. And I saw this big line and I 29 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,600 thought, oh, I know what I can do. 30 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,680 And I walked past everyone in the line. 31 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:20,200 I walked directly into the shop and I went to kind of the 32 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:26,200 backside of this ice cream shop because that is where they have 33 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:31,840 a little freezer where they have pre packed pints of ice cream. 34 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,760 And so I went right to inside, right to the freezer, and I 35 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,240 opened it up and I found the flavor that I wanted. 36 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:43,680 And I, you know, close the freezer door. 37 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:48,600 And then I kind of cut through the line and went straight up to 38 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,880 the cashier. And I paid for the ice cream and 39 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,560 I left. And this whole process took, I 40 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,400 mean, just like a minute. And meanwhile, I'm seeing all of 41 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,640 these people standing in line and they're kind of looking at 42 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:02,000 me and I'm kind of looking at them. 43 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,840 And because I had been to this ice cream shop before I 44 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:14,040 understood the system, I understood that if you want a 45 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:19,240 scoop of ice cream, whether it's in a cup or in one of their 46 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:24,000 fresh, delicious waffle cones, if that's what you want, then 47 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,880 you have to wait in the line because you have to get to the 48 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:30,680 counter. And then you have to talk to the 49 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,480 person. And you might ask to taste some 50 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,080 different flavors before you make your final decision. 51 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,720 And then they will hand scoop it, put it in the cup or cone, 52 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:44,120 hand it to you and then you will go to the cash register with 53 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,080 your ice cream in hand. However, if what you want is to 54 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:56,120 buy a pre packed pint, then you do not need to stand in line at 55 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:57,520 all. You can go straight to the 56 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:03,360 freezer, grab what you want, jump right to the cash register 57 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,520 and you will pay and you can leave. 58 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,960 So because I understood how the system worked, I was able to 59 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,400 function in that space in a way that was highly effective for 60 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,800 me, where I didn't waste any unnecessary time. 61 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,760 And maybe some people were a little confused or thinking, you 62 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,400 know, like, who is this lady? Is she cutting the line? 63 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,160 That's not OK. But I just got in there, I got 64 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,760 my ice cream, I paid for it and I got out and it really made me 65 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:37,040 realize how important it is to understand what are the systems 66 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,200 that you are working in Now some of these will be unwritten. 67 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:44,800 Like I don't think there was a sign anywhere that said, hey, if 68 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,320 you just want a pint, just go buy a pint. 69 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,720 You know, I'm I'm sure I picked this up somewhere either, you 70 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,560 know, I when I had purchased it in the past or when I had seen 71 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,040 someone else do it. But it was just, it was a thing 72 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,080 that I knew about how that system worked. 73 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,280 So when you think about being a manager and you think about your 74 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:06,480 work, I want you to start getting really curious about 75 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:12,760 what are some of the systems that are in place that are 76 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:18,440 affecting what you do, how you do it, and also how it affects 77 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,120 the people that you work with and have a measure of 78 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:25,160 responsibility for. So you definitely want to know 79 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:30,240 what is our performance review system, How formal is that? 80 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,280 How informal is that? What are the important 81 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:36,920 timelines? Like, is it something that we 82 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,960 all do at a certain time of year? 83 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,920 Is it more related to, you know, when somebody starts, like if we 84 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,960 do performance reviews at the end of the year, but this person 85 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,880 started two months ago, what do we do? 86 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,920 Like how does the system work? You will want to know. 87 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,560 And it's the kind of thing that you know when you get promoted 88 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,880 or when you step into a company. You might need to ask. 89 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,360 People might not think to tell you. 90 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,400 So you want to find out how does our performance review system 91 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:13,400 work. Related to that, find out how do 92 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:18,560 promotion cycles work. Like the promotion cycle might 93 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:24,040 happen at a very specific time. You might need to understand 94 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,840 kind of like what does it take for someone to get promoted. 95 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,680 If someone on your team is saying, hey, I want to get a 96 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:35,080 promotion, you want to understand what that will take, 97 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,280 what it will mean for them. In order to do that, is it 98 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:41,800 something where you need to, you know, like get approvals from 99 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,400 other certain people? Like is there other information 100 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,320 or other decision makers that will affect that? 101 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:53,800 You want to understand what that is so that you can be most 102 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,560 effective in how you manage that person, helping them to either, 103 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,960 you know, do what they need to do to level up their skills to 104 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,040 position them into that into that place. 105 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,960 Or, and this is actually something I've seen before, 106 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:12,080 sometimes in an organization you'll have one open spot but 107 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:17,360 multiple internal candidates who are qualified for that 108 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,720 promotion. And in that situation, it might 109 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:25,680 come down to the manager being able to advocate for why their 110 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,720 team, you know, team member, should get that promotion 111 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,160 instead of someone else's team member. 112 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,280 So that's the kind of thing you you want to be able to 113 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,760 anticipate, not be caught off guard or surprised by. 114 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,320 You just want to understand, like, how does this system work, 115 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:47,680 What is the process? And then also understanding 116 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:52,960 about raises and bonuses. Is that something your 117 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,560 organization has, you know, a formal, structured policy 118 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,160 around? Maybe they do, you know, maybe 119 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,840 you do, maybe you don't. But you want to find out. 120 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,000 You want to know. And again, sometimes that's the 121 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:10,520 kind of detail that you know. Your manager or HR might not 122 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,680 think to tell you in advance and it might not be on your radar if 123 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,560 you're the first time in this role, but you want to be 124 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,560 thinking, OK, the people on my team will probably want to raise 125 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:25,920 at some point and may you know, there might be curious about 126 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,680 bonuses. I should find out, like what is 127 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,800 the system around that? How does that work? 128 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:36,000 Is there anything I need to be tracking or planning for now? 129 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,840 And if anyone is off track or if I'm sensing that maybe they 130 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,120 think they're performing at a really high level, but I'm 131 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,600 measuring them you know, against something else. 132 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,480 And like my assessment is, you know, might not line up with how 133 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,200 they're a self assessing. Then I need to be able to have a 134 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:59,840 conversation with them early so that we're not so far down the 135 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,920 process or into the system that suddenly you know, they're 136 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,560 feeling like wait, like I didn't know this was happening. 137 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:09,560 I thought we were doing this. Not that like we just want to be 138 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:15,040 mindful of what are the systems in which we are operating. 139 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:18,080 And again, those can sometimes be invisible. 140 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,640 So we want to ask questions and find out what they are. 141 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,000 Sometimes it will be very formal. 142 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,960 There will be a structure and maybe even specific tools and 143 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,280 other people might be very well aware of it. 144 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,440 But sometimes it will be a little bit more informal and we 145 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:36,960 want to be mindful and aware of that too. 146 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,400 That's kind of like when there's not a policy written down 147 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,720 anywhere, but there's a way that business is done or there's a 148 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:50,600 way that things are done. And it's somewhat tacit, meaning 149 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,560 it's just, oh, this is, you know, just how we do things. 150 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:57,000 It's, you know, this person needs to approve the thing and 151 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,000 they need to do it by this time. And we need to be aware that 152 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,000 these other people are looped in. 153 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:07,000 Like we just want to understand what it is so that you have 154 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:12,800 agency and can be intentional and strategic in how you operate 155 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:17,200 within those systems. So the other piece that's kind 156 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,720 of related to this is the idea of environment. 157 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,600 And your environment, again, can be, you know, have invisible 158 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,400 components, but it can also have visible components, right? 159 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,600 Like the environment might actually be the physical 160 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:36,600 description of where you work and how that physical 161 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,240 environment affects the way that people are able to work 162 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,320 together. Like if you're all close to each 163 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,440 other in proximity. And that might make you know, 164 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,840 conversations really easy. But on the other hand, if it's 165 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,840 all very Openoffice plan and there's no place to have private 166 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,240 conversations, then maybe there's a bit of a downside 167 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:02,160 around that sense of privacy or the ability to have a, you know, 168 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,680 a private conversation or meeting with people in a way 169 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:09,000 that feels sort of casual, right, without it feeling super, 170 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,320 super serious. So environment also often I see 171 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,640 it as something that has a strong emotional quality to it. 172 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:24,400 And you know, a few years ago when I was working on site in 173 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,120 lots of different companies and coming in to do trainings and 174 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,600 coaching, it was so interesting because with some organizations 175 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,840 it's like when you walk in the door, you can feel the energy of 176 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,240 the room. And there's a difference between 177 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:46,280 kind of a a low level tension where everyone is really excited 178 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,520 and there's a, you know, a sense of aliveness. 179 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:53,240 Like, I'm thinking specifically of some work I did with a 180 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,120 company in the entertainment industry. 181 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:00,160 And there was a sense of aliveness, like people were just 182 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:05,200 alert and engaged and really highly creative and the the 183 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,520 energy was up. But it was a very creative and 184 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,960 kind of curious, interested energy compared to another 185 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,400 organization where it was very tense. 186 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,440 Like you could sense, oh, people are under pressure, people are 187 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,040 anxious here, people are very worried about how they are 188 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,520 appearing in front of their colleagues. 189 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,640 There's a a strong sense of guardedness or there's a strong, 190 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,880 you know, a strong sense of, you know, I really need people to 191 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:37,080 see me in this way. And I really, you know, need to 192 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,800 make sure that I, I preserve my image in front of my colleagues. 193 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:45,120 Like you could sense the tension in the room. 194 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,520 And even though there was still that, you know, high energy, 195 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,120 there was a lot less joy in it, a lot more fear. 196 00:12:54,560 --> 00:13:00,240 And I mentioned this because this quality of what is the 197 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,160 environment in which we're working, especially the 198 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,640 emotional tone of, you know, sort of how you're working and 199 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:13,840 where you're working, that can change over time depending on 200 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,840 what's going on. So for example, if you're in an 201 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:21,840 organization and you've gone through layoffs, the environment 202 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:29,240 in which you're working may have a combination of kind of fear, a 203 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:34,040 little bit of grief for having lost some of, you know, work 204 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:36,560 colleagues. There might even be a little bit 205 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:40,720 of resentment because now it's like I still have my job, but 206 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,040 now I have to do even more work because of the people that we've 207 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,160 let go. That environment is going to 208 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:53,000 have an effect on how folks work together, how much trust there 209 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,680 is, how people are feeling where their focus is. 210 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,520 And that might be really different than how it was, you 211 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:04,400 know, two years ago when business was going great or 212 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,720 when, you know you were on a growth spurt. 213 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,920 So you were hiring and there was lots of resources for all of the 214 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:15,720 things that can change. And it's interesting too, that 215 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:20,200 quality of environment and kind of the emotional feel can also 216 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,880 change depending on where in an organization you are. 217 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,480 And this is where I like to, you know, remind you that you create 218 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:33,920 a little microclimate with the team that you have based on how 219 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:38,000 you show up, how you work with your team, the way that you 220 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:44,080 communicate, the energy that you bring into the work that can 221 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:48,520 create a little microclimate. And it's kind of like, you know, 222 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:53,160 if you've ever heard the saying how people leave managers, not 223 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:57,440 jobs, the reverse is also true. People stay because of their 224 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,320 managers, even if the the bigger organization is struggling. 225 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,880 People will stay when they really feel like my manager has 226 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,480 my back, my manager supports me. Yeah, maybe the other, you know, 227 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:13,120 the organization as a whole is really struggling but aren't my 228 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,560 manager and my team is so good and I feel so connected to them 229 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:18,760 and I really want to stay in order to help us get through 230 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,480 this hard time. Like you can be the one who's 231 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,680 creating this little microclimate. 232 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,040 It's also really good to bear that in mind because if you are 233 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:34,200 a new manager coming into an intact team, meaning they've 234 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:38,720 worked together for a while and now you are the new person in 235 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:43,200 this team, you also want to be mindful and just aware of kind 236 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,240 of what is the emotional tone of this team that I'm coming into. 237 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:49,320 You know, how are people feeling? 238 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,640 What's, what's kind of going on? What's the unspoken kind of 239 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,640 invisible thing that I can sense with how people are here? 240 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,680 Like, is this a very guarded place? 241 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,800 Is it kind of command and control? 242 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,720 Is it a place where there's already a lot of trust and a lot 243 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,160 of great, you know, open communication? 244 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,360 Let's find out. Like, be curious and see what 245 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,880 you can perceive when you think about it in those terms. 246 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,440 I share this too, because I one time had a client. 247 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:25,480 She was a new manager and she was stepping in to work with a 248 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:33,560 team who had very unexpectedly lost their previous manager, who 249 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:40,560 had sadly died unexpectedly. And so she came in as this new 250 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,440 manager for this team that was really going through a lot of 251 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:49,360 grief, a lot of sadness, like a lot of, you know, difficulty 252 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,280 emotionally. And so she had to be mindful of, 253 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,240 OK, this is the environment of my team right now, and how can I 254 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:02,520 be mindful of that as I work to help us accomplish what we're 255 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,200 here to accomplish together? So you want to have awareness of 256 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:12,160 what is that environment because that also can affect you, you 257 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,240 know, like how you're feeling, how effective you're feeling. 258 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,839 You might find why would I'm so effective in a startup 259 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:22,920 environment where everything is really loose and open and 260 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,400 there's a lot of freedom because things are not that structured. 261 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,840 Maybe that's the kind of work environment you really thrive 262 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:30,520 in. And if you go into an 263 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:36,280 organization that's a bit more structured and a bit more, you 264 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,520 know, kind of clear about who does what, maybe you realize 265 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,040 like, oh, like, why is, why am I having such a hard time? 266 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,840 Oh, it's because I'm not used to working in this environment. 267 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:51,920 The reverse can also be true. You might feel really confident 268 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,560 about your skills and abilities when you're working in like a 269 00:17:55,600 --> 00:18:00,800 huge global, you know, legacy organization that's got a lot of 270 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,520 very clear processes and systems established. 271 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,680 And then you go into another organization that perhaps is a 272 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,560 bit newer, it's a bit younger in IT in terms of its growth. 273 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,800 And so, you know, it's like, oh, they don't actually have an HR 274 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,800 department or oh, they actually don't have clear policies about 275 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,360 XY and Z. And now you are having to 276 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:28,480 navigate a lot more ambiguity while also kind of like helping 277 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:33,920 to create create it as you go. So being mindful, what is the 278 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:39,920 environment that you're working within both emotionally and you 279 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,920 know kind of structurally like how how is this organization? 280 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:49,520 And then as I mentioned before, become aware of the systems that 281 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,720 you're also working with and working within so that you can 282 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,960 be intentional about how you do that. 283 00:18:57,360 --> 00:19:01,280 And for both of these, the thing that will help you the most is 284 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:05,200 to just be really curious. You know, like imagine that you 285 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,360 just kind of walked into this new like a new place and you 286 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,520 don't know how everything works and you're just curious and 287 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,520 interested to learn, see what you observe. 288 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:20,400 This is also why it can be important to be intentional in 289 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,400 building relationships with others in your organization. 290 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,360 Because you want not just other people that can give you 291 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,320 information who have may have been there longer, been in their 292 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,120 role longer, but they can also provide you with perspective, 293 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:41,640 with context to understand kind of what are we doing and why, 294 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:45,440 like where is this coming from? What's really going on? 295 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:49,600 Is there something else happening, you know somewhere in 296 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,680 this organization that is creating what is happening in 297 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,800 front of me that I cannot see? I'll just give you know one 298 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,840 example of this. So let's say that the the 299 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,080 highest level of leadership goes through a couple of big changes, 300 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:03,760 right? And this could this happens 301 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,040 right? Like someone at a high level 302 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:10,080 leaves, someone new comes in and the new person has a really 303 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,960 different idea about how we're going to work here and they 304 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,880 start wanting to make changes. And then the folks who are on 305 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,960 the receiving side of that, they might really struggle. 306 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,080 Maybe that's not what they feel on board for. 307 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,800 Maybe your boss doesn't want to be there anymore. 308 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:30,600 You know, sometimes we assume the people that we work with 309 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,520 also want to be there, but that's not always true. 310 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:38,440 And so, you know, I I remember once I was working with someone 311 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:43,240 really nice, nice person, but really struggled and I didn't 312 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,600 really understand why. I'm like, I don't, I feel like 313 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,120 something is happening here, but I don't really understand what 314 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:50,480 it was. And it was by having a 315 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:54,480 conversation with someone else who had a different perspective 316 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,080 of the organization and of the team and had a bit more context 317 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,920 of kind of what was happening on the higher level with the 318 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,640 organization. And they said, yeah, you know, 319 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:07,800 like you're a manager. I don't think he wants to be 320 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,360 here anymore. I think he wanted to be there, 321 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:12,840 you know, during this stage of the company. 322 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,120 But now that the company is changing, I think he's, you 323 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:17,600 know, kind of looking out the door. 324 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,240 And when I heard that, I thought, Oh my gosh, that makes 325 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,560 so much sense. You know, like that kind of 326 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:28,800 unspoken tension where, you know, this person is such a kind 327 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,200 person and it seems like they're struggling, but I don't really 328 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:35,440 know why. And it's like, oh, because the 329 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:40,000 organization is changing and their manager has changed and 330 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,680 they're actually maybe not happy here anymore. 331 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,560 Makes so much sense. So I share that because a lot of 332 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:53,880 these are relational and the more that you can be intentional 333 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,680 about the way you build relationships, so you have other 334 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,760 sources of information, other perspectives, so that you're 335 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,680 able to get more context also so that you have additional allies 336 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,320 in different places in the organization. 337 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:13,120 These are all good things and it will also help you to do your 338 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:17,280 job better when you have that perspective and context. 339 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,840 So be curious, you know, what are the systems in play that 340 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,800 you're going to be working within, especially around 341 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:29,760 performance reviews, promotion cycles, how raises and bonuses 342 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,760 happen or don't like. You want to understand how that 343 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,960 works And then being mindful of the environment that you're 344 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,760 working in, how that's going to affect you specifically as a 345 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,920 human and the team that you're working with. 346 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:47,280 Be curious about those, kind of put on like the lens to look for 347 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:51,240 them so you can understand what they are and then work more 348 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,240 intentionally with that understanding. 349 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,760 So that's what I wanted to share with you today if you want to 350 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,040 work with me one-on-one good news, I've got room for some new 351 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,920 clients. So go into the show notes, book 352 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:08,720 a consult or go to my website kimnickel.com and you'll see 353 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,760 where you can book some time to talk with me about one-on-one 354 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,120 coaching and what how that works. 355 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,520 And you know, we work together for six months so that you've 356 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:21,720 got lots of support, you've got lots of, you know, support to 357 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:26,080 grow, to learn and to reach those goals that are going to be 358 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,320 important for you in the next six months and into the next 359 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,120 year. I also have my next group 360 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:37,320 program is going to get ready to go pretty soon. 361 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,640 I mean, I'm nowhere in December, but the new year will be here 362 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,600 before we know it. So to find out more about that, 363 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:48,400 get on the mailing list, go to kimnickel.com, go to the new 364 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:53,280 managers page and you'll see a link to get on the mailing list 365 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:58,600 so that you know when I open up the next group program for 366 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,520 enrollment. All right. 367 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,720 Thanks so much for listening. I will see you next time. 368 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,160 When you're more effective at work, you're happier in your 369 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:13,360 life. And when you're happier in your 370 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:15,440 life, you're more effective at work. 371 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,640 I can help. Go to my website, kimnickel.com 372 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,960 and sign up for a coaching consult. 373 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:23,720 It can get better.