
Manage Smarter
Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith every other week as they dive into management, leadership, business, sales, company culture, talent retention, revenues, performance metrics, hiring and more. From debunking sales myths to learning how to manage with and without measurements, you'll learn something new with every episode and will be able to implement positive change throughout your workplace. Available on all major podcast outlets and all episodes available on ManageSmarter.com
Latest episodes

Oct 23, 2024 • 5min
Extra Point: Setting the Anchor
This week, we're talking about setting the anchor to build sales confidence. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 20, 2024 • 25min
264: Honest Workplace Conversations with Grace Gavin
In this episode, we dive into the transformative power of transparency and honesty in leadership with Grace Gavin, co-founder of Know Honesty. Grace shares her insights on how open communication can reduce anxiety, ease aggression, and limit indecision in the workplace. Drawing from her diverse background and personal experiences, including her father's battle with cancer, Grace emphasizes the importance of being truly and freely yourself. Discover practical exercises like 'The Agreement' and 'Fake You' to enhance your communication skills. Whether you're a leader or team member, learn how to build a better culture of trust and openness. KEY TAKEAWAYS: -The Importance of Transparency in Leadership: Transparency is crucial in leadership as it helps reduce anxiety, ease aggression, and limit indecision. Leaders must find the right balance between sharing enough information and not oversharing to maintain effective communication within their teams.-Building Trust Through Open and Honest Communication: Trust is essential for effective communication, and it starts with leadership. Leaders should be trained to be open and honest, creating a culture where employees feel safe to express their thoughts and ideas without fear of negative consequences.-Practical Exercises for Enhancing Communication Skills: Simple exercises like 'The Agreement' and identifying 'Fake You' can help individuals improve their communication skills. These exercises encourage people to be honest and open, fostering better relationships and more effective teamwork.-The Impact of AI on Communication: While AI can aid in generating ideas and writing, it may lead to communication that lacks authenticity and human connection. It's important to use AI as a tool for brainstorming while ensuring that genuine human interaction remains at the forefront of communication strategies."Honesty at the root of it, as we define it, is being truly and freely yourself speaking into what you want and how you feel. If we are not doing it, speaking honestly, being open to others, I don't think it's the best use of our time or this life that we have." - Grace GavinFREE ASSESSMENT HERE: https://knowhonesty.com/ASSESSMENT/Connect with Grace Gavinknowhonesty.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-gavin/Connect with Manage Smarter Hosts · Website: ManageSmarter.com · LinkedIn: Audrey Strong · LinkedIn: C. Lee Smith Connect with SalesFuel · Website: http://salesfuel.com/ · Twitter: @SalesFuel · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/ #honesty #workplaceculture #employees #humanresources #leadership #workplacedrama #workdrama #communication #AI #artificialintelligence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 16, 2024 • 5min
Extra Point: Managing Layoffs
This week, we're discussing a topic that's tough but crucial: managing layoffs without ruining your reputation. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 9, 2024 • 5min
Extra Point: Building Team Cohesion Through Joy
This week, we're discussing how managers can build team cohesion through joy. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 6, 2024 • 22min
263: AI in Talent Development/Training with Andrew Barry
Andrew Barry is a seasoned expert in learning and development, with a rich background that includes executive roles at global organizations such as KPMG. He is the founder and CEO of Curious Lion, a company dedicated to high-performance leadership and learning. Andrew and his team have successfully developed thousands of leaders at prominent clients like Workday, Pinterest, IMG, and USAA. His innovative approach to corporate training is heavily influenced by his experience as a mentor in the 'Write of Passage' writing course, which he describes as the best cohort-based training program he has ever been a part of.In this episode, Barry delves into transformative learning and leadership. He discusses the role of curiosity, adaptive intelligence, and AI in training programs. Barry also offers practical tips for managers to foster continuous learning and align personal growth with business objectives. Discover how to create high-performance teams and navigate today's corporate complexities.Key Takeaways:-Learning as Transformation: Learning isn't just about transferring information; it's about transforming the learner. Managers need to focus on lifelong learning philosophies, especially in the age of AI, to ensure continuous growth and development.-Curiosity-Driven Development: Managers should identify what their team members are curious about and align these interests with business objectives. -Effective Use of After Action Reviews: Conducting thorough after-action reviews by unpacking stories from all team members can lead to better learning outcomes. -Role of Emotional Presence in Leadership: Instead of focusing on executive presence, leaders should aim for emotional presence. Being authentic, vulnerable, and having a strong point of view can make leaders more effective and increases credibility."Learning isn't the transfer of information, it is the transformation of the learner. Information used to be power. Knowledge is still power. But really, I think it's forced us to think a lot about what is the difference between information and knowledge." - Andrew Barry#learning #professionaldevelopment #training #AI #artificialintelligence #knowledge #knowledgetransfer #credibility #leaders #managers #CEO #talentdevelopment Connect with Andrew Barryhttps://curiouslionlearning.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/realandrewbarryConnect with Manage Smarter Hosts · Website: ManageSmarter.com · LinkedIn: Audrey Strong · LinkedIn: C. Lee Smith Connect with SalesFuel · Website: http://salesfuel.com/ · Twitter: @SalesFuel · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 2, 2024 • 5min
Extra Point: Mastering Employee Retention
This week, we're tackling a topic that every manager needs to master: employee retention. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 25, 2024 • 4min
Extra Point: Semester Based Scheduling
This week, we're diving into a fresh approach to setting sales goals that could change the way you think about time management. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 23, 2024 • 22min
262: Navigating Remote Work Challenges with Marjorie Hook
Marjorie Hook is the Vice President of People and Culture for Openly, where she focuses on the employee life cycle and sustaining a world-class remote culture. With over 15years of experience leading people functions for both large tech companies andhigh-growth tech startups, Marjorie brings a wealth of knowledge in managingremote teams and fostering a cohesive work environment. She joined Openly in2022 and has been instrumental in implementing innovative strategies to enhanceemployee engagement and productivity in a fully remote setting.Key Takeaways include: -Building a Remote Culture: Creating a cohesive remote culture requires intentional efforts tofoster connection, trust, and clear communication. Utilize collaboration toolsand establish clear goals and expectations to ensure everyone is aligned andengaged. -Handling Difficult Conversations: Managers need to be observant and sensitive when havingdifficult conversations over Zoom. It's crucial to create a space that allowsfor processing and follow-up, replicating the in-person experience as much aspossible. -Effective Use of Slack: Establish standards for using Slack to avoid miscommunication and ensure it’s used appropriately for quick information sharing rather than majordecision-making. Managers should step in when conversations become unproductiveor heated. -Managing Time Zones: For teams spread across different time zones, establish core working hours that overlap and use the end caps of the day for individual work. This ensureseffective communication and collaboration despite geographical differences. -Addressing Employee Burnout: Remote work can lead to higher levels of burnout and loneliness. Managers should look for signs of stress and provide support and resources tohelp employees maintain their mental health and well-being. “Remote workplace, everything has to be a little bit more explicit, I think. Having written records of what individuals are doing and what teams are doing, really important as well, usingcollaboration tools so that you can have both asynchronous and synchronous workhappening at the same time.” – Marjorie Hook #RemoteWork #Leadership #RemoteTeams #Communication #TeamBuilding #MentalHealth#RemoteManagement Connect with Marjorie Hookopenly.com/https://www.facebook.com/openlyllchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/marjoriehook/ Connect with Manage Smarter Hosts · Website: ManageSmarter.com · LinkedIn: Audrey Strong · LinkedIn: C.Lee Smith Connect with SalesFuel · Website: http://salesfuel.com/ · Twitter: @SalesFuel · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salesfuel/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 18, 2024 • 5min
Extra Point: Using AI for Efficiency and Productivity
This week, we're discussing a topic that's on everyone's mind: how to use AI for efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 11, 2024 • 5min
Extra Point: The Quiet Quitting Trend
This week, we're diving into another crucial topic for leaders: Dealing with "Quiet Quitting" in the workplace. Gain valuable insights on leadership and team dynamics with host Chip Gray.Join us each week for a brand new bonus Extra Point episode. In less than 5 minutes, you'll get additional insights about the psychology of leadership and management from the producers of the Manage Smarter podcast. Find all of the Manage Smarter episodes on ManageSmarter.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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