The Manager Track

If you’re in you're a new manager and want to become a confident and competent leader people love to work with, then join leadership expert Ramona Shaw in this podcast. Each week, Ramona shares inspiring new perspectives and practical tips you can use right away to successfully transition into your first leadership role and to think, act, and communicate like the leader you know you can be.

The Manager Track is a business podcast hosted by Ramona Shaw, with 327 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Ramona Shaw hosts The Manager Track, a business show with 327 episodes published.

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  The Manager Track

  Giving Feedback as a Manager: The 3-Conversation Method (Ep 326)

  Aug 18, 202629 min

  Someone on your team does something you do not like. It is small, so you let it go. It happens again a few weeks later, and you let that one go too. By the third time, you are irritated, and now you are carrying six weeks of unspoken frustration into a thirty-minute feedback conversation. Even if you keep your cool, that pressure goes somewhere. Into your tone, your body language, sometimes the words you pick. Ramona calls this the most reliable way managers turn a manageable issue into a performance problem. Silence is not neutral. Every week you notice something and say nothing, you are teaching your team member that it is acceptable. In this episode, Ramona breaks one feedback conversation into three and gives the exact language for each one. The 90-second conversation that stops most performance problems from ever becoming performance problems The recovery move for when you already skipped the first two conversations and the review is next week Three research findings that explain why your direct report is genuinely surprised when you finally speak up If you have ever documented a problem privately for months and then watched someone say "this is the first I'm hearing of any of this," this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Confident & Competent New Manager by Ramona Shaw, the source of the meetings example: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Kluger, A. N., and DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance. Psychological Bulletin. The meta-analysis covering 607 feedback incidents and over 23,000 observations. The invisible gorilla selective attention study by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. The Leadership Accelerator, Archova's 12-week program for new and first-time managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 124 – Giving Feedback: 3 Common Mistakes Episode 286 – The End of “Nice Leadership”: How to Be Direct, Kind, and Respected Episode 292 - Performance vs Potential: A Better Approach to Assessing Your People — WHAT'S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

  ListenShow Notes
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  The Manager Track

  How to Write a Leadership Philosophy (Ep 325)

  Aug 11, 202632 min

  Sometime in the next few months, a decision will land on your desk that makes half the room unhappy. It will show up on an ordinary Tuesday, in a week that was already full, and you will have about a day to decide. Most managers meet that moment with instinct and hope. When the team performs and nothing breaks, principles never get tested. Ramona calls this sunshine leadership. Then a decision gets contentious, a strong performer starts to slip, or two people you like want incompatible things, and your team watches what you do next. They notice fast which of your stated principles are real and which ones are decoration. In this episode, Ramona walks through how to build a leadership philosophy that holds up in exactly those moments, including where it sits inside Archova’s APS method (awareness, principles, system). She covers: Why borrowed methods fail without an anchor, and what a block of clay has to do with it The two rules for choosing leadership values (most managers break both) The sentence that turns a value like quality into a rule your team can actually follow The two-week shadow test that reveals whether your philosophy is operating or decorative The trap of values that point away from your own goals, and how to bridge it If you have ever said one thing in a team meeting and done another under pressure, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/H3HyT3aDRgw — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator, Archova’s 12-week program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free masterclass on how to successfully lead as a new manager: archova.org/masterclass ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager’ by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books or amzn.to/3TuOdcP — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE ( calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session ). Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 106 – What Is Your Leadership Philosophy? Episode 247 – Beyond Values: Creating Explicit Leadership Expectations — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

  ListenShow Notes
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  The Manager Track

  Managing Former Peers? Have These 4 Conversations First (Ep 324)

  Aug 4, 202628 min

  Six months ago you sat next to these people. You complained about leadership together, covered for each other when something slipped, and knew exactly what got said in the hallway versus in the meeting. Now you run the team, and every one of those unspoken rules is up for renegotiation. Most new managers handle this by saying nothing and hoping the awkwardness fades. Ramona did exactly that after her promotion into leadership. Within two years, she had damaged some of those relationships and felt more stressed than she ever had as an individual contributor. In this episode, Ramona walks through the conversations she wishes she had opened with, and why the manager who tries to stay liked ends up losing both the relationship and the team. She covers: The two kinds of expectations that shape every working relationship, and why the unspoken ones do the damage A four-box matrix of management approaches, including the trap that feels the safest and costs the most The four things to renegotiate out loud with every former peer in your first two weeks What to say to the person on your team who wanted your job Why the trust you built as a peer is already banked, and the one question your team still needs answered Whether you were just promoted over your peers, you can see that promotion coming, or you are two years in and still avoiding the elephant in the room, this episode gives you the words for the conversations you have been putting off. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LYlESAru-U0 — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org [verify link in show notes] "The Confident & Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw, including the explicit vs. implicit expectations framework and the productivity/rapport matrix: archova.org/books or Amazon Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass Personnel psychology research on multiplex workplace relationships (friendship plus reporting line) and maintenance difficulty Fiske, Cuddy, and Glick research on warmth and competence in how we assess leaders — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 24 – Can I Be Friends With My Direct Reports? Episode 321 – From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

  ListenShow Notes
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  The Manager Track

  Am I Ready to Be a Manager? The Four-Question Audit (Ep 323)

  Jul 28, 202621 min

  Somewhere along the way, you picked up the idea that thoughtful ICs wait until they’re ready before going for the manager role. So you keep asking the question. Am I ready? And every time you ask it, it feels responsible. It feels like preparing. Ramona has watched that exact question stall talented ICs for years. It has no evidence standard and no end date, which means you can ask it forever while it quietly turns your next career move into a verdict someone else gets to hand down. In this episode, Ramona throws out the usual trait checklist (communicate well, put the team first, manage your time) and replaces it with a willingness audit: four questions you answer yes or no to, all testable this week, none requiring anyone’s permission. She covers: The four willingness questions, starting with whether you can stand having your results measured through other people’s work The senior engineer who kept hearing "not quite there yet" and responded in exactly the wrong way Two scripts that turn vague feedback into a specific behavior and a date Three signs "you’re not ready" is your manager stalling, not a real assessment What Bandura’s self-efficacy research says about waiting until you feel capable The part almost nobody says out loud: for some of you the honest answer is no, and there’s a clean way to own it Whether you’re circling the decision, hearing "not yet" on repeat, or quietly suspecting the manager track isn’t for you, this episode gets you to an honest answer faster. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org/leadership-accelerator Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy and mastery experience Center for Creative Leadership research on how leadership capability develops Linda Hill, "Becoming a Manager" (research on new managers’ assumptions) Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass "The Confident & Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona here: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 61 – From IC to Manager: 4 Main Shifts Episode 321 – From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

  ListenShow Notes
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  The Manager Track

  How to Read the Room: The 3 Questions Intuitive Leaders Ask (Ep 322)

  Jul 21, 202634 min

  You walk into a meeting with senior people, and within seconds the internal questions start: Should I speak early or wait until I’m asked? Am I reading the mood right, or am I about to present data to a room that wants something else entirely? And when the energy shifts mid-meeting, someone influential goes quiet, the questions turn political, the doubt gets louder: do I name what’s happening, or do I keep going through my slides and hope it passes? Ramona doesn’t treat reading the room as charisma you’re born with. The managers who look intuitive in meetings are running a short list of questions in their heads, typically faster than everyone else, and adjusting what they say based on the answers. That list can be learned. In this episode, Ramona breaks down what reading the room actually involves and why so much of your credibility in a new room gets decided before you’ve said anything of substance. She covers: The three reads to make in the first two minutes of any meeting, starting with who is actually running it (rarely the person who scheduled it) The four roles you can hold in a meeting, and why a mismatch here is the real reason meetings feel like they go badly What the room is hungry for, and how to tell when it flips from competence to relationship mid-meeting The "thin slices" research showing how fast people size you up, and what they judge first Five things that decide your first two minutes, and only one of them is what you say Whether you’re walking into a room of unfamiliar stakeholders, presenting to executives, or watching a meeting drift away from you mid-slide, this episode gives you the questions to run and the language to use. — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Executive Presence Program (8-week program for mid-level to senior leaders): archova.org/executive-presence-program — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

  ListenShow Notes

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