The Modern Manager
Mamie Kanfer Stewart
Host Mamie Kanfer Stewart shares practical approaches to help you be a great manager. Learn more at: https://themodernmanager.com/
Solo episodes are like mini-courses, providing actionable tips based on experience and research. Guest episodes are engaging conversations that elicit insights and suggestions for how to apply the ideas.
Learn more about effective meeting practices, communication skills, managing conflict, team building, time management, group dynamics, goal setting and accountability, team competencies, productivity and collaboration technologies, organizational culture, and more.
Be sure to follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss a new episode!
Solo episodes are like mini-courses, providing actionable tips based on experience and research. Guest episodes are engaging conversations that elicit insights and suggestions for how to apply the ideas.
Learn more about effective meeting practices, communication skills, managing conflict, team building, time management, group dynamics, goal setting and accountability, team competencies, productivity and collaboration technologies, organizational culture, and more.
Be sure to follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss a new episode!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 24, 2026 • 34min
400: Tackle the Five Sources of Stress at Work with Amy Leneker
Amy Leniker, former C-suite executive and leadership advisor who wrote Cheers to Monday, unpacks five distinct types of workplace stress. She explains why identifying the source matters. Short, practical strategies are shared for schedule, suspense, social, sudden, and system stress. Conversations cover how stress spreads through teams and simple habits that reduce strain and boost clarity and trust.
10 snips
Mar 17, 2026 • 30min
399: How to Build Radical Trust Through Better Listening with Leilani Garrett
Leilani Garrett, a former corporate sales leader turned storyteller and leadership coach, helps teams build trust and belonging through empathy. She discusses listening as action, micro exercises and storytelling to surface what shapes people, spotting and removing procedural roadblocks, and simple practices that amplify quiet contributors and strengthen connection.
11 snips
Mar 10, 2026 • 33min
398: Become a Change Leader, Not Just a Change Manager with Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta
Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta, change leadership strategist and author with 20+ years guiding organizations through disruption. She contrasts visionary change leadership with project-focused change management. She discusses empathy, the head-heart-hand adaptive model, involving stakeholders early, treating resistance as feedback, and practical approaches for communicating and leading AI adoption.
26 snips
Mar 3, 2026 • 32min
397: How to Communicate So People Listen, Care, and Take Action with Andy Freed
Andy Freed, chairman of Virtual Inc. and author of Lead Like The Boss, condenses three decades of leadership and Springsteen-inspired lessons. He outlines the Think, Feel, Do framework and why a single central message with consistent repetition creates alignment. He also covers how energy, tone, and channel choice change whether people listen, care, and take action.
Feb 24, 2026 • 32min
396: Mental Performance: Combining High Expectations and High Support with Evan Marks
Evan Marks, a mental performance coach and former Wall Street portfolio manager who helps athletes, traders, and executives perform under pressure. He discusses training the mind to build resilient habits. Short takes cover balancing high expectations with strong support, using structure and emotional regulation, and modeling ownership to raise team performance.
Feb 17, 2026 • 32min
395: How Unspoken Norms are Quietly Sabotaging Your Team with Nilofer Merchant
Nilofer Merchant, bestselling author and founder of The Intangible Labs, helps leaders spot and name unwritten workplace rules. She discusses how invisible norms limit innovation and narrow definitions of smart. Short, practical moves are highlighted that create choice, reshape meetings, and invite shared ownership for healthier team dynamics.
Feb 10, 2026 • 34min
394: How to Manage Big (and Small) Emotions at Work with Jordanna Eyre
Jordana Eyre, founder of Spiral Growth Systems and creator of the Spiral Leadership Methodology, helps leaders expand emotional capacity and regulate their nervous systems. She reframes emotions as energy, explains how to hold space without fixing, and offers concrete practices for noticing sensations in meetings. The conversation covers when to refer, how suppression backfires, and building emotional safety for stronger teams.
Feb 3, 2026 • 32min
393: How to Build a Win-Win Workplace with Angela Jackson
Dr. Angela Jackson, workplace futurist, ESG expert, and author of The Win-Win Workplace, explores people-first practices that boost business results. She explains the zero-sum mindset vs human-centered leadership. Short takes cover research linking employee voice to revenue, nine pillars for supportive workplaces, reimagined benefits like childcare, and how managers can build ownership and close the feedback loop.
Jan 27, 2026 • 36min
392: The Leadership Skill Everyone Thinks They Have (But Rarely Do) with Dr. Helen Fagan
Dr. Helen Fagan, leadership development expert and author, explores why true self-awareness is rare. She discusses how culture and early beliefs shape behavior. She explains spotting emotional reactions as data, reading body signals, and using simple practices to build awareness at work. Short, practical, and grounded conversation on interrupting old patterns and improving how we relate to others.
20 snips
Jan 20, 2026 • 33min
391: How to Own Your Reputation and Build a Personal Brand with Andy Storch
Andy Storch, a keynote speaker and author specializing in personal branding, joins to delve into the essence of reputation at work. He highlights that everyone has a personal brand shaped by daily interactions rather than online presence. Storch shares real-life examples of how small behaviors impact careers, the balance between humility and visibility, and the importance of self-reflection. He offers actionable tips on consistent behaviors, humanizing your brand, and making intentional choices to attract opportunities without feeling inauthentic.
