MC70 Self-Leadership is the Foundation of Management with special guest Morgan Legge

The wonderful Morgan Legge, founder of Pivot Your Work and Head of Organizational Change at Convert.com, joins the Management Cafe! Morgan, Pilar and Tim met through online communities and podcasting, a great example of what we discussed in #65 "Building a network outside your organisation".

You might need 2 coffees for this wide ranging conversation covering Morgan's path to her leadership style, self-leadership, holacracy, how managers can protect their team against a toxic company culture, small changes managers can make that kickstart a broader change and how to take feedback well.

01:25 mins Morgan, Pilar and Tim share how they all met. Unsurprisingly online communities and podcasts all played a part!

6:15 Morgan recommends an interesting addition to the Management Cafe menu: the London Fog.

7:10 We learn more about Morgan's current role as Head of Organizational Change at Convert.com

8:35 Back in episode #60 we discussed whether leaders are born or made? Morgan says leadership is in her DNA. She's particularly drawn to coaching and leadership as a servant to teams. And her style of leadership has been influenced by her experiences being micromanaged and being a leader when she wasn't a manager.

9:55 Morgan implemented self-management at Convert.com and learnt that even if leadership isn't in someone's DNA they can learn to lead.

10:50 Tim says that we need to lead in ways that feel comfortable and authentic to us. And it can take time to develop that style.

11:30 It was pivotal for Morgan to establish boundaries on what she would and would not accept in a work environment.

12:30 For Morgan, leadership starts with self-leadership. This ties in well to Holacracy, an organizational model of decentralised management which empowers the people closest to the work to make decisions about that work. But self-management delivers great outcomes no matter what kind of management structure you are in.

16:30 Leadership skill development can be extended futher "down the chain" in organisations to help foster self-leadership.

17:00 Tim has some scars from organisations that weaponised the concept of self leadership. And seen people diminished by their experiences of being managed. To encourage self leadership the company must provide a suitable level of safety and opportunity.

19:15 Mid-level managers can create and sustain culture within their team that is different to the overall company culture. But it requires a lot of effort.

22:00 There is a great untapped demand for self-leadership amongst individual contributors and managers of teams. Morgan's new venture encourages these people to develop their capability and connect with others walking the same pathway.

26:10 Big changes can start with small steps. For example managers can start with how they structure their meetings. Meetings are regular and somewhat repetitive which gives lots of opportunities to practice our new behaviours.

30:00 Tim shares his slow and painful road to personal changes.

30:45 Morgan explains how to take feedback with curiosity and grace. Giving feedback takes bravery and it helps if we acknowledge their effort and demonstrate that we are receptive to them. This is especially powerful for leaders to role model.

35:00 Even uncomfortable feedback conversations generally improve the atmosphere, because at least everyone gets some clarity. Pilar welcomes constructive feedback but thinks that she could approach receiving positive feedback with more curiosity and grace. Morgan, Pilar and Tim all agree that receiving feedback, whether positive or constructive, gets easier with practice!

40:30 Morgan outlines her vision for Pivot Your Work and rescues the hosts with the outro. What a star guest!!

What about you, dear listener? Do you foster self-leadership in yourself and your teams? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/

You can connect here with Morgan:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganlegge/ pivotyourwork.com

And get in touch with Tim and Pilar through managementcafepodcast.com