The Modern Manager

Executive functioning is a common topic amongst parents and educators of teens, but rarely discussed in the workplace. Yet, it’s the set of capabilities that we use daily to regulate our emotions, thinking, and behavior which collectively allow us to deliver results. This skill set, like any other, needs to be understood by managers so that we can improve ourselves and support our colleagues.   This is the first of two episodes on executive functioning skills. This episode is focused on what executive functioning skills are and how they show up in the workplace, as well as how you can assess yourself and your colleagues in each area. The second episode (#182) will be strategies to improve each area, so if you discover your own weakness or that a colleague struggles with a particular skill, you’ll have some ideas for how to help yourself or support that colleague.   The full episode guide includes an overview of the eleven executive functioning skills, how they interact and natural groupings that compound, and questions for reflection to help you assess yourself and your colleagues. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.     Get the free mini-guide at themodernnmanager.com/miniguides.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: 11 Executive Functioning Skills Needed In The Workplace   Key Takeaways: There are eleven executive functioning skills our brains use to process and decide on an action.  Motivation and context matter to our ability to perform these skills. We may have strengths or struggle under different conditions. Response inhibition is being able to thoughtfully control our response rather than reacting to stimuli.  Working memory holds onto relevant information for a short period of time. Emotional control navigates feelings in a healthy way.  Sustained attention is the capability of sticking to a task, especially when tiring, challenging or boring. Task initiation is the ability to jump in on a project without procrastinating.  Planning and prioritizing means creating plans, identifying key steps, and sticking to it.  Organization involves keeping information, things (physical and digital) and activities orderly.  Time management is about using time wisely and accurately predicting time needed.  Goal Directed Persistence is the ability to set goals and work towards them.  Flexibility is the ability to shift and pivot as needed.  Metacognition is seeing the bigger picture and reflecting on your own thoughts and behavior objectively.  We can have friction with our colleagues, when these skill sets clash.   Additional Resources: Book: Smart but Scattered mamie@mamieks.com

Organizations are prioritizing DEI, but what is guiding their decisions? It’s important to gather data that can inform strategies, programmatic investments, and help track progress. But what data is captured, as well as how that data is gathered, is critical. Today’s guest is Erica Lee. Erica is the co-founder and COO of Pluto, a startup advancing DEI through analytics and communication tools. Her background is in law, international development and policy. Erica and I talk about how to measure diversity, equity, and inclusion within your team or organization. We talk about the process of gathering data, protecting privacy, turning responses into insight and more.    Members of the Modern Manager community get a complimentary 30-minute consult with me to help you strategize rolling out a DEI survey. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: What Most DEI Surveys Get Wrong—And How to do it Right   KEEP UP WITH ERICA Website: https://pluto.life/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-lee-2013/   Key Takeaways: We can approach DEI just like any other business goals: using data driven strategy and tracking progress. DEI surveys need to go deeper than HR data to help us understand diversity.. They should provide an opportunity for people to see themselves in the responses.  DEI surveys should address equity and inclusion such as a person’s sense of belonging, if they are getting the promotions and pay they desire, and more.  Pluto creates an evolving story from the survey responses rather than just a checklist. “Other” is never an option. The best surveys are ones where people can reflect and learn about themselves. When people don’t trust surveys, they disengage. They need to feel their information and privacy are protected.  Managers were surprised to learn from Pluto about their team’s mental health issues. If Pluto isn’t the right tool for your team, find pre-built DEI surveys that ensure privacy. Don’t use an excel spreadsheet where you can see individual responses!  DEI shouldn’t be siloed to an individual or team; it affects all aspects of business and is therefore everyone’s responsibility.  After you gather information and prioritize your strategy, remember to track your progress. Repeat the  survey to measure the impact of your DEI initiatives over time. mamie@mamieks.com

Between technology, globalization, and a pandemic, it’s no wonder that businesses are experiencing disruption faster than ever. Regardless of industry or location, teams and organizations need to develop the skills to navigate regularly changing environments and increasing ambiguity.  Today’s guest is Brant Cooper. Brant is the CEO of Moves the Needle and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Entrepreneur and his new book Disruption Proof: Empower People. Create Value. Drive Change. Brant has a unique take on disrupting our current way of thinking in order to be closer to customers, move faster, and act bolder. With over two decades of expertise helping companies bring innovative products to market, he blends agile, design thinking, and lean methodologies to ignite entrepreneurial action within large organizations. Brant and I talk about the 5 E’s of becoming disruption proof and what you and your team can do to make better decisions and be prepared for whatever the future brings. Get a downloadable reference of the 5-E’s which you can print and display in your office to help you remember to embrace Empathy, Exploration, Evidence, Equilibrium and Ethics in your work. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community.     Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: How To Prepare Your Team To Weather Any Storm   KEEP UP WITH BRANT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brantcooper/Twitter: @brantcooperWebsite: https://brantcooper.com/Book: https://brantcooper.com/disruption-proof/   Key Takeaways: Disruption-proof teams learn to navigate the uncertainty and changes of business life. They are able to thrive within unstable conditions. You can’t execute through a crisis. It requires innovation and experimentation. The five E’s to disruption-proof teams are Empathy, Exploration, Evidence, Equilibrium, and Ethics. Teams need to listen to what their clients want. This is best done by observing real life, with the person interacting with the tool or experience rather than from surveys or interviews. People are terrible at predicting their future behaviors. Teams and managers must shift from being knowers/experts to learning/exploring. Challenge assumptions and explore possibilities.  Cut through biases and opinions by relying on evidence gathered from data. Create equilibrium by shifting between execution mode and innovation mode. While it may seem efficient to separate teams that focus oninnovation from those that focus on execution, all teams need both. Carve out time for your team to innovate every week or month.Toencourage more exploration time, show your boss the results of these creative ideas and experiments.  Staying grounded in your corporate and personal ethics is critical, especially with new technology and data. Make ethics front and center for your team.  mamie@mamieks.com

The rise of social media has allowed employers and managers to gain access to their people’s private lives in ways never before possible. While it may seem like a gift to be able to instantly gain insight into who someone “really” is, the question every manager must answer is, “is it worth it?”    Today's guest is Bianca Lager. Bianca is a business manager, consultant and public speaker whose specialties include organizational development, career growth, and online reputation management. Bianca is also the President of Social Intelligence, a consumer reporting agency focused on online risk for human resources.   Bianca and I talk about social media and work - what’s appropriate behavior and what’s not, social media and hiring, and more.   Get a sample social media policy provided by Bianca when you join the Modern Manager community. Check out membership levels at www.themodernmanager.com/join - and get 20% off any level if you work for a government or nonprofit agency.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: Is It OK To Check My Employees’ Social Media?    KEEP UP WITH BIANCA: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/biancacalhounlager/   Key Takeaways: Checking on our team members’ social media accounts hampers our productivity and may result in a false narrative about the person.  Ethically and legally, checking can be a violation of the person’s protected class info. Checking for hate group affiliation is often too complicated, as these groups use benign names. Seeing political affiliations may not be constructive for building relationships.  Assess the level of threat of possibly problematic posts, acknowledge the narrative you created, and decide on a course of action with your HR partner. If an employee is using social media during the work day, don’t react in the moment. It may just be a quick break. Don’t over police people’s behavior. Address it later as part of your regular feedback process if the behavior becomes problematic.  Create a Social Media Policy. Outline expected behaviors, rules, legal standards, documentation procedures, and any punitive actions.  Give everyone the same policy. The more universal and consistent, the better.   mamie@mamieks.com

While much of leading a team is the same regardless of whether you’re co-located or geographically disbursed, leading from a distance can feel significantly harder. Even after 18+ months of working remotely, we still haven’t figured out how to optimize our virtual teamwork.   This episode tackles the critical elements that managers need to focus on when managing remotely.    The full episode guide to building trust and culture in a remote environment when you join the Modern Manager community. Or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.     Get the free mini-guide at themodernnmanager.com/miniguides   Read the related blog article: The Four Essential Elements To Managing Virtually   Key Takeaways: The secret ingredient to successful remote teams is trust.  Trust is made up of familiarity, reliability, and communication.  Because we can’t connect easily in organic ways, we need to actively pursue ways to connect virtually on a casual, personal level.  Remote work means less physical oversight and collaboration. Set clear expectations, deadlines, check ins, and goals.  Because all of your team’s communication happens through technology, it’s even more important to make communication clear and simple. Discuss how and when to use each communication tool. Meetings are an essential communication tool to both build relationships and get work done. If you don’t build a virtual culture, a default culture will happen.  Culture is what we celebrate. Give credit to teammates who are reinforcing the team’s norms and expectations. Consider how to celebrate and include the diverse values and ideas that each team member brings to the table.    Additional Resources: Episode 49: Engaging and Productive Virtual Meetings   mamie@mamieks.com

Hard work, timing, talent, intuition...there are many ingredients that are often cited as critical to success. One often overlooked strategy is finding what works and replicating a winning process. When teams are able to use effective processes, they are able to succeed again and again, whether that be in how they lead meetings, develop new products, gain new clients, or anything else.   Today’s guest is Dr. Ron Friedman. Ron is an award-winning psychologist who has served on the faculty of the University of Rochester, and has consulted for political leaders, nonprofits, and many of the world’s most recognized brands. Popular accounts of his research have appeared in major newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Globe and Mail, the Guardian, as well as magazines such as Harvard Business Review and Psychology Today. Ron is the author of Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success   Ron and I talk about the principles from his book and how we can apply them to all kinds of activities, and how managers can incorporate the lessons into their teamwork.    Members of the Modern Manager community can get 1 of 5 copies of Ron’s book Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success as a guest bonus. To get your copy, join the Modern Manager community at www.themodernmanager.com/join. If you work for a government or nonprofit agency, get 20% off any membership level.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: Teach Your Team To Reverse Engineer Success   Key Takeaways: Reverse engineering is the third crucial element along with talent and practice to achieve success.  Reverse engineering is observing and analyzing what other successful people do and using that information to create your own product.  The steps to reverse engineering are Curate, Analyze, Templatize. Curating is finding the best examples of success, such as great emails or meetings. Create digital “collections” to organize your findings.  Analyzing or “reverse outlining” is working backwards to figure out what ingredients made the product, experience or accomplishment a success.  Turn the information into a template to use as a structure for building your own product or experience.  Make sure that your final product is authentic to you. It’s inspired by others' success, not copying their success.  Keep in mind that audience expectations shift over time, and once successful products may lose their charm.  mamie@mamieks.com

So often we *know* we should change and even *commit* to changing, yet when the time comes to follow through, we fall back into old habits. We all have behaviors we’d like to change, but as managers, we’re also responsible for supporting our team members to develop the behaviors that will help them be most successful. If changing ourselves is so hard, how are we ever going to succeed in helping others change?   Today’s guest is Parneet Pal. Parneet is a Harvard- and Columbia-trained physician working at the intersection of lifestyle medicine, technology and behavior change. An educator and science communicator, she applies her subject matter expertise to optimize human health and its impact on business leadership and planetary wellbeing. As Chief Science Officer at Wisdom Labs, she focuses on solving for stress, burnout and loneliness in the workplace.   Parneet and I talk about behavior change. We get into the brain science, motivation, and lots of tips for how to follow through on new behaviors or habits even when it feels so hard. And of course we talk about what you can do as a manager to help your team members change their behavior.   Members of The Modern Manager get my “lessons learned” document on behavior change and habit formation. These are my personal notes that I capture as I’m reading articles or books and listening to podcasts. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community at www.themodernmanager.com/join.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: The Secret To Making Changes That Stick   KEEP UP WITH PARNEETLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parneetpal/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/parneet_pal   Key Takeaways: We are creatures of habit. Only 10% of our daily actions are conscious decisions.  To encourage change, we need to align our subconscious and conscious thoughts, teach necessary skills, and create a supportive environment.   Incentives of safety, connection, reward, and/or self-identity will motivate our brains to try new behaviors. We need to remind ourselves of the deeper motivations.  Consider what incentives you have for your team changing and ask what motivates your team to change. Mindfulness is another tool to align subconscious and conscious thoughts. In a stressful moment, become aware of your breath, body, emotions, and thoughts. Then consider how to react in a way that will benefit everyone.  Burnout is mostly an organizational, not an individual issue.  The six factors that lead to burnout are unreasonable workload, insufficient rewards and appreciation, inadequate autonomy, lack of fairness, lack of community, and misalignment of personal values and team culture.  mamie@mamieks.com

Do you ever wonder why some people love a complex challenge while others find it exhausting? Or maybe you’ve discovered that certain activities put you into a state of flow in which you’re completely immersed and lose track of time. When we understand the motivations and activities that we are innately wired for, we are able to use that information to design our lives in ways that make us more fulfilled and productive. This “DNA-level wiring” is called your Sparketype.   Today’s guest is Jonathan Fields. Jonathan hosts one of the top-ranked podcasts in the world, Good Life Project®, where he shares powerful stories, conversations, and resources, on a mission to help listeners live more meaningful and inspired lives. The podcast has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Apple’s iconic annual product event and more. Jonathan is also the founder and CEO of Spark Endeavors, a research initiative focused on helping individuals and organizations reclaim work as a source of purpose, energy, meaning, and possibility. His book, SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work That Makes You Come Alive was just released and the book delivers an important message in a time when many people are emerging from the pandemic and seeking out new work that will both challenge and fulfill them.   Jonathan and I talk about what the various Sparketypes are and how knowing yours, or your team members, can help make work, and life, more fulfilling.    Members of the Modern Manager get my guide to talking about Sparketypes with your team. Get it when you join at www.themodernmanager.com/join.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: The 10 Sparketypes That Every Manager Needs to Support   KEEP UP WITH JONATHAN Website: https://sparketype.com/ and https://www.jonathanfields.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonathanfields LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanfields1/ Book: https://sparketype.com/book/#order   Key Takeaways: “Sparketypes” are the “DNA-level drivers” of action that set us on fire by most deeply fulfilling and energizing us. There are ten different Sparkatypes. A Maven gets super excited to learn just for learning’s sake.  A Maker loves manifesting ideas physically, digitally, or experientially. A Scientist is thrilled to puzzle over a difficult, burning problem. An Essentialist strives to create elegant order from chaos.  A Performer wants to animate and energize every opportunity.  A Warrior thrives on gathering people and leading them from Point A to Point B. A Sage loves to awaken insights in other people. An Advisor gets pumped by mentoring others and helping them grow. An Advocate is animated by standing up for ideas, individuals, or communities. A Nurturer lives to elevate and take care of others. When we are doing activities in alignment with our Sparketype, we experience meaning, purpose, flow, energy, and actualization.  Your Sparketype does not determine what job you should have. Instead, it can help you identify tasks or activities within any role that tap into your innate drivers. We can use hobbies or side hustles as a way to energize us from our Sparkatypes. This is often refueling and will help us get our other work done. When we work from our Sparkatype, we act differently and people respond to us differently.  Anyone can succeed in their roles more by capitalizing on their specific strengths.  Successful leaders can have any of the Sparkatypes, not just Warrior or Advisor.  Additional Resources: Take the free Sparketype Assessment: https://sparketype.com/sparketest/ mamie@mamieks.com

One of a manager’s most important jobs is to build their team. But hiring is often difficult and exhausting. And, it can feel like taking a shot in the dark because even with resume screens, interviews and reference checks, it’s impossible to really know how a person will be as a colleague. Today’s episode is about hiring great people. In addition to looking for the right fit for the role, there are a few competencies that I always look for when hiring because if the person has these, it makes everything else so much easier. The full episode guide includes interview guides for the three critical skills to help you better assess a candidate. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.     Get the free mini-guide at themodernnmanager.com/miniguides   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: The Top Three Things To Look For When Hiring.   Key Takeaways: In addition to hiring for values fit and skill fit, the top three behaviors to look for are (1) knowledge of self, (2) learning orientation, and (3) a “how might we” attitude.  Knowledge of self involves knowing your strengths, weaknesses and under what conditions you succeed; awareness of how you show up to others; and regular reflection on your behavior in order to improve.  Managing someone with high self-awareness allows you to partner with them by providing the context, support and assignments that will set them up to excel.  Growth-oriented employees seek feedback and appreciate the opportunity to improve, making it easier to give them feedback. It is easier to manage someone who wants to grow and develop because you can trust them to take on new tasks knowing they will ask for help if they need it. Employees who know their preferred learning style are able to more quickly integrate new knowledge or skills.  Proactive problem solvers have a “how might we” attitude and are able to figure out solutions  without relying on you to solve all their problems. It’s easier to partner with someone who sees setbacks as opportunities to be creative and find new solutions rather than getting stuck in what won't work. Additional Resources: Episode 20: Lessons From A Real Life Manager With Rick Kiley Good to Great by Jim Collins mamie@mamieks.com

Organizations are increasingly investing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. As managers, we can take it a step further to truly create a sense of belonging. In short: Diversity is who is on the team. Equity is a sense of fairness for how the team functions. Inclusion is whether everyone is invited to engage. But Belonging is the eng game - it’s the experience our team members feel when DEI is working.  Today’s guest is Josh Saterman. Josh is the CEO and co-founder of Saterman Connect. Saterman Connect supports organizations facing culture evolution by empowering leaders to unlock the power of their people to unleash their full business potential. Saterman Connect specializes in leadership development, professional coaching, communication strategies and always has a lens that's focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Josh was a senior executive in the world of retail holding several different leadership positions before launching Saterman Connect in 2019. We talk about moving beyond diversity, equity and inclusion to belonging - why we need to add this additional concept and how managers can truly cultivate belonging in their teams. Josh has offered to hold a special 1:1 Get Connected Experience for members of the Modern manager. This is an exclusive event where you will join other members, and myself, for a facilitated session that offers the opportunity to network, interact, and explore your dimensions of diversity, all in a fun and engaging 60-min program. This will happen on September 23rd, 2021 at 5pm Eastern. To attend the event, become a member of the Modern Manager community.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: Why DEI Is Now DEIB (And What Managers Need To Do About It)   KEEP UP WITH JOSH Website: www.SatermanConnect.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joshsaterman/ Instagram: @satermaconnect   Key Takeaways: DEI practices should always lead to a sense of belonging (DEIB).  Belonging is feeling like you can show up as your full self and share your unique voice. It is built by an environment of trust and listening.  Employees who feel belonging feel like they are co-creators of the workplace experience rather than just passengers along for the ride. The organization or culture feels like it represents them. To empower your team to speak up, create diversity councils or forums to regularly discuss how to create a more inclusive workplace (policies, procedures, norms, etc).  Talk about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion by sharing stories rather than ideologies. This allows people from opposing viewpoints to hear each other’s perspectives and develop empathy.  Don’t take feedback personally or employees won’t want to speak up. Thank them for the input and reflect on what you can learn from it.  Cultivating a growth mindset environment will encourage everyone (including managers) to share, listen, learn, and change.  Do your own research about your employee’s cultural background on Google without asking them to educate you.  Understand that each employee relates to their culture as an individual. When they ask for time off for a cultural reason, have a conversation to learn more about why that day is significant to them.  Everyone has a story to share. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is an issue that affects us all and includes all of us feeling like we truly belong.  mamie@mamieks.com