Announcing The Meaningful Manager: How to Manage What Matters!

Grateful to announce that my new book, The Meaningful Manager: How to Manage What Matters, will be published in Spring 2022! It includes a simple, complete system for leading and managing your people based on what I’ve learned from educating and coaching over 10,000 people about leadership, management, goals, feedback, and more.

Return on Character...underrated leadership book

Return on Character by Fred Kiel emphasizes these qualities in leaders:

Integrity: telling the truth, acting consistently

Responsibility: Admitting mistakes, concern for the common good

Forgiveness: letting go of mistakes of others and ourselves, focusing on what's right

Compassion: Empathizing with and empowering others, caring for others, committed to others' development

Summary here: https://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2015/05/return_on_character.html

Omaha! Omaha!

I found my notes from a free session with Peyton Manning (thanks, Salesforce!).

- Peyton emphasized the importance of mastering the fundamentals and continuing to work on them. For managers, these are things like prioritized goals, 1-on-1s, and feedback.

- Peyton mentioned savoring the victories as well as the work and preparation. As managers, it's important to put your body, mind, and spirit into supporting and leading your people every day.

- Peyton said his keys for high performance are hard work, ability, passion, and accountability to others. He talked about how accountable you are to your teammates in the NFL. As a manager, it's critical to remind our people why their work matters and the impact it has on other people. Show them this impact if you can.

Humility and ownership

“Implementing Extreme Ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership, and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.”

― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Love this from Larissa Conte

http://www.wayfinding.io/

Inspirations for an intentional end to 2020

Example reflection questions //
What have I learned about (X) this year? (Self / Family / Work / Etc)
What were the challenges I faced this year and how did I grow?
What am I committed to as a result of this year?
What do I/we want to make so in the coming year?
What is my guiding intention/curiosity for 2021?

Choose what's nourishing //
Nature time? Art project? A great book? Exercise? Family board games? Unstructured free time? Listen to what you and your loved ones are longing for and design for it.

Unplug //
Identify time to be fully offline and set up auto-responders for peace of mind and nervous system health.

Contribute //
Find ways to gift and support those who've suffered the greatest hardship in your local area, country, and globally.

Recycle people who are over-promoted

From Andy Grove's High Output Management, quite possibly the best book on management ever written...

Recycle high achievers who are over-promoted. As achievers are promoted they typically cycle between “exceeds expectations” at their current level and “meets expectations” in their first review after taking on greater responsibility. Management should be careful not to promote someone too quickly and having them “below expectations” at the higher level for too long. It’s an embarrassing situation for management and the employee. However, instead of ejecting them from the company for low-performance, as is common, it’s more useful to recycle the employee into a more appropriate role, despite the complexity, emotions and awkwardness that may be caused.

No time to read? Summarized here: https://medium.com/@iantien/top-takeaways-from-andy-grove-s-high-output-management-2e0ecfb1ea63

The R in PERMA

"Relationships are fundamental to well-being. The experiences that contribute to well-being are often amplified through our relationships, for example, great joy, meaning, laughter, a feeling of belonging, and pride in accomplishment. Connections to others can give life purpose and meaning. Support from and connection with others is one of the best antidotes to “the downs” of life and a reliable way to feel up. Research shows that doing acts of kindness for others produces an increase in well-being." from https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/learn-more/perma-theory-well-being-and-perma-workshops