41 episodes
Conversation With a Manager Steve King
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- Business
Hi. This is Steve King, and this is Conversation with a Manager: Stories from the Frontline.
Along with my colleague Betsy Hagan and our producer David Blindauer, our podcast explores the common and sometimes uncommon challenges facing today’s managers in the workplace.
Our proposition is simple. Managers, particularly frontline managers, play an oversized role in the productivity of an organization and the engagement of team members. So, a manager’s successful performance makes a ton of difference.
We are defining managers as anyone with responsibilities to look after the performance of others. It is an evolving role … impacted by new technologies, hybrid work arrangements, and generational differences. While some might find the notion of management a bit old fashion, it remains and integral part of the business landscape. There are plenty of managers out there and plenty of new ones every day.
This is a podcast for managers, by managers. Betsy and I have over fifty years of experience as managers between us. We have written extensively on the topic of management, and we have taught literally thousands of managers in classroom, online, and seminar settings. And I can assure you we have learned as much in those settings from managers as we have shared.
In each episode we will visit with a successful manager we have met and hear their stories and the lessons they have learned from their years of experience. We expect you’ll find their stories and insights useful and applicable right away back on the job.
We intend to keep the podcast short and sweet, around 20 minutes, so you can fit them into your commute, lunch break, or while you’re making dinner.
So, please join us in a … conversation with a manager.
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Managers and Those New to the Workforce ... Kristin Slavish speaks with Betsy Hagan about how to integrate a person new to the workforce into the team.
On occasion a manager will have the opportunity to hire someone onto the team for whom the job is their very first full-time role. Orienting these newly minted team members is just a little different then hiring new team members with plenty of work experience.
In this bonus episode Kristen Slavish offers some thoughts on how to best on-board these kinds of folks and make their first professional experience an engaging and productive one.
Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm -
Managers and Goal Alignment ... Jakada Imani speaks with Steve King the importance of being very explicit about goal expectations with team members.
One essential conversation managers must have with their team members is the "what's expected of me?" conversation, where the manager and the team member develop a mutual understanding of what the team member and the team must accomplish. Sometimes those conversations can get a little lazy, assumptions are made and inferences are unspoken, leading to misunderstanding about goals and goal achievement.
In this episode our guest Jakada Imani points out the pitfalls when goals clarity is not achieved ... a kind of warning or reminder to all of us to be as explicit as possible when setting goals.
Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm -
Managers and Empowerment ... Dan Wargolet speaks with Steve King about a technique for avoiding the tendency to micromanage.
In prep for each podcast we ask our guests to talk about the best managers they have had in their career. Our guest today Dan Wargolet spoke of two managers and how these two helped shape him as a manager of others.
In one case that managers shared a technique called "banks of the river" to help team members understand the boundries of their decision rights and form the basis for empowering those team members. We thought this metaphor might help guide you in your attempts to successfully empower others.
Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm -
Managers Handling Inappropriate Customer Behavior .... Kelsey Behringer speaks with Betsy Hagan about situations where customers are inappropriate with team members.
In a world where the phrase "the customer is always right" often rules, managers can be caught in the difficult situation when a customer or client is acting inappropriately with one of their team members. Hopefully those listening to this podcast will not face this kind of moment. But if you do, our guest Kelsey Behringer offers some sound advise on how to navigate this kind of situation.
Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm -
Managers and Leaders .... JD Cox speaks with Steve King on the distinction between managing and leading.
A long and unfinished debate has gone on for decades about the distinction between managing and leading. In this bonus episode our guest JD Cox offers his view on this topic.
While the primary focus of this podcast is on the role of a manager, we have have drifted now and again into the topic of leadership. JD believes it is important for a manager to display certain leadership qualities at critical moments of interaction with their team members. He outlines his thoughts for us here along with some outstanding, personal examples.
Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm -
Managers and Their Former Peers ... Steven Hansen speaks with Artell Smith about challenges managing former peers.
One of the most common challenges managers will often speak to is the challenge of managing former peers. Peer relationships are often adjanent to friendships. And while managers and their former peers can maintain friendships, the inherent power dynamic between manager and their team members changes the interpersonal landscape.
In this bonus episode Steven Hansen explores lessons he learned to make this transitional relationship work for both parties.
Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm