1 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:07,360 Welcome to the New Manager Podcast. 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:16,360 I'm your host, Kim Nichol. Hello and welcome. 3 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,880 I'm glad you're here and I hope you're doing well. 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,280 Today's episode is all about learning. 5 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,200 How do you learn to be a great manager? 6 00:00:26,980 --> 00:00:30,740 And the 1st place to start is by acknowledging that when you 7 00:00:30,740 --> 00:00:35,700 become a manager, managing people is a different job than 8 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:40,100 the thing you were doing before. You might be a really great 9 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:44,540 designer, but managing a team of designers is a different job. 10 00:00:44,860 --> 00:00:49,220 You might be a really good attorney, but managing a team of 11 00:00:49,220 --> 00:00:53,700 attorneys and non attorney staff is a different job. 12 00:00:54,140 --> 00:00:56,340 You might be a really good engineer. 13 00:00:56,980 --> 00:01:00,180 Managing a team of engineers is a different job. 14 00:01:00,340 --> 00:01:05,220 You get the picture here, right? And so often we get promoted and 15 00:01:05,220 --> 00:01:09,700 nobody will actually tell you that managing is a different job 16 00:01:09,700 --> 00:01:11,620 and that there are different ways. 17 00:01:11,620 --> 00:01:15,180 You'll need to be thinking about what your role is and what it 18 00:01:15,180 --> 00:01:18,570 means to be successful as a manager. 19 00:01:18,970 --> 00:01:23,610 Especially if you are managing people who have different styles 20 00:01:23,650 --> 00:01:27,130 of communication than you, if you are managing people who are 21 00:01:27,130 --> 00:01:30,650 motivated a little bit differently than you. 22 00:01:30,930 --> 00:01:36,050 Because we often think about managing others the way that you 23 00:01:36,050 --> 00:01:40,730 want to be managed, we think, oh, a good manager is someone 24 00:01:40,730 --> 00:01:43,450 who would manage me exactly the way that I would like. 25 00:01:43,930 --> 00:01:48,550 And then when you become a manager, it's easy to forget 26 00:01:48,950 --> 00:01:51,670 that not everyone is exactly like you. 27 00:01:52,310 --> 00:01:59,190 And so part of developing a suite of skills and tools about 28 00:01:59,310 --> 00:02:03,950 being effective as a manager is keeping this in mind that what 29 00:02:03,950 --> 00:02:10,110 works for you as a person might not translate exactly for 30 00:02:10,110 --> 00:02:13,070 others. As a manager, you want to be 31 00:02:13,070 --> 00:02:18,030 able to be effective with a range of people and a range of 32 00:02:18,030 --> 00:02:21,710 personalities, because that's what you're most likely to 33 00:02:21,710 --> 00:02:26,470 encounter in the workplace. Now this also becomes important 34 00:02:26,470 --> 00:02:31,030 because when you transition into managing people, it can be so 35 00:02:31,030 --> 00:02:37,510 easy to feel like a failure if you're not sure what the job is 36 00:02:37,790 --> 00:02:40,870 or you're not sure if you're doing a good job. 37 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,120 One of the things I see happen a lot, and especially when you 38 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,200 know you get promoted to imagine manager, it's often because 39 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,080 you're really good at the thing that you do and then it's like 40 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:53,760 great, you're so good at this thing. 41 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,520 Now we're going to let you manage people who are also good 42 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,880 at this thing. There can be this disorientation 43 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:06,130 where you go from feeling high competence, high confidence. 44 00:03:06,170 --> 00:03:09,690 I know what I'm doing, I know what success looks like, and I 45 00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:11,570 have a track record of achievement. 46 00:03:11,930 --> 00:03:17,610 To now stepping into this new role and not having that clarity 47 00:03:17,890 --> 00:03:20,810 around what does success look like? 48 00:03:21,290 --> 00:03:27,480 How is this role different? How do I feel competent and 49 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,440 confident when I'm doing something new and maybe I'm a 50 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,600 little bit worried about whether I'm doing it right or not? 51 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,720 And so it's very natural. A lot of times when we're trying 52 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:39,880 to understand, am I doing a good job? 53 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,400 We look to the emotions of others. 54 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,520 And specifically what that sounds like is are my people 55 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,320 happy? Is my team happy? 56 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,800 Are they happy with me? Are they happy with the work? 57 00:03:53,270 --> 00:03:57,390 Is my boss happy? Are they happy with me? 58 00:03:57,390 --> 00:04:02,270 Are they happy with the work? And one of the real challenges 59 00:04:02,270 --> 00:04:06,510 here is to remember that sometimes people are unhappy and 60 00:04:06,510 --> 00:04:10,310 it has nothing to do with you. Something else might be going on 61 00:04:10,310 --> 00:04:12,350 in their life. And so they're showing up at 62 00:04:12,350 --> 00:04:16,149 work and they are unhappy and they are impatient and they just 63 00:04:16,149 --> 00:04:19,269 do not have a great attitude. And it's possible it has 64 00:04:19,390 --> 00:04:22,850 absolutely nothing to do with you, has nothing to do with the 65 00:04:22,850 --> 00:04:24,730 work. That's just kind of where 66 00:04:24,730 --> 00:04:27,930 they're at right now. And so as a human, that's the 67 00:04:27,930 --> 00:04:32,450 quality of attention and energy that they're bringing with them 68 00:04:32,490 --> 00:04:35,210 into the workplace. The other reason you want to be 69 00:04:35,210 --> 00:04:39,170 really mindful of this is because there will be times when 70 00:04:39,170 --> 00:04:43,980 your job is to make a decision. Maybe to delegate something or 71 00:04:43,980 --> 00:04:47,500 to not to give a promotion to somebody who wants it. 72 00:04:47,820 --> 00:04:51,420 Or you simply make a judgment call based on information that 73 00:04:51,420 --> 00:04:55,420 you have, that maybe someone on your team does not have that 74 00:04:55,420 --> 00:05:00,260 perspective or that information, or they simply have a different 75 00:05:00,260 --> 00:05:03,300 opinion about how they think things should go. 76 00:05:03,860 --> 00:05:06,860 But the job of making the decision falls to you. 77 00:05:07,140 --> 00:05:11,370 And so it's in your judgment and it's your responsibility to make 78 00:05:11,370 --> 00:05:13,810 a decision and then follow through on it. 79 00:05:14,290 --> 00:05:17,330 And people might not be happy with that. 80 00:05:18,250 --> 00:05:23,410 And sometimes that's okay. It is okay that they are unhappy 81 00:05:23,410 --> 00:05:25,010 with the decision that you've made. 82 00:05:25,450 --> 00:05:30,770 And it can be difficult to hold the truth of those two things. 83 00:05:30,850 --> 00:05:34,250 Especially when you're someone who has a lot of compassion and 84 00:05:34,250 --> 00:05:38,360 a lot of care and you really want people to like coming to 85 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,240 work. And you want people to feel, you 86 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:47,360 know, purposeful and appreciated and becoming aware of what are, 87 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,760 you know, like what is the emotional tone of the folks 88 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,920 around you and how much weight are you giving that? 89 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,000 What are you doing with that information? 90 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:04,000 Are you giving too much weight to how they are feeling and then 91 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:10,980 trying to do your job to get people to feel a certain way? 92 00:06:11,660 --> 00:06:14,220 And that can really lead us astray? 93 00:06:14,220 --> 00:06:16,660 And so I wanted to mention that too, because when you're not 94 00:06:16,660 --> 00:06:20,140 sure about what is the measure of success, how do I know? 95 00:06:20,140 --> 00:06:23,420 When I'm doing a great job, it's really natural to look to the 96 00:06:23,420 --> 00:06:29,060 emotions of others as your only source of information, your only 97 00:06:29,060 --> 00:06:31,980 checkpoint. And instead I want to remind you 98 00:06:32,340 --> 00:06:37,590 it's only one data point in the bigger context, in the bigger 99 00:06:37,790 --> 00:06:40,310 picture. So that's one of the things that 100 00:06:40,310 --> 00:06:43,030 I, you know, work with my clients on often when they're 101 00:06:43,030 --> 00:06:46,710 first starting is trying to get them oriented into, let's talk 102 00:06:46,710 --> 00:06:50,030 about what does success look like, How will you know when 103 00:06:50,030 --> 00:06:54,270 you're doing a good job and how are you thinking, like, what is 104 00:06:54,270 --> 00:06:59,190 your mindset around what the role of a manager is? 105 00:06:59,740 --> 00:07:01,460 There are different ways to think about it. 106 00:07:01,700 --> 00:07:05,260 Sometimes we think of it as, oh, my job as the manager is to 107 00:07:05,500 --> 00:07:09,580 remove obstacles. My job as the manager is to 108 00:07:09,860 --> 00:07:14,260 clarify priorities and direction so people know what to do. 109 00:07:14,740 --> 00:07:20,540 Sometimes my job as a manager is to advocate for the team and to 110 00:07:20,540 --> 00:07:22,740 make sure that they are resourced, you know, 111 00:07:22,740 --> 00:07:25,380 appropriately for the task at hand. 112 00:07:25,860 --> 00:07:29,020 Sometimes the job of the manager is to be the one who makes 113 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,080 decisions. So there are lots of different 114 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,160 ways that we can look at this depending on what your situation 115 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,840 is, what is happening in your organization. 116 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:44,160 But when you have clarity in your own mind about what the job 117 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:49,480 is and how you will know when you are being successful, that 118 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,440 goes a long way to starting to reduce the stress and the 119 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:57,160 anxiety and that little background voice of self doubt 120 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,370 and second guessing. So with all of that in mind, 121 00:08:00,490 --> 00:08:04,210 there are three things specifically I wanted to share 122 00:08:04,210 --> 00:08:10,410 with you when it comes to How will you learn to be a great 123 00:08:10,410 --> 00:08:12,690 manager? How will you learn to be 124 00:08:12,690 --> 00:08:15,730 effective? How will you learn to be, you 125 00:08:15,730 --> 00:08:21,090 know, the leader that you want to be for your team, and there 126 00:08:21,090 --> 00:08:25,970 are three things that I've identified that I see as really 127 00:08:25,970 --> 00:08:28,530 important, and so I want to share them with you here. 128 00:08:28,970 --> 00:08:32,250 Number one, you need safety to learn. 129 00:08:32,770 --> 00:08:36,330 That means that if you're afraid of making mistakes, if you've 130 00:08:36,330 --> 00:08:40,250 got a lot of anxiety about doing things right and you're really 131 00:08:40,250 --> 00:08:43,730 worried about getting it right the first time, that becomes 132 00:08:43,730 --> 00:08:47,980 harder to learn. When you feel more safe. 133 00:08:48,060 --> 00:08:52,380 When you feel safe to not be perfect, it becomes easier to 134 00:08:52,380 --> 00:08:55,180 learn. Sometimes you might make an 135 00:08:55,180 --> 00:08:59,020 error, but the important thing then is how you will deal with 136 00:08:59,020 --> 00:09:02,620 it. If you feel like any error is 137 00:09:02,620 --> 00:09:06,780 going to, you know, kind of ruin everything, you're going to walk 138 00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:09,220 on egg shells. You're going to second guess 139 00:09:09,220 --> 00:09:13,020 yourself. You're going to procrastinate in 140 00:09:13,020 --> 00:09:16,200 making decisions. There will be so much time and 141 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,600 energy that gets sucked out of your life when you're afraid to 142 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,080 learn. So you want to have, you know, 143 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,000 like a dedicated place, whether it's a specific person you talk 144 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,480 with or whether it's in a class or just creating space in your 145 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,440 own mind where it's safe to ask questions, where you can be real 146 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,560 about what's hard and not feel like. 147 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:41,500 You have to present this all knowing you know straight a 148 00:09:41,500 --> 00:09:43,860 student image right out of the gate. 149 00:09:43,860 --> 00:09:47,940 You want to have a place where it actually feels safe to learn 150 00:09:48,340 --> 00:09:53,900 because you will learn faster. You can also think of this as 151 00:09:53,980 --> 00:09:58,820 process over perfection. This can be a tough reminder 152 00:09:59,020 --> 00:10:02,820 when you're used to doing things at a very high standard and 153 00:10:02,820 --> 00:10:06,620 you're doing something new and it feels a little wobbly at 154 00:10:06,620 --> 00:10:09,200 first. So remember, the goal here is 155 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:15,280 process over perfection and when you create safety to learn 156 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,120 inside yourself, like when you are not judging yourself 157 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,600 harshly, criticizing yourself, thinking, oh, I should know this 158 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:25,400 by now. Am I supposed to know this by 159 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:27,160 now? Is there something wrong with me 160 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,960 that I don't? I don't magically and 161 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,200 immediately know how to do things when you're able to 162 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,200 remind yourself, look, I'm learning something new. 163 00:10:36,930 --> 00:10:41,810 I haven't done this before. It is safe for me to learn and 164 00:10:41,810 --> 00:10:45,930 in fact it's very important that I create safety to learn because 165 00:10:45,930 --> 00:10:49,690 then I will learn faster. That's the attitude that we're 166 00:10:49,690 --> 00:10:52,650 going for. So process over perfection. 167 00:10:52,890 --> 00:10:56,170 The number two thing that you need when you're learning how to 168 00:10:56,210 --> 00:11:01,010 be a great manager go for bite size learning. 169 00:11:01,570 --> 00:11:07,250 And this is specifically because it can be very difficult to step 170 00:11:07,250 --> 00:11:14,690 out of, you know, the full flow of daily life to attend a long, 171 00:11:14,690 --> 00:11:19,010 you know, like 1/2 day or a multi day training on manager 172 00:11:19,010 --> 00:11:21,930 skills. And I think of that experience 173 00:11:21,930 --> 00:11:26,240 as kind of like binging. Like we lift you up out of your 174 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:31,640 workplace, we drop you into a classroom, you know, workshop 175 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,680 setting maybe with some of your colleagues or some of the other 176 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:38,280 folks that you work with. And then we're going to dump all 177 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,280 this information at you and we're going to just, you know, 178 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,920 it's like you're going to try to binge learn all of these tools 179 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,440 and frameworks and attitudes and practices. 180 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,160 And then we're going to pick you up and drop you back into your 181 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:56,120 work and say OK, go apply that. And the reason I don't like 182 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:01,680 binge learning is because it's often not that effective. 183 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:08,480 We tend to forget most of what is learned in a big multi hour 184 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:14,760 long training and when we are feeling stressed or pressured or 185 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,200 just like we're feeling tense and like we we really have to go 186 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,900 quickly. What you will tend to do is you 187 00:12:21,900 --> 00:12:28,780 will do the most familiar thing. You will do the thing that you 188 00:12:28,780 --> 00:12:34,540 are most practiced at, which is not the new skill. 189 00:12:35,220 --> 00:12:40,540 You just spent three days, you know three days on you will do 190 00:12:40,540 --> 00:12:43,300 the things that you have been doing. 191 00:12:43,580 --> 00:12:48,230 You will not apply that new skill and this is something that 192 00:12:48,230 --> 00:12:54,070 I have experienced both on the student side as well as being on 193 00:12:54,070 --> 00:12:57,270 the trainer side. You know, like when I was doing 194 00:12:57,270 --> 00:13:01,190 these day long trainings, they were so much fun. 195 00:13:01,190 --> 00:13:04,270 People really enjoyed them. They had an amazing time. 196 00:13:04,710 --> 00:13:09,870 But the ability to then take all of that learning from that one 197 00:13:09,870 --> 00:13:16,190 day and apply it consistently and sustainably over time, that 198 00:13:16,190 --> 00:13:19,870 part didn't really happen like it was. 199 00:13:20,070 --> 00:13:22,350 It was really more left to each person. 200 00:13:22,950 --> 00:13:26,590 It wasn't structured in a way that made that easy to do. 201 00:13:27,030 --> 00:13:30,550 And so if you think about instead of bingeing your 202 00:13:30,550 --> 00:13:36,510 learning, think about looking for bite size learnings that you 203 00:13:36,510 --> 00:13:40,510 can lift easily. That's something that doesn't 204 00:13:40,510 --> 00:13:44,670 feel so heavy, but something that you can lift and begin to 205 00:13:44,670 --> 00:13:48,100 apply immediately. Something that you can bring 206 00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:54,660 into the flow of what you're doing to become a little bit 207 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:59,100 more practiced, a little more effective, and to start building 208 00:13:59,100 --> 00:14:02,100 your confidence with small things. 209 00:14:02,740 --> 00:14:07,260 If we try big things too quickly, it's so easy to feel 210 00:14:07,260 --> 00:14:11,340 frustrated and to feel like, oh, it's not working, you know, like 211 00:14:11,340 --> 00:14:13,220 this. This isn't working with my 212 00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:17,710 specific people or in my specific situation and so it 213 00:14:17,710 --> 00:14:22,990 becomes a lot more doable when you start with something small. 214 00:14:23,950 --> 00:14:28,270 Think of it like you know a small step makes a big 215 00:14:28,270 --> 00:14:32,310 difference because you will actually apply them. 216 00:14:32,990 --> 00:14:37,790 Small gets it done. Done is better than perfect. 217 00:14:38,150 --> 00:14:41,310 That is what will actually make a difference. 218 00:14:42,070 --> 00:14:46,420 And remember, it was a just around 10 years ago or so when I 219 00:14:46,420 --> 00:14:49,100 had been promoted to the manager of my team. 220 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:52,740 So we had worked together for many years and then there was an 221 00:14:52,740 --> 00:14:55,620 opportunity to apply to the manager role because somebody 222 00:14:55,620 --> 00:14:58,220 had left. I applied, I got the job. 223 00:14:58,220 --> 00:14:59,620 It was like, Oh my gosh, amazing. 224 00:14:59,620 --> 00:15:01,780 I got promoted. I'm neither now the manager. 225 00:15:02,220 --> 00:15:04,460 And first, there were some interesting relationship 226 00:15:04,460 --> 00:15:08,940 dynamics because I went from being their peer to now being 227 00:15:08,940 --> 00:15:14,580 the manager and having insight about everybody's salary, for 228 00:15:14,580 --> 00:15:20,240 example, and now being in a position of real formal power 229 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,560 over people. So there was all of this 230 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:29,120 relationship dynamic that I hadn't really understood until I 231 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:32,440 was in that role. So that was something that I had 232 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,640 to reckon with. And then the organization that I 233 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,960 was working for, they said, oh, you know, we have this manager 234 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,720 training coming up. It'll be in like 4 months from 235 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,640 now and it'll be you know, on the East Coast and we're going 236 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,000 to send you and like 10 of 10 other people from the company 237 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,920 and you'll all do this training together and it's 3 days and I 238 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,800 was like, OK, but in the meantime, you know, between now 239 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,920 and then I still need to figure out how to do my one on ones, 240 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,040 how to do team meetings. I needed to learn about the 241 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:10,240 formal performance review process, like how does that tool 242 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,440 work and when do I need to do things. 243 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,390 Like there was all this other stuff, you know, that was 244 00:16:15,390 --> 00:16:19,350 happening in the meantime before I got to the training and then 245 00:16:19,350 --> 00:16:22,390 when I went to the training. Number one, it's it is kind of 246 00:16:22,390 --> 00:16:25,790 weird when you're learning with people you work with because 247 00:16:25,790 --> 00:16:29,230 there are relationship dynamics happening there too. 248 00:16:29,310 --> 00:16:32,510 I didn't feel like I could be totally open about the things I 249 00:16:32,510 --> 00:16:37,070 felt confused about or I felt uncertain about because I'm also 250 00:16:37,070 --> 00:16:40,670 trying to, you know, manage my relationship and manage a little 251 00:16:40,670 --> 00:16:43,830 bit of of how I'm presenting to my colleagues. 252 00:16:44,270 --> 00:16:46,310 And so I was a little bit guarded. 253 00:16:46,670 --> 00:16:50,350 And that's just a real thing that happens when we're learning 254 00:16:50,390 --> 00:16:54,230 with people that we know. Sometimes it's much easier to 255 00:16:54,230 --> 00:16:58,430 learn with people that do not know you because you can be so 256 00:16:58,430 --> 00:17:01,150 open about what's actually going on. 257 00:17:01,310 --> 00:17:03,190 The other thing that was interesting is that we were 258 00:17:03,190 --> 00:17:06,480 there for three days and of course in between our sessions 259 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,560 everyone's trying to check their e-mail and catch up to what's 260 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,599 happening at work because it's, you know, it's a, it's a a while 261 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,760 to be away. And then they taught us these 262 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,720 different frameworks and they said, you know, we we know that 263 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,960 you won't remember everything, but it's okay. 264 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,920 We have some materials for you to bring home with you. 265 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,720 And there was this huge binder, this 3 ring binder. 266 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,440 It was so heavy I had to pack it in my luggage and it was so 267 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,600 heavy. And I thought, I am never going 268 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:36,760 to open this binder. I'm going to bring it to my 269 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:38,480 office, I'm going to put it on the shelf. 270 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:43,800 I cannot imagine wanting to consult this binder again, like 271 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,440 that is just not how I learned. And the other thing they gave us 272 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:52,040 was a little wallet card. It was a little card that had a 273 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,640 summary of some of the concepts that they had taught. 274 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:58,520 And I looked at this and I thought, you know, I understand 275 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:03,080 why you're giving this to me. But honestly, I cannot imagine 276 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:07,360 being, you know, at my desk, getting ready for a oneonone and 277 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,880 then thinking, oh wait, let me pull out my wallet card and 278 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,760 remind myself of how to structure this conversation. 279 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:20,200 It it just was not how reality was going to work. 280 00:18:21,060 --> 00:18:24,820 So, you know, when I started coaching and teaching, I thought 281 00:18:24,820 --> 00:18:29,180 I want to do this in a different way because the binge learning 282 00:18:29,660 --> 00:18:35,620 is not so effective, you know. But that's I think very much the 283 00:18:35,660 --> 00:18:39,700 mindset of how learning was happening at the time. 284 00:18:39,700 --> 00:18:44,700 Like it was easier to administer a training where you, you know, 285 00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:48,140 fly 10 people from one company into this, you know, training at 286 00:18:48,140 --> 00:18:52,540 this other location and then everybody just immersive binge 287 00:18:52,540 --> 00:18:55,860 learns and then hopefully when they go back there's enough 288 00:18:56,220 --> 00:18:58,380 learning that gets applied in the moment. 289 00:18:58,700 --> 00:19:00,660 I don't know. I mean I try to have compassion 290 00:19:00,660 --> 00:19:03,940 for it because I've been in the learning and development and 291 00:19:03,940 --> 00:19:07,660 teaching space long enough to know the best of intentions can 292 00:19:07,660 --> 00:19:11,540 still create less than ideal results. 293 00:19:12,060 --> 00:19:17,700 But I am have become a very firm believer in the value of bite 294 00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:22,510 size learning rather than trying to kind of pour all this 295 00:19:22,510 --> 00:19:25,910 information into you and hope that you're able to take it and 296 00:19:25,910 --> 00:19:29,470 apply it all perfectly to all the nuance and unexpected 297 00:19:29,710 --> 00:19:31,710 circumstances that happen along the way. 298 00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:34,670 Instead, let's make it bite size. 299 00:19:35,070 --> 00:19:37,910 You know, when I first started teaching the essential skills 300 00:19:37,910 --> 00:19:43,790 for new managers back in 2017, I envisioned it as a Swiss Army 301 00:19:43,790 --> 00:19:46,430 knife. The class was only 90 minutes 302 00:19:46,430 --> 00:19:51,460 long, and my mindset was if I only talk to you for 90 minutes, 303 00:19:51,460 --> 00:19:53,060 that's the only time we ever get. 304 00:19:53,420 --> 00:19:57,260 I am going to equip you with the equivalent of a Swiss Army 305 00:19:57,260 --> 00:20:00,580 knife. Meaning that it's small, it it's 306 00:20:00,580 --> 00:20:04,380 light, it fits right in your pocket, it's intuitive to use, 307 00:20:04,660 --> 00:20:08,140 it has a lot of different tools, and you'll be able to pull it, 308 00:20:08,340 --> 00:20:11,700 you know, from your pocket into any moment that you that you 309 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:14,340 need it. And you'll be able to start to 310 00:20:14,340 --> 00:20:17,260 integrate some of these teachings right away. 311 00:20:17,580 --> 00:20:21,380 So what initially started as a 90 minute class, Of course it's 312 00:20:21,380 --> 00:20:25,500 now expanded into, you know, a bigger program and this podcast 313 00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:28,060 and all of that. But it really came from this 314 00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:34,780 mindset of we don't need a huge immersive information dump. 315 00:20:35,140 --> 00:20:40,580 What is most effective is what you will use, and what you will 316 00:20:40,580 --> 00:20:44,860 use is something that is bite size, something that is an easy 317 00:20:44,860 --> 00:20:48,920 lift, something that you can really hold in your hands and 318 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,160 use it in your particular work situation. 319 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:57,560 So this is #2, go for bite size learning, remember that small 320 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:02,520 gets it done and you'll also start to build your confidence 321 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:07,800 when you find success in applying small concepts. 322 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:10,600 Bite size concepts. The 3rd. 323 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,760 When you're thinking about how do I become a more effective 324 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,120 manager, I know there are things I need to learn. 325 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:21,880 The third aspect that you need is continuous learning. 326 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:28,320 So remembering that this is not something like you cram for the 327 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,840 night before and you learn it once and you're done. 328 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:35,200 But remembering that the objective is to be learning as 329 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:39,840 you go to think about continuous learning, something that you 330 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:45,890 will continue to actively engage in, and that sense of learning 331 00:21:45,890 --> 00:21:48,770 is never done. It's not like, you know, you 332 00:21:48,770 --> 00:21:52,490 take the test, you get the grade, OK, done like move on. 333 00:21:52,930 --> 00:21:58,770 It really is this curiosity, this mindset of growth and 334 00:21:58,770 --> 00:22:03,290 discovery, because as you go in your career, you're going to 335 00:22:03,290 --> 00:22:08,210 learn so much more about who you are as a person and what type of 336 00:22:08,210 --> 00:22:11,490 leader and manager you are and want to become. 337 00:22:12,050 --> 00:22:15,410 You will be learning things all the time from the people around 338 00:22:15,410 --> 00:22:20,490 you, both from the people whose style of managing and leading 339 00:22:20,650 --> 00:22:25,570 you really admire and and start to learn from that example. 340 00:22:25,970 --> 00:22:29,970 But you will also learn from the people that you see who are just 341 00:22:30,290 --> 00:22:34,010 maybe not doing so great. And you might think, wow, I 342 00:22:34,010 --> 00:22:36,660 can't believe they they did that. 343 00:22:36,660 --> 00:22:41,820 I I would not, I would not want to lead or manage my team in 344 00:22:41,820 --> 00:22:45,540 that way. Like, no, Like, we've got to do 345 00:22:45,540 --> 00:22:46,900 this better. We've got to do this 346 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:49,660 differently. There will also be times when 347 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:53,100 you simply learn from your experience being a human and you 348 00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:56,420 realize, ooh, the way that they're, you know, managing this 349 00:22:56,820 --> 00:22:59,620 that is so, so good. I'm having such a great 350 00:22:59,620 --> 00:23:03,120 experience of being managed in this situation. 351 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,360 I'm going to use some of what I am experiencing and learning and 352 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:11,520 bring that into my team. And honestly that's one of the 353 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,600 things I love the most. Because when you think about 354 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:19,120 learning from your direct experience, then it locates the 355 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:24,560 zone of expertise in you as opposed to in some external 356 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,720 expert. You know, I sometimes have a 357 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,520 little bit of a bias because I remember when I was trying to 358 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,200 understand how to be a better manager, it just seemed like 359 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:39,920 there were some very academic messages that felt so distant 360 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:46,600 from the messy reality of daily work in a changing industry with 361 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,400 all of the personalities that I had to work with. 362 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,400 And it just felt not that applicable. 363 00:23:54,050 --> 00:23:59,650 And some of the most powerful and inspiring leaders that I 364 00:23:59,650 --> 00:24:02,330 have known and that I've had the pleasure to work with. 365 00:24:02,890 --> 00:24:06,410 So much of what I've observed and learned is that the 366 00:24:06,450 --> 00:24:10,490 learning, like the way they were able to learn to do that was so 367 00:24:10,490 --> 00:24:14,810 much through their lived experience and not primarily 368 00:24:14,810 --> 00:24:18,770 through an academic study. So I really like this kind of 369 00:24:19,050 --> 00:24:22,410 organic approach. And I also have this philosophy 370 00:24:22,410 --> 00:24:26,630 of people want to work well together, people want to have a 371 00:24:26,630 --> 00:24:30,870 great experience at work. And we are human, which means 372 00:24:30,870 --> 00:24:34,230 that we have emotions, it means we get tired, it means we have 373 00:24:34,230 --> 00:24:37,070 different priorities and different things that motivate 374 00:24:37,070 --> 00:24:38,990 us. So the more that we can stay 375 00:24:38,990 --> 00:24:43,990 curious and be interested in continuous learning, then it 376 00:24:43,990 --> 00:24:46,830 starts to relieve the sense of pressure. 377 00:24:47,230 --> 00:24:52,110 It starts to make learning and leading something that's more 378 00:24:52,110 --> 00:24:57,020 like, you know, it's engaging and it's fun and we're always 379 00:24:57,140 --> 00:25:01,860 finding ways of getting better and it just feels like less 380 00:25:01,860 --> 00:25:06,700 pressure, more momentum, more confidence, and you start to see 381 00:25:06,700 --> 00:25:09,900 your progress. That's also what becomes more 382 00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:13,140 sustainable. And I think sustainability wins 383 00:25:13,140 --> 00:25:15,980 at the end of the day, because if you're trying to learn in a 384 00:25:15,980 --> 00:25:20,550 way that isn't connected to sustainability, you're not 385 00:25:20,550 --> 00:25:24,630 learning in a sustainable way, you're not applying what you're 386 00:25:24,630 --> 00:25:27,830 learning in a sustainable way, then what is the point? 387 00:25:28,230 --> 00:25:30,830 Like, why? Why learn if you're not going to 388 00:25:30,830 --> 00:25:35,950 be able to apply it? Or why you know? 389 00:25:35,950 --> 00:25:38,830 Like if if you're not able to really take it in and make it 390 00:25:38,830 --> 00:25:43,870 yours and make it work for who you are and the circumstances 391 00:25:43,870 --> 00:25:46,950 and the work situation and the personalities that you're with, 392 00:25:47,590 --> 00:25:51,490 then you know is it Like how valuable is that learning if 393 00:25:51,490 --> 00:25:54,250 you're not making good use of it. 394 00:25:54,810 --> 00:25:59,170 So these three things you know when you realize okay, So I'm 395 00:25:59,170 --> 00:26:02,290 now a manager and there are going to be some things for me 396 00:26:02,290 --> 00:26:06,450 to learn, some skills to develop, but also some mindset 397 00:26:06,490 --> 00:26:08,290 to shift. There's going to be a lot of 398 00:26:08,290 --> 00:26:10,210 learning as I step into this role. 399 00:26:10,890 --> 00:26:16,250 Three things that will help you safety to learn bite size 400 00:26:16,250 --> 00:26:20,230 learning and continuous learning. 401 00:26:20,950 --> 00:26:25,550 And once you tap into that and see and understand that you'll 402 00:26:25,550 --> 00:26:30,150 then have less stress, less anxiety and pressure. 403 00:26:30,470 --> 00:26:35,990 You'll also start noticing these small wins and that is what 404 00:26:35,990 --> 00:26:41,030 builds your sense of confidence and progress and momentum and 405 00:26:41,070 --> 00:26:45,310 that is a good thing. So that is what I wanted to 406 00:26:45,310 --> 00:26:49,200 share with you today. If you want to work with me 407 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,520 one-on-one, go into the show notes, book a consult and let's 408 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,520 talk. If you want to join my group 409 00:26:55,520 --> 00:27:00,480 program, I have the next cohort is starting this week, I think 410 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:03,680 it's starting tomorrow from when this episode will go live. 411 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,120 So there's still time. If you're listening to this on a 412 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:10,440 Monday to join the group program, in the show notes, 413 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,200 you'll find the link to learn more about that. 414 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,720 Otherwise, stay connected, keep listening to the podcast or join 415 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,840 my e-mail list. You'll hear about when the group 416 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,160 is offered next. Have a great one. 417 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:33,880 I will talk to you next time. When you're more effective at 418 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:35,800 work, you're happier in your life. 419 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,240 And when you're happier in your life, you're more effective at 420 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:40,950 work. I can help. 421 00:27:41,150 --> 00:27:45,510 Go to my website, kimnickelcom and sign U for a coaching 422 00:27:45,510 --> 00:27:47,950 consult. It can get better.