The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown

Dr. Donita Brown
  • 4.7 (14)
  • Management
  • Weekly

Short episodes for busy managers. Twice a week, under five minutes each, one idea you can use before your next meeting. Dr. Donita Brown spent two decades in Fortune 500 healthcare operations before becoming a management professor and leadership coach. She's seen what works from inside the org chart and from the front of the classroom, and she brings both to every episode. No fluff, no filler, no fifty-minute monologue. Just a real idea about leading people: how to give feedback that lands, when to delegate, why consistency beats motivation, and what to do about the parts of management nobody trained you for. Every episode ends with one question worth carrying into your week. If you lead a team, or you're about to, this is the fastest five minutes in your feed.

  1. 2h ago

    How to Run Effective Meetings (And Know When to Cancel One)

    Send us Fan Mail How many meetings have you attended that could have been an email? Unnecessary meetings don't just waste time. They interrupt your team's focus, slow down productivity, and take valuable time away from work that needs to get done. In this episode of The Management Minute, Dr. Donita Brown shares a simple way to decide whether a meeting is actually necessary and two practical rules for making meetings more productive. You'll learn how to distinguish between information that can be shared through email and conversations that require collaboration, why every meeting should have a clear decision to make, and how assigning action items and deadlines can prevent the same discussions from happening week after week. Before scheduling your next meeting, ask yourself one question: Are we sharing information, or are we making a decision? Sometimes the best way to lead a productive meeting is to cancel it. Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    How to Run Effective Meetings (And Know When to Cancel One)

  2. 4d ago

    How to Say No at Work Without Feeling Guilty

    Send us Fan Mail Do you struggle to say no at work, even when you know you don't have the time? For years, Dr. Donita Brown considered herself a yes person. When someone asked her to take on another project, join a committee, or help with something new, she'd agree before stopping to think about what she was committing to. But all those yeses came with a cost. In this episode of The Management Minute, Donita talks about people pleasing at work, setting healthy boundaries, and learning how to say no without feeling like you're letting someone down. Saying no doesn't have to mean being rude, damaging relationships, or closing the door on future opportunities. Often, it's about how you communicate your decision. Donita shares three practical ways to make saying no easier: Pause before agreeing. Give yourself time to think about your schedule and priorities before making a commitment.Decline the request, not the person. You can appreciate the opportunity and even suggest someone else who might be a better fit.Stop overexplaining. Sometimes a simple, kind response is enough.Because every time you say yes to something you don't have time for, you're saying no to something else. That might be an important project, your personal time, or the people waiting for you at home. Here's your challenge for the week: The next time someone asks you to take on something new, don't say yes immediately. Give yourself a day to think about it. You might be surprised how differently you feel tomorrow. Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    How to Say No at Work Without Feeling Guilty

  3. Oct 26

    Managing Someone More Experienced Than You

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when you're managing someone who has more experience than you do? For new managers, leading employees who have spent years, or even decades, mastering their work can feel intimidating. You might feel pressure to prove yourself, demonstrate your expertise, or show everyone why you deserve to be in charge. But that's exactly the trap Dr. Donita Brown wants managers to avoid. In this episode of The Management Minute, Donita shares her experience managing someone who had been doing the job longer than she'd been alive and explains why good leadership isn't about being the most knowledgeable person in the room. Your job as a manager isn't to compete with your team's expertise. It's to make that expertise count. That means respecting what experienced employees know, asking thoughtful questions, listening to their recommendations, and helping them connect their work to the bigger picture. It also means understanding that you can make difficult decisions without pretending to know everything. Whether you're a first-time manager, a younger leader managing older employees, or someone leading a team of experienced professionals, this episode offers a practical reminder about building trust and earning respect. Because successful management isn't about proving you're smarter than your employees. It's about helping them do their best work. Here's your question for the week: If someone on your team has more experience than you, are you competing with them or supporting them? Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    Managing Someone More Experienced Than You

  4. Oct 22

    How to Run Better One-on-One Meetings With Employees

    Send us Fan Mail Are your one-on-one meetings with employees actually helping them, or are they just another status update? For years, Dr. Donita Brown approached employee one-on-one meetings with a checklist of project updates, client questions, and unfinished tasks. The meetings felt productive, but she eventually realized something important: a one-on-one meeting should belong to the employee, not the manager. In this episode of The Management Minute, Donita shares how changing her approach to one-on-one meetings helped create space for more meaningful conversations. Instead of leading with a list of questions, she starts by asking, "What's on your mind?" or "What do you need me most for right now?" And then comes the hardest part: staying quiet long enough to listen. Effective one-on-one meetings give managers an opportunity to understand employee frustrations, identify problems early, discuss career goals, and build trust. Those are conversations that rarely happen when the entire meeting is spent reviewing a project checklist. Donita also shares a simple way to evaluate your next meeting: Who did most of the talking? If it was you, you might be running a status meeting instead of a true one-on-one. Also in this episode: Donita introduces Mission Made Simple, her book and 90-minute workshop designed to help managers develop a one-sentence decision-making filter so teams can move forward with greater clarity and alignment. Resources mentioned: Mission Made Simple book: [https://www.amazon.ie/Mission-Made-Simple-Donita-Brown/dp/173402612X] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    How to Run Better One-on-One Meetings With Employees

  5. Oct 19

    Stop Saying "Great Job": How to Praise Employees

    Send us Fan Mail "Great job, team!" We've all said it. We've probably all heard it, too. But how much does that kind of praise actually mean? In this episode of The Management Minute, Dr. Donita Brown explains why generic praise often falls short and how managers can make employee recognition more meaningful. The difference comes down to being specific. Instead of simply telling someone they did a great job, tell them what they did well and why it mattered. Recognize the behavior and the result. Whether it's the way someone handled a difficult client, supported a new employee, or helped a project succeed, specific praise shows people you're paying attention. It also helps your team understand what good work looks like. Donita shares a few practical reminders for giving effective praise at work: Recognize specific behaviors and their impact.Give praise while the moment is still fresh.Understand whether your employees prefer public or private recognition.Keep it genuine. Manufactured praise can damage trust.Because meaningful employee recognition isn't about making a big announcement. It's about noticing the right things and taking the time to acknowledge them. Here's your challenge: Who on your team has done something good that you haven't recognized yet? Go tell them today. Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    Stop Saying "Great Job": How to Praise Employees

  6. Oct 15

    From Peer to Manager: What Nobody Tells You

    Send us Fan Mail Getting promoted to manager is exciting, but what happens when you're suddenly responsible for leading the same people who used to be your coworkers? One day you're part of the team, sharing lunch, conversations, and frustrations. The next, you're making decisions that affect those same people. And nobody really prepares you for how awkward that transition can feel. In this episode of The Management Minute, Dr. Donita Brown discusses one of the hardest transitions in leadership: going from peer to manager. Some new managers try to keep everything exactly the same, avoiding difficult decisions because they don't want to upset their former peers. Others go to the opposite extreme, distancing themselves from the team and damaging relationships they've spent years building. Neither approach works particularly well. Instead, Donita explains why new managers need to acknowledge the change, establish clear boundaries, and treat everyone fairly, even when that means their closest workplace friendships have to evolve. You can still be warm, approachable, and supportive. But your responsibilities have changed, and pretending otherwise only creates confusion. If you've recently been promoted or are preparing to manage your former coworkers, this episode is for you. And if you've already made that transition, here's a question worth considering: Are you still trying to be one of the group, or have you fully stepped into your role as their leader? Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    From Peer to Manager: What Nobody Tells You

  7. Oct 12

    Psychological Safety at Work: Can Your Team Tell You the Truth?

    Send us Fan Mail Can the people on your team tell you the truth, especially when something goes wrong? Psychological safety has become a common workplace term, but what does it actually look like in practice? In this episode of The Management Minute, Dr. Donita Brown breaks psychological safety down into a simple question: Do the people who work for you feel safe enough to speak up? Can they ask a question they think might sound dumb? Own a mistake? Bring you bad news? Push back on a decision without worrying they'll pay for it later? Research on team effectiveness has shown why those questions matter. Google’s research into effective teams identified psychological safety as an important factor in how successful teams work together. Earlier research by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson also examined the relationship between team climate and the reporting of mistakes. For managers, there’s an important distinction: psychological safety doesn’t mean lowering expectations. Strong teams can have both high standards and an environment where people feel comfortable speaking honestly about problems, mistakes, questions, and disagreements. Dr. Brown shares two practical ways managers can start building that environment: Pay attention to your first reaction when someone brings you bad news. And openly acknowledge something you got wrong. Because your reaction teaches people whether it’s safe to come to you again. One final gut check: When was the last time someone on your team told you that you were wrong? If you can’t remember, it might be worth asking why. Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    Psychological Safety at Work: Can Your Team Tell You the Truth?

  8. Oct 8

    How to Disagree With Your Boss.

    Send us Fan Mail What should you do when you’re convinced your boss is making the wrong decision? Most people take one of two approaches. They stay quiet, nod along, and complain about the decision later. Or they challenge their boss in the moment and turn a disagreement into a standoff. Neither one is particularly useful. In this episode of The Management Minute, Dr. Donita Brown offers a third option for how to disagree with your boss professionally: go to them privately, go early, and say it once. Instead of simply saying you don’t like the decision, come prepared to explain what you’re seeing, why you’re concerned, and what your boss may need to consider before moving forward. Then comes the harder part. Once the decision has been made, commit to moving forward with the team, even if your recommendation wasn’t chosen. Being willing to respectfully disagree and then support the final decision can make you the kind of employee whose opinion leaders actively seek out. Of course, ethical concerns are different. If a decision involves something unethical or wrong, simply going along with it is not the answer. But most workplace disagreements aren’t questions of right versus wrong. They’re judgment calls. And in those situations, how you disagree can matter just as much as whether you turn out to be right. So the next time you’re sure your boss is wrong, don’t stay silent and don’t go to war. Try the third option. Find us at www.management-minute.com About The Management Minute: Practical leadership and management ideas you can actually use. The Management Minute with Dr. Donita Brown delivers short, actionable conversations on leadership, communication, resilience, workplace culture, and professional growth. Bring The Management Minute to Your Organization Dr. Donita Brown leads in-person and virtual workshops designed to help leaders and teams communicate better, build resilience, and strengthen the way they work together. Interested in bringing a workshop to your organization? Learn more or get in touch here: [https://www.management-minute.com/workshops] Connect with Dr. Donita Brown LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donitabrown] Management Minute: [https://www.management-minute.com/]

    How to Disagree With Your Boss.
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4.7
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Short episodes for busy managers. Twice a week, under five minutes each, one idea you can use before your next meeting. Dr. Donita Brown spent two decades in Fortune 500 healthcare operations before becoming a management professor and leadership coach. She's seen what works from inside the org chart and from the front of the classroom, and she brings both to every episode. No fluff, no filler, no fifty-minute monologue. Just a real idea about leading people: how to give feedback that lands, when to delegate, why consistency beats motivation, and what to do about the parts of management nobody trained you for. Every episode ends with one question worth carrying into your week. If you lead a team, or you're about to, this is the fastest five minutes in your feed.

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