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… Continue reading #39 Food – a manager’s best friend

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… Continue reading #38 Tackling the asynchronous environment

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… Continue reading #37 The multiple aspects of meetings

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… Continue reading #36 Manager or Therapist?

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… Continue reading #35 Developing People

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 a coffee. 0:30mins Do business owners struggle with delegation more than other folks. 3:00 We can attached to our routine tasks which means delegation can bring discomfort.… Continue reading #34 Is delegation hard?

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… Continue reading #32 Finding our motivation to lead

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… Continue reading #29 Moving from an individual contributor to manager (part 1)

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… Continue reading #28 Imposter Syndrome for Managers

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,… Continue reading #27 How do We Learn about Management?