As a new manager, what the things you should expect of yourself? Start with these foundational five expectations of a good manager, here. What are the expectations of a good manager? If you’re new in your leadership role, this may be a question you’re contemplating. After all, you can only be as good as what…
Figuring out how to phrase something can be tricky. Lean on these 28 performance review phrases to guide your more nuanced one-on-one conversations. As the year begins to wind down (I know, I can’t believe it’s late October already!), a question I often get asked is: “Are there certain, handy performance review phrases that I…
Finding a mentor won’t save you, as a new manager. But, something else might. “The key to becoming a better leader is to go find a mentor who’ll help you build your career and guide you…” How many Linkedin articles do you think espouse something like that? Too many for my liking. Because, frankly, it’s…
From our 1,000+ managers all over the world in our Watercooler community, here are the 3 most helpful lessons on leadership that I’ve personally learned recently. Lessons on leadership are typically learned the hard way. You make the mistake of hiring the wrong person, you wait too long to let someone go, or don’t give…
Don’t waste your time. Make sure you’re getting the most out of your one-on-one meetings with your direct reports. You’re feeling good: You’ve started to hold regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports. But have you paused to ask yourself, lately, “Am I making the most of them?” The question is worth asking. One-on-one meetings with…
The best employees are the ones who manage themselves. How do you optimize for this? Here are the 4 self-management skills to hire for and develop internally within your team. The best team members you’ve ever worked with likely had one thing in common: Strong self-management skills. As a manager, you don’t want to be…
If you manage other managers, holding skip level one-on-one meetings with their direct reports is paramount. Here’s how to do ’em. If you’re a manager of managers, skip level meetings are your lifeline. I don’t mean to sound bombastic, but if you’re a CEO, executive, or director who manages other managers – then skip level…
As the CFO for Balsamiq, a remote software company whose product is used by 500,000+ companies, Natalie shared her expertise and leadership lessons in our leadership community, The Watercooler. Every few months, we invite one of the 1,000+ managers who are a part of our leadership community, The Watercooler, from all over the world to…
When you start a new job, your goal is to make a good impression. Here are 8 ways to impress your new boss in the first 30 days. If you’re looking to impress your new boss, I may have a few good insights for you. Recently, I was hired at Know Your Team, and –…
A perfect time to give feedback doesn’t exist – but some times are better than others. In deciding when to give feedback to a direct report, consider these 4 things. “When is the right time to give feedback to an employee?” A manager asked me this last week during a workshop I gave at the…