Mon, March 10, 2025

MC93 Knowing When to Move On - our final episode

Yes, this is Tim and Pilar's last episode, so we talk about moving on and the importance of wrapping things up. 

Mon, February 03, 2025

MC92 Manager Mindset: Perfectionism

In this episode, hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about the dangers of being a perfectionist when managing a team, and why it's different to being a perfectionist individual contributor.  (And you'll hear for yourself how neither Tim nor Pilar are perfectionists...)

Mon, January 13, 2025

MC91 Manager Mindset: Loyalty

Hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti have a good chat about the nature of loyalty, who we should be loyal to at work and what happens when we get the balance wrong. 

Mon, December 02, 2024

A quick thank you and we'll be back next year!

Have an excellent start to 2025 - from Tim and Pilar.  www.managementcafepodcast.com  

Mon, November 18, 2024

MC90 Manager Mindset: Pessimism

Who knew that talking about pessimism could be so much fun... even if most of the laughter is self-deprecating. In today's episode, hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about what happens when we let our "inner pessimist" come through.  For more information, visit www.managementcafepodcast.com  

Mon, October 28, 2024

MC89 Manager Mindset: Comparison

The new series on Manager Mindsets starts with a discussion of comparison. Comparison is unavoidable, especially in the age of social media. It can feed difficult and unpleasant emotions like doubt, jealousy and imposter syndrome. Indeed, someone once said “Comparison is the thief of joy”. And if we aren’t careful comparison can even tempt us into mindlessly copying others, which takes us away from our own unique path. But in many aspects comparison can be helpful. It can be wonderfully motivating. It can show us what can be improved and help us understand what we value. It can even expand our concept of what is possible. The challenge for managers is how to have a healthy relationship with comparison and what can we do to combat it’s less helpful manifestations… 02:30 Tim describes how he struggles with comparison, especially the contrast between his own struggles versus the dazzling successes that his peers post online. 3:45 Pilar and Tim share strategies for how they manage comparison and envy. 6:15 It’s important to view other’s achievements in context. We often underestimate the other person’s effort or how their circumstances are different to ours. 8:00 Comparison is somewhat unavoidable and can also be very healthy. 13:15 We should avoid using comparison as in order to mindlessly copy what others are doing? Can we avoid putting ourselves above or below what we’re comparing against? Can we use comparison as a helpful tool for curiosity and learning? 13:50 It can take quite a lot of mental effort to let go of comparison and feel comfortable that your journey is the best pathway for you. 15:00 In the era of social media and LinkedIn, it’s very hard to avoid comparison because it gets pushed at you. 16:40 Comparison can fuel competitiveness. 17:30 If we can detach our judgement from comparison then it can teach us things that we want but don’t have. And it can help us work out if we want to change. 10:00 Pilar shares an excellent story from her theatre days of how comparison without awareness can threaten our individuality. 19:00 As managers, we can really help our team when we see them struggling with comparison. Helping somebody explore why they’re comparing and finding out what’s helpful or unhelpful to them about those comparisons can be huge. 20:45 Tim shares how comparison had positive impacts on his development. There have been individuals, managers and companies that he admired and wanted to emulate. Comparison was helpful in showing a desired end state and also what needed to change in order to get there. 21:45 There can also be a danger of complacency or arrogance when we compare ourselves against others who we think are below our level. 23:45 Our hosts end the episode excited about their next topic for discussion… pessimism! What about you, dear listener? Do you find comparison mostly helpful

Mon, October 14, 2024

MC88 Feedback, Mindset vs Cognitive Tendencies and Long-Covid Awareness

As co-hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti wrap up the Manager Emotions series, they explain why they're moving onto mindset, and how this is different from cognitivie tendencies (and why they might well be mixing the two up!). Plus, some feedback on our episode on Emotional Contagion, and Pilar shares an episode from Workplace Geeks where one of her connections talks about living with long-covid and how this affects her work life. https://www.audiem.io/podcasts/work-life-and-long-covid   Get in touch with Pilar and Tim through the https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/  

Mon, September 30, 2024

MC87 Manager Emotions: Confusion

Our hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about the many times they've been confused, the difficulties in feeling the emotion as individual and manager, and what happens when a team member becomes confused. 

Mon, September 16, 2024

MC86 Manager Emotions: Compassion

For the sixth episode of our series on manager emotions, Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about Compassion.  Good leaders don't just remove obstacles and show their people the way forward. People also need to know that their leaders will support them in the hard times. And importantly, they need leaders to demonstrate compassion when they are in difficulty. This is distinct from sympathy - where the leader might acknowledge someone is suffering but not do anything to help or even really align with their emotions. Empathy is closer - it helps when leaders can demonstrate that they understand and relate to their employee's feelings. But compassion is, in effect, a more active form of empathy. It requires the further step of wanting to reduce the other person's suffering . This can be very nuanced for managers. It does not necessarily require them to solve the problem, support can manifest in many different forms. It might be stepping in and solving the problem. Or coaching the person through it. Or even just offering companionship. Compassion is not just something for managers to demonstrate to others. It's also important to be compassionate to ourselves. The Management Café often talks of the isolation that manager's experience. Our hosts are grateful that their management journey was made easier by the support and care of compassionate people within their teams. 01:30 mins We open with a definition of Compassion from Greater Good : " Compassion literally means 'to suffer together.' Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. Compassion is not the same as empathy or altruism, though the concepts are related. While empathy refers more generally to our ability to take the perspective of and feel the emotions of another person, compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help. Altruism, in turn, is the kind, selfless behaviour often prompted by feelings of compassion, though one can feel compassion without acting on it, and altruism isn’t always motivated by compassion ." 2:30 Sympathy expresses caring for the other person but it also maintains some separation from the person and their emotion. Empathy means we share the other person's emotion. Compassion means we see from the person's perspective but also adds another element, we want to help them. Compassion and sympathy are tied to the other person's suffering or discomfort, whereas empathy is not. 4:00 Compassion is an important attribute for leaders who want to build trust. People want to know that their leader will support and help them during hard times. 5:30 Compassion is not offering solution after solution. It is saying "This is hard. I know

Mon, September 02, 2024

MC85 Manager Emotions: Pride

Welcome to the fifth episode of our series on manager emotions, where hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about Pride.  We want to see good work, both in ourselves as managers and also in the teams that we lead. Pride creates a virtuous cycle that rewards and encourages healthy achievement. Do a good thing -> share this achievement with others -> receive recognition -> feel proud -> do more good things. But pride can be a tricky emotion in the workplace. Excessive displays of pride can turn people off. Pride can also clash with other attributes, most notably humility. Humility is a much valued characteristic which dictates that we don't draw attention to our own achievements. Pride can even become arrogance if we use our achievements to assert superiority over others. And to make it even more complex, we must be conscious that people might misinterpret or devalue our emotions. Many of us have had the jarring experience of expressing pride only to have our accomplishment criticised or be accused of self-importance. How then do we navigate pride at work? As leaders when can we express pride in a safe and helpful way? And how do we encourage this in those we manage? Join Pilar and Tim for coffee in the Management Café... 00:45 mins Pride is the feeling that you've done something good which you want to share with others and receive recognition. It can sometimes be confused with arrogance, but arrogance is about dominance. Arrogance says "I know more" or "I did better" and that makes me superior to you. It's the difference between wanting to share vs wanting to dominate. 1:45 When someone wants to "Blow their own trumpet" are they trying to share beautiful music or blast their horn in our ears? 2:45 Claude AI shared this definition of pride: "Pride is a complex emotion that can be defined as a feeling of deep pleasure, satisfaction, or self-respect derived from one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions, or those of someone with whom one is closely associated. Pride is often accompanied by a sense of accomplishment, confidence, and self-worth." 3:30 Tim used to deflect or downplay on the odd occasion people said something nice to him. But to receive recognition and feel proud... it feels amazing. It is very motivating. So he's tried to become more comfortable accepting compliments. But perhaps you, dear reader, could help him practice by sending a little love to https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/  ? 4:30 Pride is a sharing emotion. And it tells others what we value. 5:30 We can be proud and not share it. There is a difference between feeling proud and expressing our pride to others, they don't have to be done together. And this distinction is especially important in the workplace.

Mon, August 19, 2024

MC84 Emotional Contagion (part of the Manager Emotions season)

For the fourth episode of our series on manager emotions we talk about Emotional Contagion, as it's something that keeps coming up. Emotional Contagion describes how one person's emotions can induce similar emotions in others. This is often happening at an unconscious level, for example, we mimic someone's facial expression and start to feel the same emotion. Managers should be especially mindful of this phenomenon and its potential impacts. When a leader gets angry or happy or sad, everyone around them also feels a bit of that same emotion. Leaders are a focal point of interaction meaning they are more susceptible to emotional contagion than followers. This brings both challenges and opportunities. Whilst emotional contagion often operates at a subconscious level, leaders can take deliberate steps to guide the emotional state of themselves and those around them. 00:20 mins Emotional contagion is an important concept for managers to understand - that your emotions impact those around you and vice versa. 1:20 Tim shares an example (possibly an urban myth): your co-workers become less happy if your partner has a bad boss. Even though the workplaces are separate, the bad boss means your partner is less happy. And this means you are less happy. And this unhappiness spreads to your co-workers. 2:00 As per the example above, the effects of emotional contagion spread beyond the workplace. Tim became conscious of this when running Shield GEO where many of the employees worked from home. What are the emotions and influences that a digital workplace brings into the sanctity of someone's home? 4:00 Pilar references a 2002 study by Sigal G. Barsade of the University of Pennsylvania titled " The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion and Its Influence on Group Behavior ". It talks about emotional contagion as the transfer of emotion between individuals. 5:20 Tim shares an embarrassing story of grumbling about his workplace being negative, only for a co-worker to point out that maybe it was Tim's own negativity that was infecting the workplace! This valuable feedback helped him better understand his role in creating the work environment that he wanted. 6:50 Sometimes emotional contagion happens unconsciously. But other times we can deliberately spread an certain emotion. Going back to the Barsade paper it talks about moods as compared to emotions, making the point that these are easily influenced transient states. Our emotions change with time and different environmental stimuli. 8:45 If we are mindful of emotional contagion when going through challenging events like layoffs, it can change our behaviour. e.g. Perhaps we take steps to reduce anxiety. 9:40 Pilar points out that we don't just influence a group's emo

Mon, August 12, 2024

We've got some feedback! On anger and emotions.

Many thanks to Catherine Nicholson from Virtual Training Team for sharing her thoughts on emotions at work and anger, after listening to the first episode of the manager emotions series.  We share her comments directly from her LinkedIn posts, and expand on them.  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pilarorti_we-kick-off-our-series-on-management-emotions-activity-7211065541115953152-75df If you have any feedback, we'd love to hear from you! https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   00:30 mins Our hosts discuss the most popular episode of the “manager emotions” series:  episode #81 on Anger . They speculate on why it resonated. 1:45 Pilar shares some great feedback that came in from  Catherine Nicholson  of  Virtual Training Team . She shares that emotional regulation has been a recurring theme in her recent manager workshops. 2:15 Catherine poses the question, is it ok to show frustration at work? And talks about the “delicate connection between having an emotion, recognizing that emotion and then knowing what to do with it.” 3:35 She also talks about the balance between anger and passion. Tim reflects that it took him a long time to understand that sometimes people show frustration when it’s something they care deeply about. 4:30 Tim (badly) paraphrases Stephen M R Covey’s famous quote from  The Speed of Trust  “…we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior…”. 5:15 Pilar points out that it is more acceptable to show passion than anger. Someone once tried (incorrectly) to reframe her anger as passion. 6:15 Pilar also thanks the wonderful  Theresa Sigillito Hollema  for recommending the Management Cafe to the listeners of the  21st Century Work Life podcast . And also a shoutout to Pilar’s mum who enjoyed the episode on anger! What about you, dear listener? Do you have any feedback or thoughts you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch through our Contact Form  https:

Mon, August 05, 2024

MC83 Manager Emotions: Hopelessness

We continue with our Manager Emotions series.  So much of our work culture is about productivity. Traits like productivity, positivity, drive and a strong work ethic are idolised. We are often expected to overcome obstacles through pure hard work or "grit". This doesn't leave much space for hopelessness! Hopelessness is a difficult emotion for us to experience directly or be exposed to. It's a draining, demotivating state that can spread quickly. This is especially difficult for managers who are limited in how, when and where they can safely express their own feelings of despair at work. It's also tough to manage someone who feels hopeless. We should acknowledge people's feelings and be supportive. Within the context of work we can help people shift perspective or even guide them back to a sense of control. But there are limits to what we can do. Managers are not therapists. 01:20 mins We open with a gentle reminder that there are limits to what managers can deal with in a work context, some things are best dealt with by a mental health professional. In this conversation we'll stay within the context of what can be done at work. 2:00 With the help of Claude AI we define hopelessness as " a state of mind characterised by a lack of hope, optimism or belief that one's situation can improve. It is often accompanied by feelings of despair, helplessness, and a sense that the future holds no positive prospects. When experiencing hopelessness, an individual may feel overwhelmed by their circumstances, believing that their efforts to change or improve their situation are futile. This mindset can lead to a loss of motivation, decreased problem-solving abilities, and a general sense of negativity ." 2:45 Even talking about hopelessness causes Tim to tense up and try to wriggle away. It's a very uncomfortable feeling. Pilar reminds us that our "body is a barometer" - bodily sensations can help us understand our emotional state. 3:40 Hopelessness can be pernicious, sneaking up on us and becoming all-consuming. 4:00 So much of our work culture is about doing and being productive. The feeling of hopelessness is not something we're meant to feel at work. It can be discombobulating. And it's a very difficult emotion to express in the workplace. 4:30 Managers in particular are expected to be in control. But hopelessness shows things are out of our control. And what about emotional contagion? Hopelessness is a particularly troubling emotion for a manager to spread to the people they are managing! 6:00 Going back to part of the definition of hopelessness, that a person might believe " their efforts to change or improve their situation are futile ", this can be a real risk in hierarchical organisational structures. Individual contributors and middle managers might not have the power, authorit

Mon, July 08, 2024

MC82 Manager Emotions: Joy

We continue with our Manager Emotions series. Today’s episode is all about joy. We remind ourselves of what it feels like, but we also wonder whether it’s always ok to express it. Join Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti for coffee - or tea!   In our last coffee we talked about how anger can signal that something is wrong. Joy, on the other hand, signals that something is very right and motivates us to celebrate this feeling with those around us. For managers these can be milestone moments where all the hard work and difficulty can be forgotten for a moment of pure positivity and happiness. But joy is not a simple emotion. It carries some risk and can require bravery to be vulnerable. Expressing joy can expose us to hurt if others don't share in our joy. There is also the concept of foreboding joy which limits our experience of joy in the present in order to protect us from disappointments in the future. Lastly, maybe not all joy comes from a good place, for example schadenfreude, the joy that comes from the pain of others. Is that still joy or something else? There are many benefits for managers and their teams that can experience joy at work. Joy is very energising and these celebrations can reinforce when and how the team gets to good outcomes. In fact counter to the notion of foreboding joy, it might be that healthy experience of joy and the resulting memories are better suited to carry people through inevitable hard times and disappointment. 01:00 mins Joy is a very pleasurable emotion, generally more intense and temporary than happiness. Joy motivates us to connect with others and celebrate something wonderful. It brings us a heightened sense of energy, enthusiasm and optimism. 3:00 Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Jesuit priest, said that "It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful." 4:00 Tim wants people to "save a mental record" when they feel joy so they can recreate some of that state in the future. 5:00 Pilar tends to remember bad moments more than joyful moments. And this is a common trait, we are wired to remember things that protect us and warn us. But it's also good to remember good experiences. 5:45 Dr Brené Brown talks about foreboding joy in her audio series " The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connection, and Courage ". We have a fear that just when things are good, they will be snatched away from us. And so we try protect

Mon, June 24, 2024

MC81 Manager Emotions: Anger

This marks the first of our series on manager emotions, where we discuss some of feelings we experience at work. Anger is one of the more complex emotions for a manager to navigate. Anger is about a perceived wrong and our desire to find a resolution. On the one hand, anger can be energising and act as a powerful catalyst for change. It shows us, and others, what is important to us. But when expressed inappropriately anger can be a destructive force. Many people are uncomfortable being exposed to anger and when we show we're angry at work we can run the risk of reduced connection and collaboration. And so much of this is tied to our own experiences and history and interpretations... one person's "slightly frustrated" might be another person's "rage and fury". Being able to express our difficult emotions in productive ways is one of the hallmarks of psychological safety and a high trust work environment. To quote Aristotle: " Anybody can become angry; that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy ." 01:30 mins Definitions of anger and how different authors talk about it. We share definitions of anger from the "Emotion Thesaurus" by Becca Puiglisi & Angela Ackerman , the American Psychological Association and Claude AI. All of which highlight that anger comes from experiencing a perceived wrong or injustice. 3:00 Anger is sometimes a masking emotion disguising someone's true emotional state, for example protecting them from more vulnerable feelings like fear, sadness or shame. Anger can even be a defensive stance - in their book Big Feelings, Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy share a quote from David Kessler that "Anger is pain's bodyguard". 4:50 Anger tells us that there is something we have to pay attention to. It's important to listen to as opposed to being controlled by your anger. 5:30 Many people feel the need to suppress their anger. There can be a lot of judgement about feeling angry or expressing anger. Tim knows people who never express anger, even when he knows that they have experienced injustice. But there are also so many examples of harmful expressions of anger. 6:30 What does anger look and feel like? Some of the ways we can see anger show up in a work context include: irritability, poor listening skills, jumping to conclusions, irrational reactions to inconsequential things, demanding immediate action, impetuosity, taking inappropriate action or risks. And these don't just show we are angry - in many ways they are also affecting how we interact with others.

Mon, June 10, 2024

MC80 Why Do We Procrastinate? (or what is procrastination, anyway?)

Join our hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti. Most of us are familiar with avoiding a task that we should be doing. But is there more to it? On the one hand we worry that procrastination leads us to being totally unproductive. But is being hyper-efficient realistic? Don't we sometimes need to break the cycle of busywork? Procrastination might actually be telling us something important about the task and ourselves. Managers might find themselves rescheduling a difficult conversation or delaying a decision. It can be helpful to dig into the reasons why. Is it a task that we just don't feel like doing? Has the task become boring through constant repetition? Do we need something more (e.g. context, support, perspective, data, etc) before we are ready to tackle it? This is a difficult thing to self-analyse because we are so good at hiding things from ourselves. And this is where managers might be uniquely placed to help their teams. If we become curious when we see someone procrastinating, we might help them understand why they are stuck. And help them make better decisions about what to do next. 00:00 mins Tim is less prone to procrastination as a manager than he was as an individual contributor, mostly because he feels guilty. Similarly Pilar will always prioritise work that someone else is dependent on over work that is "just for her". 2:00 Tim admits that he sometimes procrastinates because he doesn't want to be seen to be too responsive. 3:40 Pilar sometimes schedules a delayed email response so that people don't get used to an immediate answer from her. Tim classifies this as getting your computer to do the procrastination for you! 5:00 Procrastination can also happen when we are starting something but haven't yet gotten into the flow of the task. 5:50 Pilar shares a time when a team-mate's procrastination was just the symptom to a bigger issue. 7:15 The paradox of choice (or decision paralysis) is an issue for Tim, most notably shown via his inability to tackle his inbox. But as a manager much more of the work is happening real time - for example in meetings - which forced him to become more efficient. 10:00 It's harder to procrastinate work that has visible impact, like preparing for a meeting, versus tasks like responding to an email which has a lower "procrastination penalty". 11:00 Pilar wrote a book called " The Remote Workers Guide to Time Management " and it has a whole chapter on procrastination. One of the things she realised in writing the book is that she procrastinates by coming up with more work for herself. And this might be because most of her work now is self-directed. Whereas back in the theatre company when there was one production at a time with many people depending on it

Mon, May 27, 2024

MC79 Context is Everything!

A theme we keep coming back to in the Management Café is the importance of context. In each situation there are many variables that influence what happens. For example the company culture, our manager, our team, the particular task and our own capability. Sometimes we have to accept that the current context is not good one for us and we're not going to perform at our best. This can be hard to reconcile, many of us have an expectation that we can handle all challenges. But this realisation, that the context isn't right for us, also brings opportunity. The opportunity to be patient and understanding of ourselves (or others). The opportunity to change the context. Or the opportunity to save ourselves the wasted effort and pain from trying something that will never succeed in that context. So... how do you identify the context that works for you? And can we make progress even from the situations which don't work? Join hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti for coffee and find out! 00:15 mins In episode #74 Pilar shared a story of how a change of context, in this case working with a different team, improved her performance delivering training. 3:30 Acknowledging that the context isn't right for us can open the door to trying something different. 4:30 Tim had an experience recently with a colleague who decided that the organisational culture wasn't a good match. And so they made the decision to leave. This freed the person, and the organisation, to move forward. Pilar references Laszlo Bock's book "Work Rules" and how he incorporated this into the culture at Google. If someone wasn't performing well, then you could work with them directly but also change the context - maybe a different part of the organisation. Or maybe they were best suited to a different organisation. 6:25 Unfortunately companies and employees can sometimes misrepresent or misinterpret their preferred context during the hiring process. Ideally we'd be aware of what environments work best for us and aim for companies and roles that can accommodate us. 7:45 Things can also be quite different to how they appear on the surface. Pilar talks about a case study of a distributed company with a very flat leadership structure. However this organisation had an unofficial hierarchy and a founder dynamic that meant employees struggled to be heard. 10:00 How to identify the context that works for you? It's a big question, especially early in your career. Tim suggests that even a process of elimination, a trial and error process of identifying what doesn't work, is still good progress. 11:15 This is hard to recognise in the moment. But with hindsight we can make sense of what was or wasn't helpful to us. 12:50 We can save ourselves a lot of pain and wasted effort by understanding what will and won't succeed within our context. Pilar share

Mon, May 13, 2024

MC78 Helping Employees Avoid Burnout from Challenging Tasks

Step into the Management Café with your hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti.  This conversation was inspired by an article Pilar read in Organizational Dynamics : " How managers can help employees navigate tough decisions without burning out by Andrew Molinsky and Laura Noval. They describe a specific type of burnout, that which arises from having to continuously perform challenging tasks. This is different from the burnout that comes from chronic overwork or being under prolonged stress. And it requires different solutions. An employee might have a low overall workload, might be exercising and getting enough sleep and ticking all the boxes for managing "overwork burnout". Yet these if they are required to perform challenging tasks beyond their capacity to cope... they will burn out. So how can we support employees in this situation? The article's authors propose several ways organisations can help employees prepare, carry out and recover from challenging tasks. Managers play a key role in guiding employees through difficult work. Firstly in recognising that a particular task is a "necessary evil" and will take a toll on the person who performs it. Then by acknowledging this impact to the employee and supporting them. This can reduce the emotional burden on the employee and help them avoid burnout. 01:45 mins The article talks about the type of burnout that comes when the employee is required to do things that are particularly challenging. The authors call these tasks "necessary evils". To quote directly from the article " Burnout happens when an employee continuously performs tasks that cause emotional, material or physical harm to another person (also known as ‘necessary evils’). Disciplining others or delivering bad news are examples of necessary evils. It requires an employee to be focused and self-controlled, which at times can cause significant stress and impaired task performance ." 4:20 One of the examples of a "necessary evil" task comes from an employee in a drug recovery programme who is required to remove someone from the programme because they violated the rules. This is a tough decision but, in a way, it is the right thing to do. It's easy to see how performing this task would take it's toll on the employee, particularly if the task must be done regularly or without support. 5:00 Pilar shares a story of someone working at an educational institution where their role requires them to tell students that they need to pay for an additional service. And the students can have a big, emotional reaction. If the employee has to deal with this situation repeatedly, it will lead to burnout. 6:30 With this type of burnout you might not have a large overall volume of work, you might be getting enough sleep and doing all the right t

Mon, May 06, 2024

We'd love your input into our new series on Manager Emotions

A short bonus episode to let you know what's brewing in the Management Café. In about a month, we'll be starting a new series, on manager emotions. In each episode, we'll dive into a specific emotion, discussing what it feels like, its purpose, and how it can help or hinder us as managers. Our recent episode on regret resonated with listeners, and we both enjoyed it very much! It highlighted the importance of discussing emotions as a manager and how they shape our management practices. So we've decided to cover some other feelings and emotions.  Throughout the series, we'll share our own experiences and those shared with us by others. We'll explore not only the manager's experience of each emotion but also their experience of employees who are going through those emotions. When you think about emotional contagion and the impact of being around someone experiencing a particular emotional reaction, you can see how there will be plenty to get our teeth into.  Some of the emotions we plan to cover include: - Overwhelm - Disconnection - Hopelessness - Anger - Confusion - Joy - Compassion We'd love to hear from you, listeners! If you have any stories, thoughts, or insights related to these emotions or any other emotions you think would make for an interesting episode, please share them with us. You can reach out via email at managementcafepodcast[at]gmail.com or through the contact form on our website, managementcafepodcast.com . Additionally, if you come across any books, articles, or resources that you believe would contribute to the series, please let us know.  Look out for the Manager Emotion Series, where we'll take a deeper look at the human side of management and explore how emotions shape our experiences as managers and leaders. Until then, coffee's over for us, now it's over to you! 

Mon, April 29, 2024

MC77 Evaluating Potential in the People We Manage

Our hosts in the Management Café believe that everyone has the potential to be better at something. And for them, as for many of us, helping someone grow is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a manager. Similarly for employees it's a wonderful feeling to have a manager who believes in us, gives us opportunities to improve and offers their support. However it's important for managers to recognise that not everyone wants to get better right now. Perhaps they are finding their self-actualisation outside of work. Perhaps they don't currently have the bandwidth for growth because they have too much going on inside or outside of work. As always context is important. The person needs to be open to growth (Pro Tip - ask them!!). And it helps if the role or organisation provides appropriate opportunities for growth. But even outside their immediate role we can often find meaningful ways to help someone if we take a broad enough view of the person and their goals. 00:30 mins In his book Work Rules , Laszlo Bock talks about acknowledging that sometimes people aren't in the right context to fulfil their potential. And in that situation, the organisation might best help the person by putting them into a different context. That might be working with a different team or role. Or even moving to a job at another company. 3:40 Our hosts believe that everyone has the potential to do better at something . 4:20 Pilar shares her mixed experiences of offering people the chance to take on different roles within her theatre company. Some people were not ready to take on a new opportunity. 5:30 For Tim there is a thrill that comes from watching people get better at something, even if he is only marginally involved. And giving people the opportunity to develop in a role is something that he has, at times, prioritised over the needs of the team or the business. He doesn't regret many of these decisions. 7:10 We might also choose to develop a person because we don't want to have to find someone else to do it. So is it about developing them? Or is it about you? 8:30 One of the ways Tim has rationalised his approach is that even when investing in someone's development has not shown the desired result, there is still some benefit from showing other employees that the company values giving staff the chance to develop. 9:15 Managers can position these as bets or experiments. Tim has had some difficulties with this. As the manager it was easy for him to view it as a bet. But for the person taking the opportunity it was difficult to manage their expectations. 11:00 Pilar views this as a great attitude of a learning culture. Managers will give people opportunities even when the outcome is uncertain. People are willing to go out of their comfort zone to try some

Mon, April 15, 2024

MC76 Manager regrets: how situations changed us and what it means to us now.

Several times recently in the Management Café our hosts have talked about regrets. Those formative management experiences where they look back and wish they had acted differently. Making mistakes is part of our learning journey but some situations weigh on us more than others. Revisiting them can bring a range of challenging emotions like regret, guilt and shame. Regret is an uncomfortable feeling, it's something we avoid. The discomfort can be heightened for managers who have a duty of care over their team and the extra weight that comes with an official title and position within the hierarchy. Yet we can't just ignore it and move on. Regret carries valuable knowledge. It helps us understand what truly matters to us. It makes us aware of what behaviours need to change to in order to match our values. And it doesn't want to let go until we've acknowledged the lesson. This can be a slow and painful but very worthwhile process. Pilar and Tim share a few of their (many) regrets as managers and talk how these experiences changed them. For our hosts this conversation is, in the words of Hector Santiesteban , restorative and therapeutic. SHOW NOTES 00:30 mins In episode #74 "Leading in the Flow of Work ", Pilar and Tim each talked about how they previously tried to live a life without regrets. But with age and more experiences this changed. Inevitably there are lots of regrets. 2:20 Regret can be a very helpful emotion for managers. It tells us that our actions in a particular situation weren't in line with our values. And it is important that in the future we handle these situations differently. Regret is a guide for our behaviour. When a situation comes up again we can be reminded of our regret. This helps us make better decisions in the moment. 4:15 Regret is uncomfortable but knowing that we can learn from bad experiences can make them a little more bearable. Regret wants us to understand why we feel bad about our actions and to try behaving differently in the future. 5:15 We experience regret because we care about what happened. If we pay attention to our regret and explore why we cared so much about a particular situation, it helps us better understand our values and how we want to live. 6:30 Tim used to tell himself that he'd never regret something if he felt he'd made a good decision based on what he knew then. But he came to realise that a lack of knowledge or awareness didn't necessarily excuse his actions and decisions. He'd still experience regret. 7:15 If we reject our regrets and hide behind phrases like "it's just business" then we are denying our

Mon, March 25, 2024

MC75 Why Does Management Have a Bad Name?

Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   Let's face it, management has a mixed reputation. It seems like everyone has a story to tell about their manager doing something poorly. But when we break it down, often times it's that we've had a bad experience with a manager. That person might actually be an ok manager overall or even a good manager. But in this instance they did something wrong. Something we keep coming back to in the Management Café is how managers' mistakes impact the humans they manage. And these impacts are not trivial. People's jobs are important to them. They are linked to financial security, to their plans for the future, to their sense of self-worth and wellbeing. Bad experiences and bad managers can affect the employees for a long time afterwards. There are many reasons why managers make mistakes. Some people just aren't suited to the job. Some aren't a good fit for a particular company or team or individual or situation. Some are still learning. It might not even be in the manager's control - for example bad behaviour might originate from someone more senior or the organisation itself. And of course managers are fallible just like everyone else. Sometimes they just mess up.  Most confusing of all is that these conditions are fluid. And it is about perception. A good manager for employee A might be a bad manager for employee B. The manager might think they did the right thing and their superiors or peers or team members might agree. But the affected employee can still disagree. Any they might all be right! As always, it's a tough job being a manager... SHOW NOTES 00:00 mins Content warning! Talking about bad management can be triggering. 00:30 Pilar talks about her father, a senior engineer who did not like management. 2:00 People often grumble about management in general, but in reality they are talking about bad managers. There is a big difference. 3:40 It might take just one mistake for an average manager to be viewed as a bad manager. And once they are perceived as a bad manager it can be difficult to shift. 6:00 Nobody comes into management fully formed. We learn as we go and we make mistakes - many of which have an impact on the people we manage. So a person who is learning and growing as a manager will feel regret and guilt. This is not given enough importance by organisations. It's a difficult job and managers should be better supported. 7:20 Some managers take a defensive stance to protect themselves against the human impact of their actions. The phrase "It's not personal, it's just business" comes to mind... 8:15 Context is so important. If we want someone to do their best work, the environment and fit need to be right. This will be different for different people. And it can change with the

Mon, March 11, 2024

MC74 Article Analysis: Learning in the Flow of Work

Tim and Pilar discuss an article featured in the Jan/Feb 2024 edition of the Harvard Business Review: " Leading in the Flow of Work " by Hitendra Wadhwa, Founder of the Mentora Institute. Hitendra posits that "rather than (being) a trait to be acquired, leadership is a state to be activated" through preparation, self awareness and reflection. By managing our internal state and matching our actions to the context, we will function better and more authentically as leaders. The article especially focusses on conversations and how leaders can get better outcomes by making conscious choices about what to do. It's an attractive premise, to be able to skilfully navigate the challenges of fluid interactions by pausing and then choosing, in the moment, an appropriate action for the situation. This model lists five core energies: Purpose (committed to a noble cause), Wisdom (calm and receptive to the truth), Growth (curious and open to learning), Love (connected with those you work with and serve) and Self-realisation (centered in a joyful spirit). This is supported by 25 actions which help activate these core energies. For our hosts this discussion is bittersweet. There is excitement at the prospect of making better decisions during important interactions. And there is also regret that our past selves didn't have the advantage of our current knowledge. Ironically of course it is that same regret which makes us the older and wiser person we are today... 0:30 mins Pilar appreciated several examples from the article of someone turning a potential confrontation into a better situation via the person shifting their approach. 2:30 Tim had previously associated flow states with sports - quite a different interpretation which is about acting without conscious thought or decision, just using instinct and muscle memory. But within the context of the article the flow state is where we are "calmly aware of our inner and outer conditions and able to adapt our behaviour as needed". Pilar describes this as a split personality between being present and reviewing what's going on. And being able to shift behaviour based on this conscious awareness. 5:25 We can all relate to the feeling of something not going the way we expected. When we unpack it afterwards we gain new insight and realise we should have acted differently. Alas, the moment has passed. Certainly both our hosts have experienced this many times! 6:25 The article shares a compelling example, from Jonathan Aitken's biography of Margaret Thatcher , about a pivotal meeting between Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev. At a crucial point Gorbachev was able to change his approach and in the process, change the course of history. He remi

Mon, February 26, 2024

MC73 GenAI: Friend or Foe?

In 2024 Generative AI is still an a rapidly emerging technology. We know it's going to impact lots of jobs and work behaviour. But it's not yet apparent how that impact will be felt. There is a big difference between ChatGPT helping you with a task (e.g. summarising your notes or drafting a communication) vs using it to entirely perform the task (e.g. using AI generated output without editing). Managers need to be mindful of how they are using AI, especially as it is increasingly embedded in digital workplace communication tools. Transparency is also key - people should know why something might sound a little different than your normal style. Ultimately with a technology as prevalent and seductive as Gen AI, it's critical that we use it as an aid. We must not lose ourselves or our human connection to those we manage and work with. Show notes: 02:00 mins Our ability to experiment with new technology is much influenced by our context. Freelancers or those with lots of autonomy have an easier time experimenting with new tech. But those working in large, heavily controlled environments might have to wait a lot longer before they get to play. 3:45 AI is also showing up in software tools for example Helpscout bought an AI company to automatically draft replies to inbound support requests. 4:25 Kona have created an AI powered management coach in Slack . Tim is very uneasy about this - he feels that an authentic response, even if it isn't perfect, is still better than a "best practice" response. But Pilar rightly points out that some managers will just google "five tips for how to..." and then follow that advice. Is AI any worse? 6:15 AI can be even easier to ask than a human, e.g. if you had an external support network like we discussed in #65 . AI is always available and quite forgiving. You don't even have to say please or thank you. Pilar has had to guard against becoming lazy because of the help she can get from ChatGPT. 8:10 Tim takes a "get off my lawn" approach that hard things, like writing a performance review, should be hard. Struggling through them makes you better at them and that experience is valuable. He also worries about the message it sends to your employees if they received a performance review written by ChatGPT. 10:00 Pilar outlines a different scenario where someone who has all the skills of a great manager but struggles to produce a well structured written summary. ChatGPT can help that manager draft the document. If the manager should be transparent with the employee that ChatGPT was used in creating the summary, the result can be a good one. After all back in the

Mon, February 12, 2024

MC72 The Emoji Manager

Following on from coffee #71 about the impact of technology on our leadership practice, Pilar and Tim talk about emoji as a communications tool for managers. Tiny and ubiquitous, it's easy to underestimate their importance. But when used skilfully, emoji give us a visual language that can provide faster and more concise communication. Within the context of our teams and companies this communal language and interpretation can be another way for us to bond. Unfortunately when used without context, emoji can struggle to overcome ambiguity. Some reactions, like anger, can be jarring when delivered via a tiny cartoon. And in a world of "likes", the absence of an emoji can be felt as much as it's presence. "Did nobody read my message?" "Why did she like their post but not my post?" "They posted a slightly smiling face but why didn't they post the crying tears of laughter smiley face ..." 01:00 mins Our hosts start with the question of whether to "thumbs up" or not "thumbs up". 02:00 Tim is very pro-emoji. 2:50 Pilar rarely uses the thumbs up, her favourite emoji is the thinker. 3:00 With the ease and popularity of quick reactions via emoji it can be addictive to "post for the likes". This can diminish communication if the primary aim is to get approval. This was covered by Basecamp on the Rework podcast " Please Don't Like This " and " Update: Please Don't Like This ". 4:30 Pilar points out that because emoji are inherently playful it's not given the attention it deserves. And for Tim this is true, he primarily uses emoji in a light-hearted way. 5:50 Pilar shares an example of the dissonance which comes from using cartoons to express something serious. 6:45 Emoji are a very important tool that isn't given enough importance. 8:30 Pilar changes her position - Tim wishes he could give this a thumbs up in the café. 9:40 Mindless use of emoji is a problem but when used with intention they can help managers find new, nuanced ways to express themselves. 10:30 Emoji are, in each workplace, a language that is co-created. The person sending the emoji needs

Mon, January 29, 2024

MC71 The influence of technology on management practices

We hear a lot about tech. Tech disrupts businesses and creates unicorns. Tech changes workplaces and creates new ways to interact. But what about the impact of technology on our management practices? Our hosts talk about the difficulties that come if we allow technology to dictate how we manage. And the unintended consequences if we don't align our technology tools with the problems we are experiencing. 00:30 mins Tim still writes everything into notebooks that he carries around and claims he is a "grumpy old man" with regard to technology - which is somewhat ironic given his previous company couldn't have existed without modern tech. 01:00 Pilar also prefers writing over typing but she uses a Remarkable tablet which makes it easier to share with others. 3:00 Over the last 15 years Tim has made the shift from early adopter to laggard. 5:30 It can be tempting to introduce technology "for technology's sake", using an application because it's popular or easy to implement. But if it's not solving a problem - what is the purpose? For example, several times Tim tried and failed to introduce Slack at his previous company. It only succeeded once the team had grown and the volume of internal emails became unsustainable. The moral is to not adopt something without first being clear on what problem you're trying to solve. 7:15 It's particularly important to remember as team leaders that a new piece of tech might solve a problem for us, but if it isn't also improving things for our team... adoption is going to be difficult. 8:20 Tim shares why some of the internal tools at Shield GEO were popular with staff even though the systems were ugly and clunky (hi Salesforce !). 9:00 Similarly technology, especially software, needs to be adapted to the needs of your team and the problem you're trying to solve. 10:20 Pilar gets us back on track by posing the question, "Did introducing technology change the way we managed people?" 11:15 Going back to Tim's memories of using Salesforce at Shield GEO, he talks about trying to drive behaviour in his team through using some default statistical reports. And finding unintended consequences, it drove the opposite behaviour to what was intended. 14:30 Slack changed how Tim managed his direct re

Mon, January 15, 2024

MC70 Self-Leadership is the Foundation of Management with special guest Morgan Legge

The wonderful Morgan Legge , founder of Pivot Your Work and Head of Organizational Change at Convert.com , joins the Management Cafe! Morgan, Pilar and Tim met through online communities and podcasting, a great example of what we discussed in #65 "Building a network outside your organisation" . You might need 2 coffees for this wide ranging conversation covering Morgan's path to her leadership style, self-leadership, holacracy, how managers can protect their team against a toxic company culture, small changes managers can make that kickstart a broader change and how to take feedback well. 01:25 mins Morgan, Pilar and Tim share how they all met. Unsurprisingly online communities and podcasts all played a part! 6:15 Morgan recommends an interesting addition to the Management Cafe menu: the London Fog . 7:10 We learn more about Morgan's current role as Head of Organizational Change at Convert.com 8:35 Back in episode #60 we discussed whether leaders are born or made ? Morgan says leadership is in her DNA. She's particularly drawn to coaching and leadership as a servant to teams. And her style of leadership has been influenced by her experiences being micromanaged and being a leader when she wasn't a manager. 9:55 Morgan implemented self-management at Convert.com and learnt that even if leadership isn't in someone's DNA they can learn to lead. 10:50 Tim says that we need to lead in ways that feel comfortable and authentic to us. And it can take time to develop that style. 11:30 It was pivotal for Morgan to establish boundaries on what she would and would not accept in a work environment. 12:30 For Morgan, leadership starts with self-leadership. This ties in well to Holacracy , an organizational model of decentralised management which empowers the people closest to the work to make decisions about that work. But self-management delivers great outcomes no matter what kind of management structure you are in. 16:30 Leadership skill development can be extended futher "down the chain" in organisations to help foster self-leadership. 17:00 Tim has some scars from organisations that weaponised the concept of self leadership. And seen people diminished by their experiences of being managed. To encourage self leadership the company must provide a suitable level of safety and opportunity. 19:15 Mid-level managers can create and su

Wed, December 27, 2023

We'll be back on 8 January 2024! Happy New Year!

Mon, December 11, 2023

MC69 Transparency in management: Balancing openness and discretion

Managers sit at the crux of organisational transparency and discretion. They need their employees and organisations to share information with them and are regularly deciding what to pass on and what to keep confidential. It's a tough balance. People need the right information to feel secure and do their job, but too much information can be overwhelming. Context and alignment are essential. Ideally managers want a match between their own desired level of transparency and their company's overall appetite for openness. Having these out of sync can be a recipe for disaster. This episode is packed with anecdotes from our hosts on the good, bad and ugly of transparency in management. 00:30 mins The values of transparency within an organisation influence how we operate in terms of our openness and discretion. And managers especially need to be aware of, and stay in sync with, those organisational norms and expectations. 2:30 Openness and honesty are important elements of trust. But discretion is also an important part of the manager's toolkit. Tim shares an example of how his application of discretion changed during his time as a manager. 4:40 It's important to be explicit about confidentiality. Both the person disclosing and the person receiving information should be aware of whether they want something kept confidential, and whether it can be kept that way. Observing confidentiality is a key part of the psychological contract between employee and manager. Managers should ensure their behaviour is clear and consistent so that their employees feel secure when disclosing information to them. 7:50 It can get tricky when deciding how much of our personal opinions we should share. For example, if we disagree with an organisational decision, is it right to share that with our team? As always, it depends. 9:00 In her book Powerful , Patty McCord said "People can hear almost anything if it's true". In this quote she was primarily referring to feedback, but she built a notably open culture at Netflix. 9:50 If people think we are hiding more information than we need to, it creates a culture of secrecy. This lack of openness can lead to "How could this have happened here?" type scandals. 10:30 Tim talks about a recent time he chose not to share important context with an employee. Pilar points out that our desire to protect our employees from suffering will sometimes cause them greater suffering. 12:50 One of the big problems with withholding information is that people's imagination will almost always create a scenario that is worse than the reality. For example

Mon, November 27, 2023

MC68 Generational differences in the workplace

This week our hosts (both Gen X) dig into the differences between different generations of workers. There have been endless articles and presentations on topics like "How to work with Millennials". But for Pilar and Tim there are inherent dangers in assigning behaviours to an entire group of people based on the year they were born. Whilst being the same age should mean we share some collective experiences, this doesn't always translate across other factors like geographical location, culture and our personal journey. But whether the differences come through age or stage of life or just life experience, there are benefits in bringing a mix of generations together in our workplaces. 00:10 mins Pilar and Tim discuss their dynamic of "peacemaker vs the cranky old man". And we learn about one of Tim's special skills. 2:00 Both our hosts are dubious about classifications that say that one huge group of people all operate in the same way. As always there are going to be exceptions and it is not enough to group people by age. Life experience, mindset and motivation can still be very different. 3:40 There is a distinction between shared experience and behaviour. e.g. growing up after the internet was a different experience to growing up before the internet. But Tim doesn't like translating this through to behaviour e.g. it isn't fair or true to say "Gen Z aren't motivated to work hard". 5:00 Cultural norms are an important factor. Some behaviours were acceptable for people growing up 40 years ago. But they aren't acceptable for kids growing up now. 6:00 The introduction of technology is interesting, for example Generation X grew up with landlines and then experienced mobile phones, internet and social media. That's a very different landscape to where they started. 7:20 Tim points out that while the pace of technology has increased, his grandparents generation still experienced a big technological shift when electricity was introduced into their lives. 8:10 Whilst the technology landscape and cultural norms might evolve, do people's fundamental desires really change that much? How much of a factor does opportunity play? Tim uses the example of his grandfather's loyalty to his employer and how much of that was because of his limited access to alternative jobs or careers. And whilst newer generations of employees might be seen to be less loyal, mass layoffs weren't as big a factor for the "loyal generations". 9:45 The demand for remote knowledge work might have been strong 50 years ago but the opportunity to work remotely wasn't there yet. 10:20 Tim suggests some of the supposed differences are driven by the jealousy of older generations towards the increased opportunities available to younger generations. Pilar of course sees the other side - perhaps older generations can't understand some behaviours because they

Mon, November 13, 2023

MC67 The Dynamics of Group Conversations

Pilar and Tim are back having a conversation about conversations. Following on from #66 which covered 1:1 conversations , in this episode they dive into group discussions. Facilitating a group adds another layer of complexity - for example giving more time to one person means less time for everyone else. And people behave differently in group conversations. There are more people to be mindful of, more rapport to build, more status to be won and lost. And for managers it is a challenge. There is lots going on within the group dynamic - and in our own minds. We have to be aware of our own habits and those of our people, and even reassess our idea of the many forms worthwhile contributions and engagement can look like in a group. 00:10 mins Through her career in facilitation and leading groups Pilar has learnt that some people need time or a few attempts to get their point across. These people are hard to manage in a group conversation because if you want them to contribute to the conversation you have to make enough space for them. 4:00 Pilar suggests talking with them separately before the group conversation. If you understand what they want to communicate then you can use that in the larger discussion. For example, you can gently bring them to their point or help them by paraphrasing their thoughts. Sometimes when people don't feel understood they keep trying different ways to get their point across. Which can take time! 5:45 Tim proposes bringing them later into the discussion, after some of their points have already been covered, so they don't need to say as much. This can be a win-win if you get them to buy into this plan. By letting others contribute early on, engagement will increase throughout the discussion. And so if your "long talkers" are able to wait, their later contribution will have a greater impact because everyone is more engaged in what they are saying. 7:45 As someone who has orchestrated a lot of large group discussions online, Pilar has seen the good and bad of breakout rooms. One benefit is conversations can happen in parallel. Splitting the group for part of the time can be a useful in-person tool too. 9:00 Tim confesses that he gets a thrill out of being the lead in a big group discussion. Breakout rooms mean a smaller audience! Pilar reassures him that it's ok to enjoy that spotlight. As leaders we need to meet some of our own needs as well as the needs of our team. And we can still get joy from aspects like setting direction, bringing people back together and summarising for the group. 11:45 In-person meetings have logistical challenges to breakout discussions. It can be hard enough to book one meeting space for the time you need, let alone if you want to include several breakout s

Mon, October 30, 2023

MC66 Managing the dynamics of individual conversations

Pilar and Tim have a meta conversation about conversations . Participating in a good conversation means we listen, we get to talk, we feel heard, we deepen our understanding of a topic and we build connection with the other person. However not all conversations are created equal. Sometimes we are in a glorious free flowing exchange of ideas and other times we have internal dialogues about the conversation running parallel with the conversation itself. "Am I talking too much?" or "Are they talking enough?" or "Is this conversation going the way I/they wanted it to?" or even "Are they paying attention?" Paying attention is important, let's not get too caught up in our meta thoughts that we forget to be present and attentive! As you can see, there is a lot going on. Luckily the Management Cafe is a safe space for deep thinking and discussion... 01:50 mins Managers should be paying attention to how things are flowing and they should avoid dominating conversations. 3:45 Managers also need to be wary of dominating conversations. Especially because their direct reports might be deferential to them. 4:40 Pilar suggests that the person who initiates or leads the conversation is normally the one who pays closest attention to the dynamics. Tim agrees, but feels managers always have an additional responsibility to role model and encourage good communication. Not just so their own conversations go well, but also so that good behaviours ripple out through their teams. 7:25 Dominating a conversation doesn't necessarily involve talking a lot. And someone might talk a lot without wanting to dominate. 8:15 People also have their own habits and patterns they bring with them. For example, Tim has a tendency to "think out loud" and lose track of the conversation as he gets excited. 9:30 Conversations, regardless of what we are talking about, are always an opportunity to build relationships. 10:30 Tim shares how he used to shut down one of his direct reports who had lots of opinions. But over time he realised he valued their independent thinking and shutting them down was also limiting their contribution. 12:00 Pilar relates to this especially from her past as a theatre director. A director can't listen to everyone - the whole piece needs coherence. 13:15 This is a common tension: we want people to be engaged and interested but within reason. As managers we can carefully establish boundaries so people understand that whilst we value them and their opinion, it isn't the right time for their input just now. 15:00 Managers can set "rules of collaboration" so their teams understand the norms of behaviour. And this is the sort of meta stuff we're thinking about in conversations. Are the individuals and

Mon, October 16, 2023

MC65 Building a Network Outside Your Organisation

As managers we will normally have a peer network within our company. But occasionally we might experience problems that our in-house peer network can't help us with. For example, when the issue is with those same colleagues or our organisation itself. At times like this an external professional network can be invaluable. In this conversation Pilar and Tim primarily talk about networks which can provide different forms of support such as showing a different perspective, learning from someone with more or different experience, getting greater clarity in your own thoughts through talking them out, or even just solidarity from someone who's suffered in a similar way. No surprise that our hosts, who have never met in person, have both had success in building relationships and networks online. Over coffee they share some of the techniques that have worked for them to expand and sustain their professional networks. 00:30 mins Pilar calls back to our conversation about men's mental health at work to highlight that building a network outside your organisation can be a valuable strategy when you're struggling to be yourself at work. 1:25 Tim shares how external support network helped him when he was struggling and feeling isolated. These mutually beneficial relationships are much more positive and rewarding than his first conceptions of business networks - like "old boys networks" as a back channel for getting a job. 3:00 Pilar used to do a lot of networking to get work, but she approached it as reaching out to people she enjoyed talking to. She has found this led to relationships that were long-lasting and much more fun. 4:30 Things changed for Tim when he realised that he enjoyed being helpful. This brought him into contact with a lot more people, some of whom became a network. 5:30 Networking will mean different things to us at different points in our career and our lives. The key for Pilar and one of her strengths is how to sustain those relationships. 7:00 She shares some of the ways she has built networks and communities like the Virtual Team Talk Slack Group and a new writing community she is building. 9:00 Tim has been lucky in joining existing communities where his "being helpful" approach helped him integrate. He prefers this to transactional networking, where you are aiming for a particular outcome. 11:10 It is so helpful for managers to be able to talk freely with other people who have had similar experiences. Getting different perspectives and insights or even just solidarity is an enormous advantage when you are stuck, or caught up in your own thoughts and emotions. Tim references the <a href= "https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leader

Mon, October 02, 2023

MC64 Men's Mental Health at Work

Our hosts discuss the recent research by Jindi Mann into men's emotional experiences at work. It is easily downloaded as a pdf and it's freely available - no email signup or any hoops to jump through. They surveyed 55 male managers, primarily British and working in a mid to senior management role. The results show a surprisingly broad range of responses. Over coffee Pilar and Tim explore what it means to be a male manager. A big theme that emerges is that whilst 21st century corporate leadership has been dominated by men, men feel limited in how much of themselves they can bring to work. Show notes:  00:30 mins Pilar shares how she came into contact with Jindi and his men's circles through her Facilitation Stories podcast (you can listen to Jindi and Pilar's conversation about facilitating dialogue spaces in episode 58 ) 4:45 The first section of the report (page 6) shows the emotions that men feel most often at work: frustration 33%, anxiety 24%, anticipation 22%, fear 22%, joy 20%, trust 16% and anger 13%. Tim is surprised how many of these are emotions he'd prefer to not experience at work (with a quick shoutout to Jeremy Dean 's Emotional Culture Deck .). Pilar as always tries to see the bright side, but even she is worried after seeing the full range of responses as a word cloud (page 7). 7:45 Tim struggles to understand the irony that our workplaces have been so dominated by men, particularly at the most senior levels, and yet this same work environment creates so much unhappiness for male managers. 8:50 Many work cultures have become warmer and more inclusive but there is still a lot of room for improvement. 9:30 The second section talks about what men would like to be able to talk about at work: mental health, stress, insecurity and their personal life. Pilar and Tim speculate on whether these responses would be different with women. It's interesting to note how men want something quite different to the alpha male stereotype. 14:10 It feels like progress just for men to be sharing their emotional needs. Tim jumps down to section 6 which talks about what vulnerability means to men. The results are so polarising: Some men view vulnerability as strength and courage, whereas others see it as weakness and shame. What a cognitive dissonance it must create for this latter group when modern leadership practice encourages leaders to be vulnerable! 17:10 We've been rightly focussed on gender equality in the workplac

Mon, September 18, 2023

MC63 Are Our Brains Wired for Modern Leadership?

Pilar and Tim discuss the fascinating article 3 Ways Our Brains Undermine Our Ability to Be a Good Leader by Cian McEnroe and David Rock at the Neuroleadership Institute. David's book " Your Brain at Work " was one of the first to bring brain science into leadership. In this latest research they argue that our basic brain behaviour can get in the way of our work as leaders. They go even further to suggest that the experience of leading can evolve our brains in ways that make it even harder to be a great leader. This leads our hosts into a far reaching conversation debating big questions: Is leadership a natural human trait? Is modern leadership a different challenge to the leadership we have evolved for? Does climbing the leadership ladder diminish our capacity for empathy and connection? We dive into some statistics. And as a rare bonus, we have a disagreement between our co-hosts! Show notes: 00:00 mins We open by discussing whether modern organisations and work practices have created new challenges for leadership. 2:00 The article says leaders often fail at three core areas: focusing on the future, being good with people and driving realistic results. 5:00 Tim struggles with the premise that we aren't wired for leadership. He thinks leadership is a default behaviour for humans. 6:00 Pilar views it differently - not everyone is wired for leadership and the way we lead now is a bit different to what we are wired for. Maybe our biological disposition is towards a more collective and collaborative form of leadership. 8:20 According to the authors 60% of new managers fail within the first 24 months. This is a staggering statistic! 10:50 As people become more powerful they also become more optimistic. This can lead to inflated expectations and setting unrealistic targets. Which creates a disconnect between the leaders and individuals who do the heavy lifting. Pilar sees a direct link between this phenomenon and the failure rates in "top down" change initiatives. Those at the top are seeing the world differently. But it's important for leaders to stay connected to those who are doing work at the ground level. 11:40 Our brains view power as a reward, so we get a positive reinforcement from becoming more powerful. Which explains why those who want to climb the ladder can prioritise acquiring power at the expense of performing their actual job. 14:00 We see plenty of examples of this power/reality disconnect in tech companies like Basecamp . 16:45 People often get promoted into leadership positions bec

Mon, September 04, 2023

MC62 Getting the most out of one on ones as a manager

Action-centred leadership asks managers to juggle three priorities: the team, the task and the individual. and in this conversation Pilar and Tim discuss one-on-one meetings, one of the best tools that managers have to work on their relationship with an individual employee. Over coffee we talk about the nuances of this style of meeting and the myriad ways managers can benefit from them. Spoiler alert: Tim is a huge fan of one-on-one meetings. Today's shows are full of links, and one or two analogies! 00:00 mins We open with Tim sharing that he's only ever had one-on-ones as the manager, never the employee. 2:30 According to the Fellow.app guide to one-on-ones you should factor in the frequency of your current work communication when setting the pattern of your one-on-ones. 3:45 Employees benefit from getting their manager's undivided attention. It feels good! 5:30 One-on-ones are particularly important for relationship building in a remote work environment, where a manager and their direct report are unlikely to "bump into" each other. 9:00 Managers can get lots of benefits from one-on-ones. It's a great place for coaching. And also for managers to dust off their technical knowledge and share it. 11:00 Tim enjoyed using one-on-ones to practice things he found challenging. Which leads to Tim sharing his "work is like a video game" analogy. 14:10 Pilar quotes from Redesigning Work by Linda Gratton where Tata Consulting found managers who initiated frequent one-to-one meetings with their team members had the highest performing teams. 14:50 Manuela Bárcenas wrote an amazingly comprehensive guide to one-on-ones for Fellow. Artemis Connection made a nice short video for how employees can get the most from them. 15:30 Even if managers don't love one-on-ones they are valuable and we need to find ways to be effective at them. Tim took a long time to feel comfortable and relied on the Know Your Team application to provide him with structure. And excellent question cards from the <a href= "https://shop.beplucky.com/products/the-plucky-1-1-s

Mon, August 21, 2023

MC61 Emotional Leadership Theory

Going deeper into their exploration of different leadership styles, and inspired by this article on the MindTools blog, Pilar and Tim look at the Emotional Leadership Theory pioneered by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee . It ends up being another therapy session in the café as Pilar and Tim talk about their own preferences, strengths and weaknesses. 02:30 mins We step through the six styles of Emotional Leadership: Visionary (come with me), Coaching (try this), Affiliative (people come first), Democratic (what do you think?), Pacesetting (do as I do, now!), and Commanding (do what I tell you). 4:10 Tim likes that Emotional Leadership theory gives us permission to change styles to match the circumstances. 5:10 This theory is really about our connection to our team and the emotional impact of our behaviour on our team members. 6:40 Pilar thinks when people point to a "leadership crisis" it is code for wanting more visionary leadership. But as she points out, visionary is just one style among six. It doesn't work in all situations. 8:10 Applying the wrong leadership style can create an emotional or cultural debt which is hard to undo. So it's important that leaders think about the style they are using and it's impact on the team. 9:15 Tim feels drawn to the Coaching and Affiliative styles. He'd like to be better at the Democratic. Pilar feels the Democratic style of leadership is essential to integrating the team goals and output with the need to support individuals within the team. 13:25 The Coaching style has long timelines which can be great for helping people who are trying to change. 16:40 Tim diverts to a long rant about the visionary leadership style with particular focus on Adam Neumann at WeWork. Visionary leaders and their followers can get swept away with big plans and future goals and lose touch with the messy reality of right now. Pilar reminds us of a similar situation at Basecamp where visionary leadership lead to a big cultural mismatch within the company. The founders chose a hard reset via the Commanding style to regain control and lost a third of their staff in the process. 20:40 Pilar is comfortable in the Pacesetting leadership style. In particular she relates to the danger of jumping in to fix things instead of having the conversation w

Mon, August 07, 2023

MC60 Who ends up in management positions?

There are far too many leaders who don't really want to be managers. Given most workers cite their manager as their main reason for leaving a company, this is a big problem. It's hard to love your job when your boss hates theirs. How do so many people end up as managers when they shouldn't? Who should be a manager? Is leadership a natural trait or a learned skill? It's a wide ranging conversation in the café today, including a rare disagreement between our co-hosts Pilar and Tim! 00:00 mins We open with a discussion about whether leaders are born or made and Pilar's answer surprises Tim. 2:30 Pilar shares a story about helping someone who had the skills to lead but lacked confidence. 4:50 Unfortunately leaders aren't always promoted due to their leadership skills. Which reminds Tim of a friend who's had a very successful executive career through knowing how to "play the game". 7:40 A big part of who gets management roles, and particularly who succeeds at them, is based on fit. Does your leadership style fit with what the company wants? Tim recounts his experience of being in a management role where his style was poorly suited to the company. And a time at a different company where it was well suited. 10:30 Oftentimes people wind up in management positions because they want a promotion and more money. But management is not just a promotion, it is a profession. If you don't want to be a good manager you will be a bad manager. And an unhappy one. 11:40 If management is the only growth path available to people, companies are incentivising some of the wrong people to become managers. 12:50 Shopify and other tech companies have promotion pathways that don't involve management. Often the founders are keen to stay in tech instead of being in a "people" role. This allows companies to still reward people who have valuable experience and technical ability but don't want to be a manager. 15:20 Pilar references the book "Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us" by Brian Klaas which says 34% of people aspire to a leadership position. It also claims that gene location 876 increases the probability of ending up in a position of authority by 25%. 16:50 Tim struggles to accept the idea of a "leadership gene", he's clearly team nurture. Pilar is

Mon, July 24, 2023

MC59 Action-centred leadership: a truly useful model

Continuing with our discussions on leadership frameworks, Pilar and Tim discuss John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership which was first introduced in 1973. Adair uses three overlapping circles to illustrate that effective leadership happens at the intersection of the task, the team and the individual. And it is this deceptive simplicity which is a big part of the appeal. The model doesn't rely on a particular leadership style or organisational culture. Instead it reminds us that if we "zoom out" of our current situation we can identify which of the three areas needs our attention. 00:00 mins (yes, we went straight into it this time!) Pilar shares a story of when she applied Action-Centered Leadership at her theatre company. The model suggests we focus on leading on three different levels: the team level, the individual, and the task. 3:50 Pilar quotes Judy Rees: frameworks are helpful because "they direct our attention to something". As managers we rarely have all 3 focus areas in balance all the time. We can use the Action-Centred Leadership framework to guide us to the area needing the most attention. 5:00 Tim has tended to focus on individual and task while neglecting the team dynamic. 6:00 These 3 elements are interconnected and interdependent. If you try to shift one element it will inevitably also change the dynamic in the others. 10:00 Tim goes down a long rabbit hole talking about how management thought-leadership tends to show things as simple. But management is actually really hard and complicated. We speculate how this real world complexity would influence the menu and service in our Management Café. 11:30 Pilar recalls going to a training session which didn't have a set objective. Instead the facilitators asked the attendees what problems they needed to solve. She loved it, but noted that this approach didn't work for all attendees. 13:45 Prescriptive theory and processes are great in a book or training session. But when you get back to your actual job, things rarely play out the same way. People are unpredictable! What about you, dear listener? What do you think of Action-Centred Leadership? Are there other leadership frameworks we should discuss? We'd love to hear about your experiences! Get in touch through our Contact Form <a href= "https://managementcafepodcast.com/

Mon, July 10, 2023

MC58 Leadership on a spectrum: Laissez-faire and authoritative Styles

Inspired by the article about leadership on the Asana blog , Pilar and Tim discuss Kurt Lewin's 3 leadership styles. In a seminal study conducted in 1939, groups of 10 year old children were given a craft task and assigned an adult leader using either an authoritarian, democratic or laissez-faire leadership style. They concluded that democratic leadership was the most effective. Pilar and Tim share their experiences of these 3 styles and spend some time debating the laissez-faire and authoritarian styles. And whether there is a distinction between management and leadership. Pilar throws a few more models into the mix: Ken Blanchard's situational leadership and John Adair's Action Centered Leadership . Ultimately our default style isn't going to suit every circumstance. We need to switch between styles to get the best results. TIME CODED SHOW NOTES 01:30 min There can be times where the appropriate leadership style for a situation is one that we don't like. But our default style isn't going to suit every situation and team. And all styles have pros and cons. 4:25 Pilar references Ken Blanchard's situational leadership model and how it encourages us to consider which leadership approach might work best in a particular situation. 5:00 Lewin classified 3 leadership styles: authoritarian, participative and laissez-faire. Tim has a reaction to calling something laissez-faire. But Pilar and the dictionary keep us on track. 7:20 Tim's a bit suspicious of drawing conclusions about workplace productivity based on how school children react to laissez-faire leadership. 8:50 If you have a really experienced and high performing team you should be able to be a bit laissez-faire. Tim has found being more authoritative can sometimes be helpful when dealing with an inexperienced person or team. But less so with experienced teams. 11:00 Pilar shares a story of her husband having a very laissez-faire manager and loving it. 13:30 Laissez-faire leader doesn't mean that you neglect the core tasks of management like setting priorities or providing support when your team needs it. 15:50 Jurgen Appelo said "Manage the system, not the people", it's the <a href= "https://management3

Mon, June 26, 2023

MC57 The role of emotions when hiring

Inspired by Liz and Mollie's wonderful book " No Hard Feelings " we talk about the role of emotions in our work, especially when hiring. One of the key principles in this book is that our emotions are a part of who we are at work and they impact our behaviour. Being aware of this helps us better understand ourselves and others, and ultimately helps us make better decisions. Choosing who to hire is an important task for any manager. It's also a great example of a decision where we need to be aware of how our emotions are influencing us. 01:15 min We really enjoyed this book, especially how it blends advice with really funny cartoons to bring humour to some quite heavy topics. 5:15 The book lists 4 reasons why we lose motivation at work: lack of control over our work, we don't find the work meaningful, we aren't learning anything or we don't like our co-workers. This is missed in a lot of the rhetoric about returning to the office. Sometimes it's not the office that people are avoiding but rather some of the people who are in that office. 6:15 Studies have shown people of colour prefer to remote work at increased rates because being in the office is exhausting. 7:00 Job crafting is the art of shifting your work towards what you enjoy doing. When it comes to our happiness at work, we might have more control over it than we think. 9:30 We don't have to always be positive and happy at work, it's ok to experience a range of emotions. 10:30 Expressing our emotions, even just acknowledging them, can free us to move forward. However if we keep them bottled up it means they are going to come out somehow. Perhaps in ways that we don't want. 12:15 An easy mistake to make when hiring is to unwittingly be overly influenced by your emotions. We can get swept up and hire someone just because we feel good around them. Our positive emotional response can distract us from realistically assessing their capability to do the work. 13:15 Tim recounts getting swept up in an interview with a charismatic applicant. 18:00 The benefits of using actual work samples in a hiring process and how it gives better information than you can get just from questions during an interview. But best not to take advantage of people's free labour - make it a piece of work that your company won't profit from. 19:25 For jobs like management where it can be hard to do a small work project, Tim has used role plays to see what the applicant was like "in live action". Especially valuable when followed by a feedback session to learn how the applicant gives and receives feedback (this last tip was borrowed from Basecamp's hiring process). 21:00 Behavioural

Mon, June 12, 2023

MC56 All eyes are on you: Role modelling behaviours as a manager.

One of the pressures we can feel as a manager is the pressure of attention. We watch our managers closely. We analyse their behaviours and motivations. We guess at their intentions. And this informs our judgements about cultural norms and which behaviours are encouraged or discouraged. In fact, the attention of our team gives us the opportunity to be a positive influence through role modelling. We can use their attention to encourage people (including us!) to adopt behaviours that we think are important. TIME CODED SHOW NOTES 00:50 min All eyes are on you as a manager whether you want it or not. 2:30 There's a difference between acting as you think a manager should act vs role modelling the behaviour that you want the team to exhibit. Both scenarios can have us acting in ways that might feel unnatural or uncomfortable. In this conversation we are talking about consciously role modelling behaviours that we want to see in our teams. 4:45 Pilar shares a story of a manager who wanted a "team" but didn't contribute to team initiatives. 6:30 It's important for our team members and for us as individuals that there is consistency between how we tell people to act and how we act ourselves. Don't be Rishi Sunak trying to show his common touch by paying for petrol, when he'd never used a contactless card machine before . 8:30 Culture is established through our actions, not our aspirations. 9:30 People might not mimic a leader's bad behaviour, but Tim thinks it still moves the atmosphere of the team in a bad direction. 10:30 If we want to encourage something like collaboration, it's useful to think of the individual behaviours that contribute to collaboration and then role model those behaviours. 12:00 Role modelling behaviours that we find challenging can make us more aware and understanding of others who are also trying to be better. 14:00 Tim plagiarises Stephen Covey from The Speed of Trust . We often judge others by their actions but judge ourselves by our intent. 15:00 It's not just our actions that need to match what we are trying to role model. It's also how others are interpreting those actions. Pilar shares some examples from her acting career of how this can become disconnecte

Mon, May 29, 2023

MC55 The challenge of remote disengagement

For this episode we used a different format. Pilar and Tim spotted a question in a community they're members of, and with the permission of the poster, we've chosen to discuss it over coffee. This was the question: " Remote workers are faking enthusiasm. As a manager, I struggle to assess the motivation and engagement of my remote workers. Employees are very good are presenting a positive image during check-ins.This makes it very hard to identify issues and provide targeted interventions to improve productivity and job satisfaction. This makes me hesitant to allow working from home. I know that enthusiasm does not equal productivity. But I see lack of enthusiasm or faking enthusiasm as an early warning sign of quiet quitting. Do you have any advice? " 2:45 min Workers can fake enthusiasm in any environment, but it is easier to manage how you present yourself when your interaction is mostly online. 7:15 It sounds like this manager feels something might be going off track and that the disengagement is an early sign of it. 8:00 Does the manager need their team to feel engaged because it helps the manager feel good about their own performance? Or is it just about the team member's attitude and performance? 9:00 When we don't know what is happening our imagination fills in the gaps. Tim finds the reasons his brain makes up are much worse than the actual explanation. So he has to be careful about jumping to conclusions. 11:30 Having longer one-on-ones might make it harder for the person to fake their enthusiasm. And spending more time together can deepen the relationship. 14:20 Is there another space besides a one-on-one where the person can explain how they are feeling? 16:00 Lara Hogan has an excellent question for her first one-on-one meeting with someone: "How will I know when you're grumpy?". 17:45 When team context changes, like going remote or returning to working from an office, you almost have to treat it like a new team. 19:30 There is an underlying question about the workplace and culture where people are faking or suspected of faking: what is stopping people from behaving authentically?   <!

Mon, May 15, 2023

MC54 Why We Love "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott (and why implementing it is so hard!)

We reference this book all the time. In today's conversation we learn why Radical Candor resonates so much with us and how we've used it in our own work. The core principles of the book shouldn't really feel radical, it should be commonplace to care about the people we work with and tell them our honest thoughts and feelings. And yet for many of us this is hard to do. Radical Candor challenges us to be vulnerable with our emotions and more adaptable in our communication. This can be particularly uncomfortable for managers. We don't like to hurt or upset people, especially those we care about. But our job can require us to give critical feedback. Or even firing people. Many managers can be tempted down the "it's just business" path to protect themselves by maintaining strong boundaries and hiding their true feelings. One of the wonderful gifts of this book is that it gives managers license to care. And we applaud that in the Management Café. What about you, dear listener? Have you read Radical Candor? Did it resonate with you? We'd love to hear about your experiences! Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, May 01, 2023

MC53 The problem with motivating others

As a manager our success is really dependent on the success of our teams. Yet there is something a bit topsy-turvy about the idea that managers are responsible for the motivation of our people. Much of motivation is intrinsic, most people inherently want to do good work. In fact often times work, even the work of the manager, can get in the way of people's natural motivation. If the manager's responsibility is to remove obstacles for the team... are there times when we should remove ourselves? 00:00 min Pilar has always wanted to write a book about motivation at work and the role of the manager. The title of the book? "Get out of the way". 1:30 Tim misinterprets this and starts worrying about his own motivation. 3:00 Pilar quotes Bob Glazer from episode 323 of the 21st Century Work Life Podcast : "Becoming a leader means changing all your reward centres, from getting rewarded for what you do to getting rewarded for the performance of your team." 4:30 It is important that our manager cares about us. 5:50 Pilar notes the big difference between trying to directly motivate people versus creating the conditions where someone's intrinsic motivation can thrive. 7:45 Motivation can come from many different sources and is very fluid. So maybe instead of trying to create motivation, we should start with being curious about their current motivations. 9:30 Managers can help put things into a different perspective. Reframing can be an effective tool in helping people unblock their intrinsic motivation. 10:00 We don't always have to fix motivation. Motivation can dip and it's ok. Managers can help with reframing. 12:30 Self-determination theory says if we don't have autonomy, competence and relatedness then motivation will suffer. Managers should identify what might be impacting these attributes and try to change it. There are many actions that the manager alone can perform because of their role and influence. For example, advocating more broadly across the organisation or changing the success metrics on a project. 14:45 Pilar and Tim believe that most people genuinely want to do their best at work. This is an important star

Mon, April 17, 2023

MC52 The problem with adopting Amazon's one-pagers and other best practices

Jeff Bezos called the one-pager the " smartest thing we ever did at Amazon ". And everywhere we look there are best practices and frameworks which worked wonders for big & successful organisations. So why do they often fail when we apply them in our organisations? We propose that best practices are not something to "lift and shift". Adopting practices without a proper assessment is risky. But going too far the other way can be it's own trap. We can dismiss something too quickly if we haven't bothered to understand the context behind it. Instead they can be a starting point for finding the solution that works best for your organisation. 1:30 min We start with a healthy degree of skepticism about the one-pager. If people weren't doing their homework before a meeting, is the best solution to force them to do their homework in the meeting? 2:30 We like, in principle, the idea of people starting a meeting with the same understanding about the context. 4:15 Pilar points out that this practice prioritises one way of consuming information. It doesn't work for everyone. 6:45 We speculate what problems this solution was designed to solve and what the culture was like to create those problems. 8:15 Tim references Sarah Cooper's satirical book " 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings: How to Get By Without Even Trying ". 9:00 Tim talks about how many times he failed when applying someone else's process. And he shares the approach that ultimately worked for his company. 11:15 We might experience the same issue but it's important to understand any differences between the "best practice" organisations and ours. Their solution might only be suited to a similar context or company culture. 16:00 Tim shares how they changed the atmosphere and improved engagement at the leadership meetings at Shield GEO. 20:15 If people aren't preparing for the meeting because they didn't have time beforehand, maybe that needs to be addressed? What about you, dear listener? Have you had success introducing other people's best practices? We'd love to hear about your experiences!

Mon, April 03, 2023

Taking a break from our coffee breaks

A quick voice note to let you know that we'll be back in a couple of weeks. Until then, let us know if you have any questions you'd like us to answer on the show, or any topics you'd like us to tackle. Get in touch through our Contact Form  https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/  

Mon, March 27, 2023

MC51 Manager as umbrella: Protecting the team from the storm

The notion of a manager as a protector of the team is deeply embedded. After all, a primary part of any manager's job is to remove roadblocks and distractions so their team can stay focussed on their objectives. But it's not always easy to decide what will distract the team versus what might be helpful to them. Should the team know when a storm is forecast? When a storm is happening? And how much context do they need about the storm itself? Pilar and Tim explore some of their experiences with sharing or withholding information. 0:40 min Choosing what to filter information and what to share is hard! 4:30 Tim talks about keeping a big secret from his employees. 6:15 Sometimes additional information just makes the situation worse. 9:20 Pilar shares an example of protecting someone by withholding negative feedback. 11:40 Tim references Patty McCord's fantastic book " Powerful ", in particular her saying " humans can hear anything if it's true ". He shares a time that he successfully practiced this with his daughter. But when Pilar imagines the situation with an escalation... Tim becomes very unsure what to do. 14:20 Pilar shares a terrific story of a theatre group taking extreme lengths to withhold information. 16:30 The manager's role is to judge the situation and what the impact might be on the team and individuals. 18:10 Tim talks about one of his managers who was particularly good at shielding him from the rest of the organisation. What about you, dear listener? Do you have a framework for deciding what you share with or withhold from your team? We'd love to hear about your experiences! Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, March 20, 2023

MC50 Celebrating big and small

We tend to miss the smaller moments of achievement. Our focus is often on big organisational or team goals, huge milestones where we come together to celebrate (like the 50th episode of Management Cafe!). But in today's coffee catchup we are talking about more personal achievements. The sort of things which seem less consequential on the surface but can have an outsize impact on our performance. "Small-c celebrations" can tap into our deepest personal motivations as a manager, highlighting the behaviours which matter most, sustaining us during hard times and protecting us against burnout. 0:40 min A lot of progress is too gradual to notice and big wins are wonderful, but also ephemeral. As managers this can leave us struggling to find things to celebrate. 4:40 As leaders we are often focused on team success and tend to ignore our own achievements. 7:00 Managers, like everyone else, benefit from recognition. Recognising and reinforcing good behaviours helps us improve. And remembering the good times and our good qualities can help us when things aren't going so well. 10:40 Pilar suggests personal celebrations can be a strategy to protect against burnout. 13:00 This practice helps us understand which parts of work give us the greatest satisfaction or motivation. This can be very handy when navigating difficult situations. 15:50 These moments might be more personal or more frequent. But that doesn't mean they are small to you. What about you, dear listener? Do you have "small" moments that you treasure? How do you celebrate them? We'd love to hear about your experiences! Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, March 13, 2023

MC49 Manager burnout

Is it just us, or does it feel like the last few years have been a particularly torrid time for managers? Managers have always been the interface between employees and their organisation. They act as a kind of translator between the two. In recent years there have been extraordinary challenges in both directions of those relationships. And all this against a backdrop of pandemics, social polarisation, economic uncertainty, tight labour markets and of course the remote work / back to office / hybrid merry-go-around. It's been a lot and managers have been caught in the middle time and again... 0:30 min We reference an article by Gallup showing +20% of all managers are experiencing burnout. 3:30 " Managers are constantly stuck between frustrated leaders and team members. They are the translators and scapegoats. " 5:15 How can you lead effectively when you yourself feel detached from your organisation? 7:15 Experimenting with new practices like the 4-day work week can be an additional load for managers. 9:00 It's particularly difficult for managers who are tasked with addressing the symptoms of problems in their teams (e.g. burnout) but denied support in fixing the cause of those problems (e.g. unrealistic deadlines). 10:45 A lot of manager support was informal and linked to the "in-office" experience. In a remote or hybrid setup, what has taken it's place? 14:00 Going along with something that you disagree with can be really painful. 16:30 Sometimes as managers we have to "sell ourselves" on the story first so we can then deliver an effective message to our teams. But it can be a slippery slope. 18:15 We send our sympathy, support and solidarity to all those managers feeling tired and burnt out. Pilar references how our burden can be lightened just through knowing that we are not alone in our struggles (from the book Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness by Ethan Kross ). What about you, dear listener? How are you coping? Have you been feeling burnt out

Mon, March 06, 2023

MC48 Developing your leadership style

Many leadership journeys start with a natural career progression: we get promoted to manager and leadership is viewed as just another work task. Over time this evolves into a broader understanding. It's a challenging job. We will get tested in all sorts of ways. And it can be an opportunity to learn so much about ourselves, to grow as a person and build invaluable skills. But we all have to start from somewhere. And the way we manage is heavily influenced, even constrained, by the culture and expectations of our organisation. When we change organisations we often have to adapt the way that we lead. So in all this complexity how do we develop our own leadership style? 00:00 min Pilar's leadership journey began at a very young age but has evolved a lot in later years as she wrestled with the tension of getting her way versus bringing everyone along together. 5:00 Tim wonders what his experience of leadership would have been like if he had known it was going to be a journey and an opportunity for personal growth. 6:20 Our level of skill as a leader is linked to our level of self awareness. We should always be working on our own leadership practice at the same time as we are working towards our team goals. 8:00 Leadership provides us with a unique opportunity to learn about ourself and others. 9:30 Should organisations have an homogenous style of leadership? It can be hard to develop our own style when so much of how we act is defined by the conditions of our organisation. 15:25 New managers are more likely to role model the behaviour they see in other managers. 16:30 Michael Lopp's "blue tape" approach to starting a new job. 19:00 We discuss a structured way to develop leaders through different learning phases. Noticing something that they want to act on, thinking through the outcome they want and how they will approach it, taking those actions and then afterwards to reflect on how it went. What about you, dear listener? Have you found a style of leadership that works for you? How did you come to it? We'd love to hear about your experiences! Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contac

Mon, February 27, 2023

MC47 Can we be "too authentic"?

Following on from episode 44 where we discussed vulnerability and authenticity, today in the café we go deeper on how much of our true character should we show at work. Is it entirely our choice? Are there parts of ourself that shouldn't be in our workplace? This is such a nuanced topic as we have to juggle our level of self-awareness, our assessment of our work environment, the degree of comfort that we feel and, of course, our highly subjective interpretation of how others perceive us. For us as managers, and especially for the people we manage, there is a world of difference between our workplace embracing or rejecting our true character and values. 01:00 min We rarely bring our whole self out with anybody, let alone at work . 2:00 Authenticity doesn't have to mean bringing our entire self at all times. Behaving authentically means that our actions are consistent with our true character and values. This allows us to function more freely. 5:00 Pilar has an example of a friend whose personal values were very different to the rest of her organisation. 7:00 How authentic we choose to be isn't purely our own decision. The work community decides what behaviour and attitudes will be accepted. So in a sense this is a complex social negotiation between the individual and community. 10:00 When we are changing our behaviour patterns it can feel "inauthentic" just because we are exploring at the edge of our comfort zone. This is a sort of aspirational authenticity, we are acting as a better version of ourself. 13:15 Tim shares a story of someone who was holding back a core part of themself at work and how this changed. 14:45 Sometimes we might want a separation between who we are at work and outside of work. But this will impact our relationships at work. Pilar talks of the shock her husband felt when his manager became a totally different person outside of work. 16:35 There are situations where we can share too much, giving more of ourself than the environment is able to cope with. It can be easy to confuse being authentic with talking about our personal life. This requires some skill to navigate. And as managers we need to be careful in how we react when someone is sharing with us.   What about you, dear listener? Do you bring your whole self to work? What about the people that you manage? We'd love to hear about your experiences! <!-- wp:paragra

Mon, February 20, 2023

MC46 Proactive wellbeing

The pandemic changed workplace awareness of physical and mental wellbeing. So what does it look like in 2023? We discuss what managers can do to pro-actively improve wellbeing for their workers. This can be a challenge for leaders as wellbeing is something we experience at an individual level, but it is influenced by factors inside and outside the workplace. What is a manager to do? 0:10 min Did the pandemic change workplace wellbeing forever, or was it a temporary shift? 5:30 Work isn't only a source of stress, it can also be a place for improving wellbeing. 8:00 We examine the skills leaders need to help their team with wellbeing, starting with awareness and curiosity. 9:45 How to be proactive for example by anticipating times of high demand and encouraging rejuvenation in quieter times. These initiatives are hard for managers to sustain without organisational support. Within many companies and teams there is pressure to keep working. 14:10 Are we treating the symptoms or the cause? Cultural change is hard work. Tim references this brilliant paper where the CEO engaged researchers to investigate the firm's difficulty retaining women. When the research showed the actual cause was a deeply embedded "long-work hours problem" that both women and men at the firm faced, the CEO terminated the project! 17:30 We ponder how much it might cost companies if they ignore employee wellbeing. 18:30 Pilar emphasises that being seen as a whole person means going beyond someone's demographic to consider their actual needs and circumstances. 20:00 We wrestle with how instructive a manager can be with an employee about their well-being and behaviours outside of work. What happens if the person doesn't want to address it? Or if it's really hard for them? 23:00 An individual's wellbeing is also influenced by their environment. And that environment is influenced by our actions as a manager. 25:00 Tim shares how an Bec , a brilliant HR consultant, taught his company to take a more nuanced view of workload and stress. For example some periods of higher load could be positive for growth and motivation if they didn't last too long. What about you, dear listener? Have you found ways to be pro-active in promoting wellbei

Mon, February 13, 2023

MC45 The dangers of focusing on productivity and metrics

Metrics are very alluring for managers. Our software tools are full of data and reporting... with just a few clicks we might get the magic mix of numbers that will give us control. But for staff it's a different story. Too often metrics are used as a kind of straight jacket. Work becomes narrowly defined, devoid of nuance and complexity. Targets creep ever higher. And as the pressure mounts, inevitably people will try to game the system. Over coffee Pilar and Tim try to imagine an environment where managers and teams are aligned on how to use metrics thoughtfully to make their work better. 1:00 min We clarify whether we are discussing productivity, work output, tracking or metrics. 3:00 Industry standard or easy to measure metrics aren't always best suited to the particular need of our team and business. 5:00 Tim shares an example of how focussing too much on a metric (time to close support tickets) had a negative impact on the quality of his team's output. 7:40 Can we design systems that can't be gamed? Or can we design systems that people don't want to game because they like how it improves their work? 11:30 Instead of closely tracking individuals and their tasks, monitoring can function well at an overall system or process level. Tim shares an example of how this approach eventually lead his support team to higher productivity without putting individuals under pressure. 14:10 Pilar highlights that the rules and frameworks should not be a straight jacket. They should be designed to liberates workers by providing guidance. In the context of metrics this means we need to be clear on what the numbers will be used for and we need to communicate those intentions to our teams. 16:10 It is so easy to toggle some settings in our software systems and spit out numbers. But have we done the work to identify what measures will help us? Are our teams aligned on this goal? Pilar asks software designers to consider adding warning labels to their settings and metric dashboards. What about you, dear listener? Do you incorporate metrics into the way you manage your teams? Have you created a perfect system where the numbers couldn't be manipulated? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we a

Mon, February 06, 2023

MC44 The value of being an "authentic leader"

For a long time the dominant narrative of leadership has been of fearless leaders who move from triumph to triumph without serious flaws or doubt. But in recent years there has been a move towards authentic leadership. Leaders who show vulnerability and who share their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Over coffee Pilar and Tim dig into authentic leadership, the benefits it can deliver for leaders and companies. And also why it isn't for everyone. 0:30 min Tim references this quote from Brianna Wiest on Twitter " I no longer need the armor, my softness is the strongest part of me. " 2:55 Are authenticity and vulnerability always linked? 5:30 Pilar argues that some forms of being authentic can be harmful, perhaps a better aim is leaders who behave without pretense. 6:30 Tim's neighbour is not very authentic. 7:30 Unauthentic behaviour isn't just nasty people pretending to be nice. It can also be relatively nice people hiding any "negative" traits. 8:30 A key component of trust is that the person will follow through on their commitments. A lack of authenticity can be a barrier to trust. Tim argues that it's similar with someone who won't deal with bad news, it's hard to trust them when they avoid reality. 10:00 Pilar identifies the core issue: someone feeling like they have to be someone else to be liked or to be effective. But as leaders it's probably more important to be trusted than liked. 11:30 Without authenticity we miss valuable opportunities for deep connection. Not everyone wants connection with their co-workers, but does the work suffer as a result? 14:00 Tim shares how he benefited as a leader by being vulnerable and authentic in a difficult situation. 16:20 Pilar references some wonderful research which showed that leaders who shared their foibles as well as their strengths were perceived as more trustworthy and generated more goodwill. And this effect was heightened if you share your true self at a time when you have a lot at stake. 17:50 When a leader admits they don't know the answer or that a situation is difficult, it actually creates space and possibility for people to find the

Mon, January 30, 2023

MC43 Working with people who challenge us

We often need to experience some challenge in order to grow. But tension can easily spill over into destructive interactions. As leaders we need to demonstrate that we can challenge and be challenged. In this chat Pilar and Tim learn they have quite different thresholds for conflict. And they explore the difference between being challenged constructively vs destructively. 0:30 min Sometimes creative tension is actually just fighting. 3:10 People are always watching how their leaders deal with conflict. It's important to role model the behaviours we want to see from others. 3:50 Pilar is pretty comfortable with conflict. Tim not so much. 5:05 Once again we reference Kim Scott's book Radical Candor , this time about the importance of regularly showing people that you care about them. This protects your connection even when you are disagreeing with each other. 6:00 Pilar shares a couple of anecdotes about how the quality of work improves when she is able to be challenged by her colleagues. And it suffers when she can't. It is important for her to establish this open atmosphere early in a work relationship. 9:30 Tim muses about people at each end of the "comfort with conflict" scale. In particular the difficulty of finding common grounds for communication between conflict-avoidant people and those who are energised by conflict. 11:15 If we don't communicate our dissatisfaction or issues the tension will build up. We run the risk of exploding! This is a familiar pattern for Tim. 14:40 Pilar wrestles with how carefully she should choose her collaborators. It is hard to choose someone who will push her creative boundaries but also respect her work. 16:15 Which leads us to the importance of how we are challenged. Creative tension is a very different beast to destructive tension, we need to maintain healthy connections and respect in order to collaborate together. 18:30 Pilar shares some examples of being challenged in a healthy way and how it led to better and sometimes unexpected work outcomes. 22:00 Tim bangs the drum for self awareness (again). What about you, dear listener? How comfortable are you with conflict? How do you encourage or discourage people to challenge us? We'd love to hear from you. <!-- /wp:paragraph --

Mon, January 23, 2023

MC42 War time leader or Peace time leader?

In today's coffee Pilar and Tim discuss the concept of Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO introduced by Ben Horowitz in 2011. Our companies and teams will all face difficult times where there is an existential threat or huge change looming. How do we lead through these challenges? Do we need a different leadership style to match the situation, and what is the impact "wartime leadership"? 3:50min Some people thrive off the energy and pressure that comes during times of crisis or change. 5:30 We worry that wartime atmosphere and leadership practices like breaking rules, micromanaging and pushing hard are not sustainable. Pilar shares a situation where someone's singular focus on a crisis ended up exhausting everyone around them. 7:50 Sometimes wartime leaders can exaggerate or manufacture drama in order to justify staying in wartime. 10:00 Is it really necessary to change our style in times of difficulty? Is authoritarian leadership the best approach? 11:00 Tim shares some advice he received from Jerry Colonna about the role of a leader in a time of crisis. 12:20 Pilar outlines how understanding our strengths and culture can help us adapt our leadership practice when the context changes around us, but still operate in a way that is consistent with our fundamental approach and beliefs. 14:00 Facing the human cost of the leader's actions and decisions in times of difficult is a hard thing. Survival instinct can tempt leaders into behaving as though "it's just business". We find wartime peacetime to ultimately be a dehumanising concept. 17:45 After any war we hope for a long period of peace and happiness. 18:00 We wrap up pondering the happiness of the "career wartime CEO". What about you, dear listener? Are you a wartime or peacetime leader? Have you experienced positives from wartime leadership? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf   

Mon, January 16, 2023

MC41 Running a business with someone else

Pilar and Tim explore their experiences of being co-founders or co-managers, as well as being solely in charge. The co-founder dynamic is inevitably going to experience some challenges as a business has its ups and downs. The way that founders communicate, collaborate, challenge and complement each other has a huge impact on the culture of the company and its success. This coffee is, yet again, something like a joint therapy session... prepare for a lot of talk about communication, values and alignment! 0:30min It is a challenge to find someone with complementary skills but aligned values. 2:00 Pilar shares her experience of the work suffering when her co-founder was too similar to herself. And then afterwards with a very different person but where the values weren't aligned. 6:40 Founders need to start with a shared vision and agreement on why the company exists and what they want the atmosphere in the business to be. 7:55 For Tim and his co-founder their friendship was an important shared value. Sometimes when a conflict was proving too divisive they would set it aside in order to preserve harmony. 9:15 Understanding the values of yourself and your co-founder is important to establish as early as possible. Culture will build around the founders and the co-founder dynamic whether they mean it to or not. 11:00 Pros and cons of running an enterprise by yourself. 13:15 Tim tries to unpack how he and his co-founder were perceived by his employees. 15:00 Feedback on their dysfunctional dynamic triggered Tim and Duncan to understand the schism forming at the heart of their business. 18:00 Understanding the source of tension helped them re-align and ultimately had a profoundly positive impact on their company. 20:30 Tim advocates for using weekly calls to stay connected in an async environment. What about you, dear listener? Have you been a solo founder or co-founder? Have you worked in an organisation where you could trace cultural dysfunctions or strengths to the co-founder relationship? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or

Mon, January 09, 2023

MC40 Is the most important role of a manager to "give the quiet ones a voice"?

This concept comes from Kate Murphy's excellent book " You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters ". For many of us silence can be challenging, it is often considered a sign that something is wrong. What happens when we approach the quiet ones with curiosity? 1:30min Who are the quiet ones? Why might they be quiet? 3:00 Tim shares a story of a manager who was often quiet for an unexpected reason. 5:00 There is a big difference between choosing not to speak and not feeling able to speak. Managers should create an atmosphere where it is safe for people to contribute if they wish to. 6:00 Pilar shares some quotes from the book "You're not Listening" about the impact that silence can have on communication. And we dive into being silent with someone versus being silent to someone. 10:30 Understanding the person and their context can make all the difference in how we interpret and react to someone being quiet. Pilar and Tim share some instances where being curious about someone's communication lead to interesting insights. 18:45 People who have had bad prior experiences tend to use to the safest communication channels in future. 21:00 We explore some of the skilful and less skilful ways managers can help the quiet ones have a voice.   We are curious about you, dear listener? Do you give the quiet ones a voice? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, January 02, 2023

MC39 Food, a manager's best friend

From the hidden power of the humble custard cream to the value of fancy restaurants, Pilar and Tim explore the role that food can play in our leadership practice. This is not discussed in business school curriculums, but something changes when we make the conscious step to stop our work activities so we can share food together. Eating together can be a powerful way to change the atmosphere of a workplace. 1:00min Pilar shares her brilliant theory of how bringing custard cream biscuits to a meeting can fulfil all five levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 2:00 Tim remembers a time where he tried to use food to lighten a work situation but misjudged the appropriate quantity. 5:30 Food can be used as motivation (or a bribe!). 8:00 It's not just managers who can use food as part of their toolkit. Kevin, Pilar's husband, has been organising picnics as a way to help his teammates feel connected to each other. 9:00 Even in distributed environments we can still have shared food experiences. Although eating on camera is not for everyone. 12:30 Food can be a way for people to share different aspects of themselves into a work context, for example their cultural heritage. 14:00 Almost everyone gets excited about free or unexpected food and drink. A little later we wonder what changes in workplaces where all the food is free all the time. 17:30 Pilar has enjoyed some facilitation sessions which kicked off over lunch as a way to create a relaxed atmosphere. 20:15 We share how sometimes food was used to drive behaviours within our workplaces. For example intentionally providing breakfast to get people in early or lunches to keep the group together during a day of intense collaboration.   We are curious about you, dear listener? What is your relationship with food at work? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf   

Mon, December 19, 2022

MC38 Tackling the asynchronous environment

What happens for managers when work moves away from real time meeting focussed and more towards asynchronous? Communication and team interaction can be as unique and nuanced as each individual human. So how do we navigate management when our team are spending large parts of their time working async? 1:30mins We talk about some of the pros and cons of asynchronous work. 6:00 Tim highlights the importance of having alignment within a team about what is async work and what needs to be done more syncronously. 7:00 Coaching is something both Pilar and Tim has found difficult to do well asynchronously. So much that Tim has had to manage his expectations of success. 11:00 Async gives leaders some precious time and space for deep thinking. This can be especially hard to find in a heavily sync environment. 12:00 We explore the dangers of leaving people to "stew" for too long in an async environment. And discuss a few ways you can still have meaningful communication asynchronously. 14:30 On a more meta level, do we need personal or non-work connection with our work colleagues? 16:00 Pilar shares the additional context she gets when interacting with someone synchronously. And how easy it is to forget this and stick to our habitual behaviours. 15:30 We talk about connection and how it can be established async. With a cautionary note that connection is highly contextual and we all experience it differently.   We are curious about you, dear listener? How has asynchronous working impacted your leadership practice? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, December 12, 2022

MC37 The multiple aspects of meetings

It's hard to imagine a manager without meetings. As leaders we don't just participate, we also need to run great meetings. All sorts of interesting and unique things can happen when people come together for a group discussion. And yet many of us have a love/hate relationship with meetings. 1:30mins Tim explains what he likes about meetings. 2:30 Pilar recalls the frustration that comes when the enthusiasm generated in a meeting doesn't actually result in actions. 5:00 We discuss how leaders can have different aims in a meeting vs team members. For example Tim generally tries to finish a meeting with less tasks than he started with. 6:00 Pilar's friend, the wonderful Judy Rees , starts each meeting by checking with everyone about what they want to get out of it. 7:20 We talk (for quite a while) about talking too much in meetings. Sometimes if we wait and let others speak, they will make the points we wanted. And as leaders this can give us a wonderful sense of alignment and confidence. 11:30 Pilar talks about the type of meetings that she enjoys. And we muse on what happens when a meeting is more important to you than to the other participants. 13:40 We discuss the different forms that active participation can take. It is not just about talking... 16:10 When we are leading a meeting we have to manage lots of things: the outcome, the group dynamic, people's individual contribution. These are opportunities to cultivate behaviours and reinforce cultural norms. 18:30 There is a spotlight on the person running the meeting. Tim shares an anecdote about how closely his father's work colleagues analysed his behaviour in meetings. We are curious about you, dear listener? What makes a good meeting for you? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, December 05, 2022

MC36 Manager or psychologist?

When do we stop being a manager and cross into therapy? Understanding and analysing human behaviour is an essential skill for managers. But most managers aren't professionally trained psychologists. How should managers be emotionally supporting their direct reports and what lines should they not cross? 0:50mins Where do we draw boundaries as an employer and employee? 3:30 Is it the manager's job to help people express their emotions? Pilar recalls this great scene from the show Superstore. Mateo: This job is hard enough. People need to talk, to vent, to feel heard! It's like they're emotionally constipated, and some of them are very physically bloated as well. Dina: What, so, because I'm manager, I have to help people poop their emotions all over the place? Superstore Season 6 Episode 4 "Prize Wheel" 5:10 Tim highlights that managers need permission from our reports to have conversations. 6:00 Sometimes we feel we are being forced to be a therapist against our will. Managers can have boundaries too! 8:00 Managers can pass their own baggage on to other people, especially to their direct reports. The importance of self awareness yet again. 10:30 We explore how the dynamic between manager and employee is different to that of a therapist and patient. We are curious about you, dear listener? Do you consider counselling your staff as part of your toolkit as a manager? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, November 28, 2022

MC35 Developing people

Managers have a responsibility to help their people discover and sustain the best version of themselves. But is this just in the context of our specific role and responsibilities? Or can we use work as a place to practice being a better human being? Tim and Pilar dive into people development. 1:50mins What sort of environments are conducive to personal development? It can be different for each person 3:45 Pilar talks about the sort of person who thrives in high pressure and stressful situations. The conditions for development can be very different for this archetype. 6:30 Tim shares his theory of approaching work as a training ground. Work presents us with a fairly controlled environment, like a video game, where we can learn and experiment. With work tasks but also with broader forms of personal development. 11:30 Should we bring our whole selves to work? Tim argues people just need to feel like themselves. 13:00 Managers can tap into people's natural drive to grow in a wide range of areas both work related and more personal. This gives a broader view of what development might look like. Pilar shares how trying many different experiences was important for her in finding her path. 16:30 How do we uncover what is meaningful ways to develop people that are meaningful to them. We discuss Russ Laraway's 3 career conversations model . 19:10 Pilar shares a story of how viewing someone holistically uncovered a simple solution which made a huge difference. We muse on what it means to people when their manager sees them in this way. We are curious about you, dear listener? Are there ways you develop your people beyond training and courses? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, November 21, 2022

MC34 Is delegation hard?

Handing tasks and responsibility to others is at the core of management. This is easy in principle but sometimes hard in practice. Tim and Pilar discuss delegation over coffee.   2.00 mins. Does some of this loneliness come from feeling like we can't share as much with our team members as we'd like, and also they don't share as much with you as they might if you were a team member? Tim remembers the line "Complaints always go up, they never go down", from Saving Private Ryan. 4.27 mins. Is the recognition of the fact that we need to have boundaries with team members a good starting point? Then we can look for different ways of getting the support we need. Individuals might confide in you, and this responsibility is a privilege. 6.05 mins. The difficulty can come when the organisational support is not there - and then we need to invest in relationships outside the team to ensure we are supported and that we can talk to people in similar positions who can empathise with us. This takes a while to build up though... 8.50 mins. Pilar has relied a lot on her friends for support when she's had to talk through concerns with team members. However, sometimes this might increase the sense of loneliness, because you're going outside the cohesiveness of the team to find support. This reminds Tim of the feeling you get when you are in a sports team. 11.05 mins. Even when the team is cohesive, there will be specific moments when you do feel lonely, for example, moments when the responsibility lies very clearly with you. When nobody can "lighten the load" for you, that's when loneliness strikes. 13.50 mins. Tim realises the mistake he's made in "offloading" to one of his team members, realising now it might have been unfair to do that, just because of the organisational power imbalance. On the other hand, Pilar thinks that there are some individuals who you can rely on, because they can put hierarchy to one side to support you. In any case, a lot of thought needs to be put into who we confide in. 16.50 mins. Your team needs to know that you will respect their confidentiality and in a way, protect them from conflict and drama - so if you go to an individual with your problems, you might be breaking that trust. We are curious about you, dear listener? Do you feel separate from your team members in this way? Do you actively avoid the loneliness that can come from being in charge? We'd love to hear from you. Join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://manag

Mon, October 31, 2022

MC33 The loneliness of leading

There's a degree of separation from your team members when you lead a team - and this sometimes can lead to feeling separated, and even lonely. Who should we rely on to get us through it? Pilar and Tim discuss this over coffee. 2.00 mins. Does some of this loneliness come from feeling like we can't share as much with our team members as we'd like, and also they don't share as much with you as they might if you were a team member? Tim remembers the line "Complaints always go up, they never go down", from Saving Private Ryan. 4.27 mins. Is the recognition of the fact that we need to have boundaries with team members a good starting point? Then we can look for different ways of getting the support we need. Individuals might confide in you, and this responsibility is a privilege. 6.05 mins. The difficulty can come when the organisational support is not there - and then we need to invest in relationships outside the team to ensure we are supported and that we can talk to people in similar positions who can empathise with us. This takes a while to build up though... 8.50 mins. Pilar has relied a lot on her friends for support when she's had to talk through concerns with team members. However, sometimes this might increase the sense of loneliness, because you're going outside the cohesiveness of the team to find support. This reminds Tim of the feeling you get when you are in a sports team. 11.05 mins. Even when the team is cohesive, there will be specific moments when you do feel lonely, for example, moments when the responsibility lies very clearly with you. When nobody can "lighten the load" for you, that's when loneliness strikes. 13.50 mins. Tim realises the mistake he's made in "offloading" to one of his team members, realising now it might have been unfair to do that, just because of the organisational power imbalance. On the other hand, Pilar thinks that there are some individuals who you can rely on, because they can put hierarchy to one side to support you. In any case, a lot of thought needs to be put into who we confide in. 16.50 mins. Your team needs to know that you will respect their confidentiality and in a way, protect them from conflict and drama - so if you go to an individual with your problems, you might be breaking that trust. We are curious about you, dear listener? Do you feel separate from your team members in this way? Do you actively avoid the loneliness that can come from being in charge? We'd love to hear from you. Join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - w

Mon, October 24, 2022

MC32 Finding our motivation to lead

Management is a tough job. It's not for everyone. Managers need motivation to get up and do their job day after day. Tim and Pilar explore what keeps them going. 2:40mins Pilar's secret sauce is the joy of collaboration. She explains why this is important to her and details the wonderful behaviours she sees when a team collaborates really well. 7:00 We talk about the relationship between the team's results and the manager's motivation. If the team doesn't deliver results then motivation is definitely impacted. But for Pilar and Tim achieving results isn't enough motivation on it's own. How we get there also matters. Tim references a book (that he hasn't read) called " The Score Takes Care of Itself " by Bill Walsh. 9:00 Tim highlights that as a leader sometimes results are out of your hands. So it helps to have a variety of motivations. 10:30 Our needs can change over time. e.g. Pilar's motivation has gradually shifted from group collaboration to smaller partnerships. 12:00 The benefits of having multiple sources of motivation. Which leads again to a discussion about self awareness and the importance of understanding what motivates us. For example it can help us identify if our work environment isn't able to provide what we need to feel motivated. We are curious about you, dear listener? What motivates you to continue your career in management? We'd love to hear from you. Join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, October 17, 2022

MC31 Dealing with poor performance

One of the least fun aspects of management is raising issues of poor performance with team members. Tim and Pilar share their own experiences and learnings along the way. 2:00mins Giving performance feedback to a friend, one of the few occasions Pilar needed to seek advice and the one piece of advice that helped her have a difficult conversation. 4:30 What we've learned from the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott 5:00 Tim shares why, if you value the relationship with the person, feedback can be hard to give and hard to avoid giving. 8:20 Pilar reinforces that performance reviews are not about "me", it's about helping the other person. What happens when feedback comes from a place of caring about the other person. 9:00 Pilar has a realisation live on air! 11:00 We talk about the benefits of regular conversations, how to stay on top of performance without micromanaging people. 13:30 Tim has an extended rant about the impact on the employee that comes from clumsy performance conversations and getting fired without care. 15:05 How to have more human conversations about performance 17:10 Examining performance with balance, what was our role, where else might this person thrive? The trap of "demonising" someone over their performance. 18:30 Who is actually responsible for performance? Whoever creates the conditions bears some responsibility... 19:30 The benefits of taking a balanced view of the person you are managing and the role of processes and regulations in managing performance. 22:45 The most crucial ingredient is the person has to want to change what they are doing. And finally: 25:00 what happens when you try to be proud of the performance conversations that you have? How about you, our listener? What are some of the things that have worked with you when addressing the poor performance of a team member? We'd love to hear from you. Join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, October 10, 2022

MC30 Moving from an individual contributor to manager (part 2)

What changes when you become a manager? Pilar and Tim continue talking about how boundaries and relationships shift when you move into leadership . 1.10mins It feels different to be promoted in a team where people already know you, than being promoted into a new team, where you start with a clean slate. With a new team you can change your behaviour if it helps you, but in a new team, the change will be visible and might jar. Pilar has an example of someone behaving "like they thought a manager would". This is fine in experimenting, but a problem if we get trapped in it. Because then we can't give the best of ourselves. We want a fast solution for some of the scariest things, but sometimes, Tim has found that acting as true to ourselves as possible works best. 04.27mins To act as true to yourself as possible, you have to know yourself. In fact, Tim believes that becoming a manager gives you an opportunity to become a better version of yourself. When you manage people, you become exposed in new ways, so the opportunity for growth is there. 09.27mins There's a whole range of ways in which people change they're behaviour when they become managers. It sends all sorts of messages to the people you are leading, if they knew you before... It can create a strange dynamic. 11.15mins Why people are promoted matters in how everyone behaves in the shift as well. And if other people in the team also wanted the job, that complicates things... Listeners, we'd love to know whether things that happened at the beginning of your promotion shaped how you behaved in your new management post. Also, what worked for YOU when you became a manager? What worked for your team? We could all learn from that? We'd love you to join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, October 03, 2022

MC29 From Individual Contributor to Manager - part 1

What changes when you become a manager? In this episode Pilar and Tim explore how boundaries and relationships shift when you move into leadership, amongst many other things. 1:30 Typical paths into leadership roles and Tim shares his own journey. 3:20 Can managers be an unnecessary layer? Do all teams need a manager? 4:20 We go deep on what are the actual responsibilities of a manager. 8:10 The benefit that can come from offloading some of our responsibilities to our manager. 9:50 Back to discussing what changes when you move from an individual contributor within a team to managing that team. 11:30 " Complaints go up " from Saving Private Ryan. 12:30 Pilar recommends the book " The First 90 days " for helping new managers adjust. 14:00 How the dynamic of gossip and grumbling changes when someone is promoted into management. 16:00 Are managers psychologists? 17:40 How to find your own authentic leadership style. 18:55 Pilar identifies the curse of the middle manager. We'd love you to join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week.  Get in touch through our Contact Form  https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/  or join us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, September 26, 2022

MC28 Imposter Syndrome for Managers

Are we as competent as people think we are? In this episode Pilar and Tim dive into imposter syndrome . 1:30 We try to define imposter syndrome in our own experience 3:20 The positive aspects of imposter syndrome. Referencing an HBR article Pilar shared about how Impostor Syndrome Has Its Advantages . 5:30 We explore how imposter syndrome is about how we perceive our own competency within the context of how others view our capability. Pilar quotes Adam Grant "I don't know what I'm doing. It's only a matter of time until everyone finds out." 7:30 Why early managers can be particularly affected by imposter syndrome 9:10 The importance of feedback that you can trust 10:30 Shifting from an imposter mindset to a growth mindset. Adam Grant again "I don't know what I'm doing yet. It's only a matter of time until I figure it out." 12:10 Tim shares his imposter syndrome experience running a company during the uncertainty of the Covid pandemic. 13:40 Helping early career managers build confidence. Pilar talks about situations where the person becomes more important than the job. 16:30 Does imposter syndrome reduce over time? Or does it come in waves? We'd love you to join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week.  Get in touch through our Contact Form  https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/  or join us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, September 19, 2022

MC27 How do We Learn about Management?

Pilar and Tim share how they learn and develop their leadership practice. 1:50 Tim's largely self-taught experience of management 3:00 Where to look for information about being a good manager 4:00 We discuss role models and whether our role models are aware of their influence on us 5:10 Promoting managers based on skill vs seniority, should management be the main goal for being promoted? 6:30 Tim shares his best sources for management inspiration 7:45 Tim mentions the book Powerful by Patti McCord 8:15 We share how books influence us, what do we do after reading a book that changes our thinking? 10:30 Using information as a starting point for a further conversation. Who can you talk to when "road testing" a new piece of knowledge? 12:30 Sharing our knowledge vs keeping it to ourselves. 14:10 Pilar shares where she got support when dealing with an unhelpful board 15:00 Is most of our learning about management formal or informal? We suggest a lot is informal which requires the right environment to be able to share. 17:35 We discuss what makes a good environment for these sort of learning conversations. We'd love you to join us for this 20 minute coffee, every week.  Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/  or join us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, September 12, 2022

MC26 What is our awareness of being a manager before we become one?

In this episode Pilar and Tim explore our first perceptions of management and how that influences the way we develop as leaders. To find your own style of management it helps to understand your beliefs about management and how they might change over time. For example even before we start working we form opinions about leadership via people like teachers and parents. We discuss how this translates to management within the workplace and how it impacts our core beliefs about concepts like relationships, trust and responsibility. Our early interactions with managers at work, both positive and negative, are also a big influence. And adding the perspective of being a manager can shift our view of what is a negative or positive action. We identify self awareness and self exploration as important skills for managers. Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Mon, September 05, 2022

MC25 First experiences of leading others

In this first episode of our new season, Pilar and Tim give some background to their professional history. We talk about how our age and experience has influenced our leadership practice. For Tim much of it was learning on the job at Shield GEO and Pilar had leadership responsibility from an early age through theatre. We both share the belief that leadership should be helping people to grow and develop. We try to understand the concept of management beyond a corporate environment. Humans organise into groups and need leadership in many different contexts. We debate whether leaders are born or made. And explore important attributes for a good leader. How about you? What were your first experiences of leading others? Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/   or tell us on Twitter - we are @managementcaf 

Sun, July 31, 2022

MC24 A Swift Hello from our 2 Co-hosts

Management Café is back... with a new co-host!  Meet Tim Burgess, reconnect with Pilar Orti and find out what we are planning for the new season of Management Café. 

Mon, February 28, 2022

MC23 Applying Lean Thinking to your Leadership Practice

A first for this podcast, Pilar has a conversation with a guest! It was recorded a while ago, but like all the Management Café episodes, the content is evergreen, so we hope you’ll enjoy hearing from Anish HIndocha. This episode is brought to you by Virtual not Distant, where we help leaders and managers of remote teams. https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/ Anish Hindocha is a “lean consultant, with a slight bent towards culture transformation” Lean thinking takes the lean principles developed by Toyota, outside of the production industry, from how you orientate a strategy to how teams problem-solve. Lean turns the traditional hierarchical organisation on its head, asking who knows most about where the organisations problems are. (It’s the people doing the work!) and has trust and team work at its core. Is it about adopting a certain mindset? Lean organisations are usually learning organisations. What are some of the principles we can adapt as managers? We can look at the principles, eg. define value from the point of view of the customer. Then we begin to challenge what we’re doing, looking for “waste” and making tiny improvements to our process. At a time when many teams and organisations are designing a new way of working, adopting some of these principles can save us time and energy in the future. Embracing lean needs a growth mindset, not hiding from problems and mistakes, and noticing them to spot opportunities for opportunities. It needs to be ok to spot and flag mistakes, and addressing mistakes become a way of embracing the learning journey. Anish tells the story of a department who’d never had half an hour with the business director (four layers up) before he organised a meeting with them. It was an eye opener for him, hearing some of the problems and solutions they were raising directly from them, which he’d never heard before. The push for sustainability and purpose-led organisations could be the future of where lean thinking goes. After all, lean is about connecting people, process and purpose. For more on lean thinking read The Machine that Changed the World by Womack, Jones and Roos and Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed, which is not about lean, but about learning from mistakes. Also, Rebel Ideas. You can connect with Anish on LinkedIn and check out his website, www.jigsawconsulting.co.uk/ . <br /

S3 E22 · Mon, March 29, 2021

MC22 Preventing Isolation in Remote Teams

In today's episode, Pilar shares what she learned from the 21st Century Work Life series on Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams.  (Episodes WLP221, WLP223, WLP225, WLP228, WLP231, WLP233, WLP235 - summary here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/reflection-connection-disconnection ) This episode is based on the article written for HRZone back in May 2020: Five Steps to Preventing Isolation and Disconnection in Your Remote Team The five steps for managers looking to reduce the risk of isolation in remote teams are:   1. Understand what loneliness is, what is causing it and how it manifests itself in individuals  2. Unpick the effects it's having on team members and their work 3. Design communication practices and role-model behaviours that nurture a sense of belonging in different ways 4. Recognise that it is part of an organisation’s duty of care to mitigate the risk of loneliness and address it as part of the overall wellbeing strategy 5. Equip individuals with the tools and skills to help them understand what makes them feel connected to others, and how to proactively find that connection You can download our free guide on Leading through Visible Teamwork by signing up to our newsletter: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/newsletter If you are looking for more inspiration on leading remote teams and online collaboration, check out Virtual not Distant's flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life.

S3 E21 · Mon, April 20, 2020

How Will Team Members Know I Value Them - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

S3 E20 · Tue, April 14, 2020

How Will We Maintain High Levels of Trust in Our Remote Team - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote series

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

S3 E19 · Tue, April 07, 2020

We're Going to Spend All our Time in Online Meetings - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote

When we think of "collaboration", we often think: "meetings!". But there is much more to collaboration than meeting up - and moving to a remote setup, often involves adopting asynchronous communication. This episode will guide you some different ways of staying in touch with each other - and if you need to run online meetings, well, we've got the book for you (Online Meetings that Matter) and a free download: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/books

S3 E18 · Mon, April 06, 2020

The Dangers of Working from Anywhere - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote series

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

S3 E17 · Mon, March 30, 2020

I Know We'll Feel Distant from Each Other - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote series

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

S3 E16 · Mon, March 23, 2020

I am Afraid We'll Lose Visibility in the Organisation - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote series

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

S3 E15 · Mon, March 16, 2020

What if All We Do is Type - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote series

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

Mon, March 09, 2020

The Dangers of Being Always On - Oh No My Team's Gone Remote series

We're re-purposing the segments Oh No My Team's Gone Remote, for managers and leaders of remote teams, from our flagship podcast 21st Century Work Life. Find us over at virtualnotdistant.com

S2 E12 · Mon, February 05, 2018

Borrowing from Self-Management

There has been much hype around systems like Holacracy, and while we might not want to move fully into self-management, there are plenty of aspects we can incorporate into how we lead our teams.  For the full script, go over to   https://managementcafepodcast.com/2018/02/04/self-management/   Meanwhile, here are some links you might want to check out: The article that inspired this podcast: https://hbr.org/2016/07/beyond-the-holacracy-hype And some further content recommendations: Maverick by Ricardo Semler You can also listen to the ten episode podcast LeadWise. Or watch his TedTalk How to Run a Company with No Rules: https://www.ted.com/talks/ricardo_semler_how_to_run_a_company_with_almost_no_rules And don't forget to check out what we do over at www.virtualnotdistant.com  

S2 E11 · Tue, November 07, 2017

Should We Be Authentic Leaders?

I'm back for another season. This time I will be podcasting "freestyle" using an article as inspiration. In today's episode I talk about what "authentic leadership" means to me and why I'm not that sure about the term... To get in touch, go to www.managementcafepodcast.com or www.virtualnotdistant.com   Today’s episode has been inspired by this article. You might want to read it before listening. The Truth About Authentic Leaders   by Bill George,  author of “Authentic Leadership”   What did you think? What did you take from it? What are your questions/observations/reservations/agreements? Here is what I took from it and the thoughts this article sparked in me 1) What is “authentic leadership”? Not pretending we’re someone we’re not. Not pretending we know everything. Let our personality and values through (not necessarily our personal life) Make unpopular decisions that aligh with our values – tricky for middle management It’s a great alternative to “heroic leadership” where you are seen as having to pull the cart. I would say we need flexibility, self-awareness and a degree of vulnerability. Example from Originals, loc 3152 2) The “bringing your whole self to work” dilemma. Flexibility is key – and after all, we bring different parts of ourselves to different situations and different relationships. Low self-monitors; High self-monitors “Authentic leaders are sensitive to the impact their words and actions have on others, not because they are “messaging” the right talking points. “They don’t hide behind flaws, instead they seek to understand them.” It’s not about being rigid, but in being honest about who you are. “One of the hardest things for leaders to do is to understand how other people see them, which is often quite different than how they want to be seen.” “Adapt the style without compromising character.” Go back to the point on vulnerability – another article, this time from Inc. Jack Ma made a Fool of Himself Last Week. Smart Move. Inc sept21st 2017 https://www.inc.com/jack-ma-made-a-fool-of-himself-last-week.html About being approachable and human – core of authentic leadership However, needs to be backed by actions and reputation elsewhere. (3) We always associate being “authentic” with “good”. This means, if we want a culture of authenticity, need to look out for values when we recruit, especially when we recruit people in positions of authority. Fo

S1 E10 · Thu, August 03, 2017

Leading Remote Teams

In this episode, we cover the change in mindset necessary to lead remote teams, working out loud, how to choose a tool, making decisions and planning for spontaneous conversations. (I know!) For detailed show notes go to www.managementcafepodcast.com The time zone issue 07.00 mins The difference between collocated and remote 09:00 Change in mindset 13.00 Working Out Loud 16:10 Choosing and using tools 21.30 Making Decisions 24.00 Informal conversation Recommend book: Under New Management by David Burkus For more on leading virtual teams, visit www.virtualnotdistant.com  

S1 E9 · Sat, June 17, 2017

Psychological Safety

Building psychological safety requires us to be very aware of our own behaviour, as we create a place where team members feel able to bring up problems and admit mistakes. visit www.managementcafepodcast.com  for the transcript   

S1 E8 · Thu, March 23, 2017

Motivation: Should managers be motivating others?

Is it a manager's job to motivate team members? Or is it our job to just get out of the way? In today's episode, Pilar shares a couple of motivation theories and asks some questions to help you determine whether your behaviour is nurturing self-motivation or hindering it. Subscribe via the blog http://managementcafepodcast.com Self-determination theory suggests that we are inherently driven to be the best we can be and our motivation is affected by our surroundings and context. In order for this intrinsic motivation to flourish, we need autonomy, competence and a sense of relatedness to either others or a common purpose. (You can find out more about Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory here: http://selfdeterminationtheory.org/ ) Pilar recommends Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg, which has a brilliant chapter on Motivation. "We praise people for doing things that are hard, that's how they learn to believe they can do them." Smarter, Faster, Better Locus of control affects our motivation and it can be affected by training and feedback. When working as a virtual team or in a remote set-up, we need to keep an eye out to feed that sense of relatedness. The Progress Principle and the "inner work life". Emotions and perceptions during the work day. Catalysts - actions that directly affect the work and helps people to want to do a good job. Nourishers - actions that show support and help us feel happy about doing the work. Inhibitors - prevent us from feeling happy at work. Toxins - actions that decrease the happiness of workers. Remember, before you even think about what you can do to "motivate others", assess whether there is anything you're doing that might be inhibiting their intrinsic motivation. Further Reading and Watching You can read more about the Progress Principle here: https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work? Great TedTalk by Dan Ariely which re-defines "meaningful work". Pop into the Management Café or visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

S1 E7 · Thu, November 10, 2016

Team Norms

In today's episode, we cover the five areas under which team norms develop and why we should pay attention for these unspoken rules that are emerging in our team. visit www.managementcafepodcast.com and www.virtualnotdistant.com Like it or not, your behaviour as manager, as team leader or as official person leading a team, really matters. Group norms develop as team members learn through experience what behaviours are acceptable and which aren't. These norms develop over time, as different people watch others in the team and adapt their own behaviour accordingly - either consciously or sometimes, even subconsciously. Group norms are those unspoken rules that emerge as people work together. They are part of a team's identity and culture. Some norms will be helpful but others will be unhelpful, so, at the very least, we should be aware of what they are. If as managers we are unaware of our own behaviour, we might well be planting the seed for an unhelpful group norm to emerge. The simplest example that comes to mind is attendance to meetings. If we always wait for latecomers to arrive before we start a meeting, either in person or online, then a norm will develop that says that it's ok to be late for meetings in this team. So, allow me to invite you for a little bit more of a guided coffee today. To just say, “Let's assess our team's norms” can be quite daunting. Where do we start? If we have a new team, how can we influence our team members so that healthy norms develop? As we're dealing with human behaviour, and even the more challenging  behaviour in groups, how about breaking our thinking down into different kinds of group norms? To guide you through this, I've tapped into a great textbook called Organisational Behaviour in Organisations by Baron and Cohen. When breaking down the kind of norms we might see in teams, we can talk about norms around Openess and Honesty, Taking Responsibility, Working with Others, Following the Rules and Use of Resources. This is quite an interesting breakdown, which can also help us to look at differences in our team. Sometimes individual team members seem at odds with others. There might even be some conflict in a team if people view these aspects of working in an organisation differently. Take 'Openess and Honesty'. If you are someone who likes guarding their work and only sharing small bits of information on a needs to know basis, and you're working with someone who much prefers transparency, who doesn't mind everyone knowing what they're working on etc., there are bound to be clashes between you. You might think they're requiring you to share too much and they might think you don't trust them enough. So, as well as using these five aspects of working together to identify our team norms, we can use them to figure out what might be causing friction amongst team members. Right, l

S1 E6 · Sun, October 16, 2016

Building Trust in Your Team

In today's episode we dissect trust, think of ways to build it in our team and we ask ourselves some difficult questions.   Trust, where do we start? I suppose that before looking about what trust actually is, should we have a quick recap of why it matters? Does Trust Matter? Does it matter? Do you think it matters? What does lack of trust look like in a team, in an organisation? What does “plenty of trust” look like? And is there such a thing as “too much trust”? A word of warning, this episode might leave you with more questions than answers but if you’re up to it, let’s begin. My first question, when talking about trust, is, it’s important to trust others… to do what? A team where people trust each other to do a good job and act in the best interest of the team is going to look very different a team where people trust each other to keep their heads down when there are problems between individuals. Just the fact that some kind of trust exists between team members is not enough to have a high-performing team, one that can trouble shoot, one that can innovate. But if we have the kind of trust that allows people to fee like they can rely on each other to make decisions for them in their best interest, then, well I think we’re onto a winner. The Benefits of Trust Where there is trust, there is speed. (Remember the book titled The Speed of Trust) If we know that the information somebody gives us is reliable, we don’t need to check it. (Speed) If we trust one person to make a decision for the rest of us, that decision is made faster. If we trust that everyone in our team will flag up problems when they see them, we won’t be constantly checking and monitoring the work. But it’s not all about speed. It’s also about reducing uncertainty in our working relationships. It’s about creating an atmosphere (whether this atmosphere is palpable, in a room, or created across technology like in a virtual team) it’s about creating an atmosphere where people feel like they can get on with their work and find the support they need when they need it – and know that others will ask for help from them too, when they come across a block. As a manager, you want people to trust you so that you can make decisions on behalf of the team and they can back you up with their hard work; you need them to trust you so that they know you’ll represent them at their best in other parts of the organisation and beyond; Isn’t it better to have relationships at work based on trust than on power? Yeap, as you are sipping your drink I hear you think, “easier said than done”. So let’s try to break down this trust business and see where we get to… Two Types of Trust First I’d like to share with you definitions of two types of trust. One is calculus based trust, that is, you have trust in people that they’ll do the right thing because the consequences for them not to do so would be harsh. That… to put it in

S1 E5 · Sun, October 09, 2016

The Psychological Contract

Today we cover the psychological contract: how it's formed and how can we decrease the negative consequences when it is broken. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com When we first join an organisation, we develop expectations of what our relationship is going to be like with our colleagues, the organisation as a whole and our manager or team leader. This is referred to as the psychological contract. It’s all the terms and conditions that we think we are agreeing to that are not explicitly laid out in our written contract, if we have one. The psychological contract is our interpretation of what we agree to give and what we hope to receive – which is why it’s so much fun to talk about, but so complex to deal with at work. The psychological contract can easily be broken if we don’t address some of those assumptions early on. Expectations can start to form during recruitment, when candidates start to imagine what it would be like to work for the organisation. What makes this even more challenging, is that these expectations can also be shaped by our previous experiences at work, even by the experience of our parents at work. Why it’s important to think about this is that a breach in the psychological contract can lead to people no longer wanting to go the extra mile (why should I? I’m not getting what I thought I was promised) and at it’s worse, it can lead to destructive behaviour at work. Remember that this is all about perceptions of what we’re promised when we start a job, not about what has actually been said. The reason why I wanted to talk about this is that in an era where there is ongoing change around work systems and organisational structures, our expectations are constantly being adjusted. If we’re not careful, if we don’t maintain ongoing dialogue with our people and involve them in decisions that affect them; if we don’t constantly check in to make sure that their way of working makes sense, we’ll lose people’s desire to do a good job. So, being aware of the existence of the psychological contract also helps us to understand what the effects of change may be, and why people who have always proved to be engaged at work, might see their performance go down in response to change. (That is beyond the expected dip in performance that usually accompanies change.) Imagine for example, that your organisation is going through a big structural change. We can see this at the moment in organisations moving to a more self-organised way of working, away from the traditional command and control, in order to be more nimble and adaptable. At some point your organisation might decide to move all the way to a self-managed structure, where everyone has the responsibility to look after the business and after the working processes. People are now being asked to be more involved in decision-making and to be more accountable than they were under the more hierarchical structure, where most accountability l

S1 E4 · Thu, September 22, 2016

Team Development

In today's episode, we look at strengthening and reviewing our team practice by using John Adair's Action Centred Leadership model to break down teamwork. I had a bit of trouble knowing quite what to order today. I wasn’t sure if I wanted team identity, which is so difficult to define and shape some times; or did I want team dynamics, but they’re really about the intrapersonal interactions in the team, so I felt I’d be too vague if I addressed them (teams are all so different, well, individuals are all so different that I wasn’t sure I could speak directly to you and your people) – and I would have loved to use the term “team building” but unfortunately this now often is associated with a one-off activity to help with team spirit instead of the long, process that building a team really is. So, I thought Team Development would be vague enough but could give us enough of a hook to start our coffee. When I talk of team development, I’m referring to looking at the processes or activities that can help our team get better every day. And for that, I quite like looking at a classical model, which I rarely hear anything about nowadays. And that is John Adair’s Action Centred Leadership. I’m not much of a model and theories person when it comes to looking at something as complex as working in a team, but it does help to frame our thinking and, when used with other people, it gives us a language. And of course, in looking through a model we start asking ourselves questions and we might even discover a solution that doesn’t involve using the model at all. Having said that, this particular model helped me a lot when I was running a small theatre company many years ago. My main aim was to build an ensemble, a group of freelance professionals who worked regularly together – looking back, building this team was probably more of a driving force through my time at the company than creating theatre itself, but that’s a story for a different coffee.. – We didn’t have the resources to put on more than one show a year, a smaller experimental event also only once a year and we also had an ongoing education programme – but this rarely saw more than a few of us working together and this was usually for a few hours, two days max. Around the time that I was looking at formalizing a bit more the Ensemble and building some sense of identity within it and around it, I took a Leadership course, a ten day course, which was a wonderful introduction into the world of theories and models I’d never come across. One model turned on my lightbulb, action centred leadership. In essence, Adair suggests that leadership in a team happens at the intersection of looking after the task, the individual and the team. It makes complete sense, doesn’t it. And, looking at it, this simple devision of our work process can helps us as much to plan and look forwards as it does to review how we’re doing. Think about reviewing how we’re doing in

S1 E3 · Sun, September 11, 2016

Emotional Intelligence

In today's episode, Pilar looks at the components of Emotional Intelligence, she covers three phenomena we see in the workplace related to emotions and she introduces the emotional capabilities of high-performing teams. A little bit of history. Some of you might remember Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence hitting the bookshelves in 1996. What a revelation – how we navigate the emotional aspect of life is just as important as how we use our intellect.The book was followed by Working with Emotional Intelligence, as well as Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, co authored with Richard Boyazis. If you are interested in the subject, might want to check out one of those. I’ve dipped in and out of them. One of the reasons I thought I’d share my thoughts about this topic here is that just the term itself, just the fact that it has made our way into our vocabulary of desirable professional competencies, means that we acknowledge that we all have emotions, and that it’s how we operate with them that allows to work better or worse. (Visit www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts )  Long gone are the days when we were expected to leave our emotions out of the office door (or computer, if you are working away from your colleagues) – we are humans, let’s celebrate that.   I’ve been struggling with how to tackle this topic – defining emotional intelligence is all very well, but how does it help us? And how does it help us as managers and how does it help us to create the best conditions in which a team can operate, which, for me, is at the heart of 21st Century management. So I’ve decided to structure my thoughts in three parts: The components that make up emotional intelligence, or EI, then a couple of terms that I’ve come across over the years – sometimes it’s nice to have names for those elusive things that surround emotions – and finally, I’ll share some research on self-managed, outstanding teams, which shows some of what we might want to look out for, encourage, facilitate and even role-model. A little bit of a definition of emotional intelligence, as defined by Daniel Goleman (The term Emotional Intelligence was actually first used in 1989 by two American academic psychologists: John D Mayer and Peter Salovey.) but I’m going to stick with Goleman as he’s more palatable, this is a coffee break podcast after all, emotional intelligence is the cluster of skills that allow us to understand and regulate our own emotions and those of others.     Let’s start with the four components of of EI then.   Self-awareness This is the basis of all leadership practice and indeed, the basis of all successful human interaction.   I imagine you can see how in all human interactions it’s desirable to be aware of how we’re feeling and of how we’re coming across. But let’s go a b

S1 E2 · Sun, September 04, 2016

Creating a Coaching Culture

Get in touch through www.virtualnotdistant.com/contact Coaching was almost a buzzword a decade ago – we started to realised that one size of training doesn’t fit all and that a really personal approach to development was probably a better investment of organisation’s money. Better to employ a coach to help with behaviour change (especially at the senior level, when it’s more difficult to identify the problems we need to address), than send everyone on a course. Now, during today’s coffee, I’m not really interested in talking about employing external coaches or even how to work with internal ones, that’s a different conversation. What I wanted to share with you today is whether it would help us to create a coaching culture in our teams and organisations. “Ok, you’re almost creating another annoying buzzword”, I hear you say. Sorry, yes, you’re right. I’ll explain what I mean by that. And though the Learning and Development world uses ‘Coaching Culture’ to mean the use of external coaches and coaching practices and tools by managers, I’d like to go further than that – further and broader. I suppose I’m talking about building an environment where we are all encouraged to solve problems ourselves, by taking the time to reflect, by asking ourselves and others questions, instead of immediately looking for answers from others. And let me be a bit more specific on this too. Rather than looking for quick fixes which actually, might not even be addressing the real problem, because we haven’t even had time to identify what the real problem is, we should be asking the right questions. (For more on coaching, check episode 8 from the 21st Century Work Life podcast.) So for me, taking a coaching approach as a manager, or a team member, means asking questions before coming up with solutions to other people’s problems. And that is really hard. Especially if you are in a management position where you have been traditionally led to believe that you are there to make sure everyone does a good job and solves everyone’s problems. And if you’re someone used to working in a very hierarchical organisation, then you’ll be used to managers solving your problems for you and you might have heard “that’s management’s problem”. Asking Questions Now asking questions is not easy. For one, I’ve come to realise that people sometimes are suspicious of questions. I’ve run workshops when I’ve asked after an exercise,”Ok, how was that, how did that make you feel?” And people have indeed, told me whatever and then they’ve followed their answers with, “Is that what you were looking for?” To which my answer was, I wasn’t looking for anything, I just wanted you to share how you felt, that’s why I asked. But we are way too used to leading questions, when people who know they can solve our problems pretend they are asking questions, when

S1 E1 · Sat, August 27, 2016

Great Team Communication

In today's episode, Pilar shares a piece of research that looked into the patterns of communication of high performing teams and she asks you some questions to help you review how your own team is doing. I’ll start with an apology, or a disclaimer, I’m not going to tell you how to turn your team great in 20 minutes. What I would like to do is to dissect what communication in great teams might look like. “Teamwork” and “communication” are words that are often used vaguely, we need better communication, teamwork is really important… what does any of that really mean? Professor Sandy Pentland and his team at the MIT media lab gathered data which showed the patterns of communication in great teams. For a start, it turns out that 50% of the variation between low and high performing teams is accounted for by these patterns of communication, so I definitely think it’s worth looking at. So, what did Professor Pentland and his team look at? By putting a gadget on team members, they were able to measure how people were interacting. These gadgets measured the Energy behind the interaction, the body language, tone of voice, who you were facing, how long you were talking to them for – and whether they were in your team or not. The one thing they didn’t capture was the content of the conversation. I will tell you what they found in a moment, but I’d like to point out that these conversations included informal communication. And by this, I don’t mean when we are just chatting away about non-work related things but also about when we talk about work casually – when I ask you whether you have met one of my potential clients before, when I shout across the room to see whether you know when we’re likely to receive the next report; when you offer to help me with the new software. So the data from the sociometers was grouped into three components: Energy, how team members contribute to the team, Engagement – whom was talking to whom – and Exploration, how much team members talk to those from others teams. It’s probably not surprising that in the lower performing teams, the contribution of some people was much larger than others – and we’re talking about the contribution in face to face meetings. Let me just stop for a moment here, think about the times when you meet with your team informally, or even formally. Say at the coffee machine, water cooler, on the way from the office to the car park or the train station. Who contributes more to the conversation? Quite often, those further up in the hierarchy might be given more space, so if you are one of those, just beware. So, the informal energy we bring to the group seems to be important, as does how even this is throughout the team. The other thing measured in this study was Engagement, that is whom is talking to whom. Especially in new teams, we

S1 Enull · Thu, August 25, 2016

Introducing Management Café

I’ll start with an apology, or a disclaimer, I’m not going to tell you how to turn your team great in 20 minutes. What I would like to do is to dissect what communication in great teams might look like. “Teamwork” and “communication” are words that are often used vaguely, we need better communication, teamwork is really important… what does any of that really mean? So I’ll share with you my favourite piece of research, from 2012, on high-performing teams, where the authors present the communication patterns of high performance teams. I hope that will help you to evaluate your communication processes and habits, to see whether there’s anything you might be missing. Now the research was done on collocated teams, that is those in the office together, but, here, as we now need to cover both collocated and virtual or remote or even hybrid teams (a bit of virtual, a bit of collocated) I’ll also share with you some thoughts on all this can be transported to the virtual world. Are you sitting comfortably? (Actually, this is a podcast, so you could be anywhere, anyway…) A couple of years ago, in 2012, I came across an article which made me say, “Finally! We can dissect “great teamwork’.” If you read regularly read about leadership in organisations, and specifically if you read the Harvard Business Review, you’ve probably heard about this piece of research. Professor Sandy Pentland and his team at the MIT media lab gathered data which showed the patterns of communication in great teams. For a start, it turns out that 50% of the variation between low and high performing teams is accounted for by these patterns of communication, so I definitely think it’s worth looking at. So, what did Professor Pentland and his team look at? By putting a gadget on team members, they were able to measure how people were interacting. These gadgets measured the Energy behind the interaction, the body language, tone of voice, who you were facing, how long you were talking to them for – and whether they were in your team or not. The one thing they didn’t capture was the content of the conversation. I will tell you what they found in a moment, but I’d like to point out that these conversations included informal communication. And by this, I don’t mean when we are just chatting away about non-work related things but also about when we talk about work casually – when I ask you whether you have met one of my potential clients before, when I shout across the room to see whether you know when we’re likely to receive the next report; when you offer to help me with the new software. This is an important reminder, because it’s, unfortunately not unusual for people in offices to keep their heads down at work – and if this happens, no matter how many productivity tools we use or how many lists we make, our team is not going to fly. We’re never going to be great, just coast along. So it’s important that we don’t lose those times when we’re all t