The Modern Manager

Race, identity, bias...these are not easy topics for many Americans (or humans). For too long, we’ve allowed the status quo, which perpetuates inequity, to go unquestioned within our organizations - even when our hearts are in the right place. I, along with many other Americans, have only recently awakened to how racism undergirds our society and therefore has impacted us without our knowledge. It is time for managers to do their part to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive teams and organizations in which all people can truly thrive. In this episode, I speak with Aaron Samuels, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Blavity Inc., a digital community for Black Millennials that reaches over 30 million people per month across five digital properties including Blavity News, Travel Noire, AfroTech, Shadow And Act, and 21Ninety. Aaron and I talk about race and being black inside of predominantly white spaces and predominantly spaces for people of color. We talk about how to start the work of self reflection and owning your role in perpetuating bias, even when it’s not intended. And we talk about what managers can do to create a more equitable culture.  Members of The Modern Manager community get a guide to talking about diversity, equity and inclusion with your team. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: 5 Steps To Make Your Work Culture More Inclusive And Equitable  Check out the new self-paced course - The Modern Manager's Guide to Effective Delegation. Get over your fears and past struggles, and learn how to effectively delegate in 7 weeks or less so that you can confidently hand off tasks to others, regain your focus, and spend the majority of your time on your highest priorities. Key Takeaways Managers need to create a culture of dialogue in which assumptions can be challenged. A healthy culture of dialogue occurs when employees can safely raise concerns about problematic things that happen in the workplace and then have those issues addressed without suffering any social repercussions.  Education about the history of oppression in the US and how it affects present realities and various identities is critical, but education alone will not create change.  Managers need to more frequently question and try to bring awareness to their inner prejudices and biases - we all have them.  Managers should publicly acknowledge their mistakes. By admitting what you said or did, and recognizing why it was wrong, you send the message to your employees that it is safe for them to make mistakes and own up to them as well.  Create a culture that encourages constructive dissent by making sure that there's always somebody in every meeting naming the opposite side of an argument.  To help identify where biases or blind spots are influencing decisions, stage a pre-mortem where you assume that your objective has failed and work backwards to determine what went wrong and why.  When making group decisions, take into account how proposed changes will affect people at all organizational levels, including junior employees. Considering everyone’s feelings before moving forward on a decision allows for alternative voices and viewpoints to be expressed and acknowledged.  Every conversation is an opportunity for you to earn the trust of somebody on your team. KEEP UP WITH AARON Twitter: @poetryaaron Instagram: @poetryaaron LinkedIn: Aaron Samuels Website: https://blavity.com/ Shop: https://shop.blavity.com/ mamie@mamieks.com

Discomfort is universally disliked, yet it is essential to growth. Just like a muscle can’t get stronger without the tension of lifting a weight, our skills and capabilities can’t develop without the tension and stress that come from stretching ourselves. In this episode, I speak with Bill Eckstrom. Bill is the founder and CEO of EcSell Institute, the world’s first and only organization to measure and quantify leadership effectiveness. He is considered one of the world’s top authorities in metric-based performance coaching and growth. His book, The Coaching Effect, coauthored by EcSell Institute president Sarah Wirth, helps leaders at all levels understand the necessity of challenging people out of their comfort zone to create high-growth organizations. Bill and I talk about the four growth rings, the importance of distinguishing between a performance goal and a growth goal, how growth only happens through the state of discomfort and your role as a manager is supporting your team member through those growth states. Members of The Modern Manager community get $100 off The Coaching Academy leadership training. In addition, members get the chance to win a free 30-min coaching session with prior guest Todd Palmer to help you get unstuck around crucial or difficult conversations, change, adjusting to the new normal, or whatever is on your mind. You must be a member by October 6th, 2020 for a chance to win the session with Todd. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: How To Create A High-Growth Team By Embracing Discomfort Key Takeaways The best leaders and coaches are those who can foster a healthy sense of discomfort in the workplace. Discomfort comes from being put in situations with unknown, unpredictable outcomes. The Four Basic Living Environments are Stagnation, Order, Complexity Order, and Chaos.  Stagnation is a low performing or negative growth environment. Order is predictable inputs and outcomes Complexity is an unpredictable environment where the inputs are known but the outcomes are unknown Chaos is an environment of little to no control where growth is halted by high turmoil.  Our ideal work environment for growth is complexity order.  We can put our teams into complexity order environments by  pushing them to learn new skills, improve their existing skills, and enabling them to take on new opportunities. We need to educate our teams about the power of discomfort as an opportunity and not a roadblock.  The more discomfort we create for our brains, the more change-resilient we become.  Support your struggling employee by expressing your confidence in their ability to succeed. When trust exists in the relationship, employees are more likely to embrace their challenges.  Managers need to have patience for the process of growth, let go, and let their teams struggle.  Too much discomfort in the workplace is not a good thing. We need to put enough structure and support in place so that employees can tolerate times of discomfort and thrive.  Assess each employee for what she/he needs at that moment.  Our job as managers is not to remove obstacles so that our teams can perform. Our role is to teach our team members how to remove obstacles for themselves. KEEP UP WITH BILL Website:https://www.ecsellinstitute.com Book: https://www.ecsellinstitute.com/the-coaching-effect-book LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecsell-institute/ Twitter: @EcSellInstitute mamie@mamieks.com

Politicking often gets a bad rap, prompting feelings of disgust or unease. But when done right, politicking can actually benefit everyone involved and feel good at the same time. How? Because politicking at its core is all about building good relationships.  In this episode, I speak with Chrisa Zindros Boyce. Chrisa has been a consultant, executive coach and educator with Handel Group since 2009. Her clients, an international group of serial entrepreneurs, perennial corporate executives and established individual contributors hail from a broad range of sectors including Finance, Legal Media, Entertainment, Fashion, Technology and Government. Chrisa teaches her clients how to define their leadership brand, strengthen their competitive edge and foster relationships that impact the bottom line. She helps them learn to navigate corporate structures and promote themselves in an ever-competitive and evolving world. Chrisa and I talk about politicking: how you can build and leverage relationships at work to get what you want or need, and how to do it without that yucky, slimy feeling that so often comes with the idea of playing the politics game. Members of The Modern Manager community can listen to an encore episode with Chrisa where we talk about The Power of One. In addition, members get the chance to win a free 30-min coaching session with prior guest Todd Palmer to help you get unstuck around crucial or difficult conversations, change, adjusting to the new normal, or whatever is on your mind. You must be a member by October 6th, 2020 for a chance to win the session with Todd. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: Make Politicking At Work Relational Not Transactional Key Takeaways Good politicking is relational, not transactional. It doesn't need to feel slimy or inauthentic.  We politic by spreading goodwill, trust, and support in the workplace through building one-on-one relationships Your coworkers will only support you in a cause if you invest the time for them to get to know you and like you Give first, ask later. Demonstrate that you are willing to first help before asking for help yourself. Make clear through your actions that you care about the “We”, not the “I”. Managers need to show that they can set aside their personal wants to help their team get ahead. Reflect on your personality, mindset or behaviors that take you away from being “We”- focused It’s important to get to know both those above and below you. Those who report to you will only execute their best work if they know you, like you, and feel that you care about their best interests Reach out for connections. Ask your boss to put you in meetings that will help build relationships, or set up a Zoom cocktail to get to know a colleague Invest daily in practices that build up your reputation as someone who is collaborative and supportive. Mark times in your calendar to build relationships, whether through pop ins or quick messages For every work relationship, the responsibility (the work we do) and the rapport (how our coworkers feel about us) components need to be in equilibrium KEEP UP WITH CHRISA Website:https://www.handelgroup.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HGLifeCoaching LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-handel-group/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HGLifeCoaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handelgroup/ mamie@mamieks.com

Habits dictate anywhere from 40-80% of our daily actions, according to the top habit researchers. These behaviors occur with minimal conscious thought, enabling us to focus precious brain power elsewhere. The challenge is that most of our habits have developed organically and were shaped by factors other than our values, knowledge and goals.    In this episode, I share some of my favorite learnings about habits after years of following the top habit researchers. I discuss the famous Habit Loop, some tips for how to successfully change your habits, and how to write a habit statement that can help you transform your behavior and thought patterns.    The full episode guide includes an overview of habit formation and tips, along with prompts, examples, and worksheets to help you reflect on your habits and craft your habit statements. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide atwww.mamieks.com/store.     Get the free mini-guide at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: Design and Build Successful Habits for Managers   Key Takeaways: A habit is a behavior or thought-process that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. Habits are not inherently good or bad. They can be both things you do and things you don’t do. They can happen daily, weekly, monthly, annually or whenever triggered Habits are generally formed organically based on our values, desires, culture, and environment. The habit loop has three components: (1) The cue: the signal to do the habit, (2) the behavior, and (3) the reward: the benefit or reinforcement to continue to link the cue with the behavior. Cues can be internal (emotions, instincts), external (visual, environmental), time, place, etc. Behaviors can be both actions and thought patterns e.g. When she turns in work late, I think she doesn't care about her job. To change your habits, try applying the following tips: Make the new habit as small as possible so that it’s a no-brainer to do it. Set up the default in your favor so there are fewer roadblocks. Create the ideal environment that facilitates the desired behavior or inhibits the undesirable behavior. Look for the first action in a routine and build a habit around that first action. Write a habit statement that defines what the ideal behavior is, when, why you’ll do it.  While motivation cannot sustain behaviors or habits, it is an important factor when developing habits. Consider setting a 1-3 month goal with a specific reward to help you embed the habit.   Additional Resources: James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/habits Charles Duhigg: https://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/ BJ Fogg: https://www.bjfogg.com/ Wendy Wood: https://goodhabitsbadhabits.com/ mamie@mamieks.com

We’ve all heard it before. That little voice telling you that any moment now everyone is going to realize you have no idea what you’re doing. Or maybe it’s saying they’ll figure out you don’t really know what you’re talking about. Whatever your imposter syndrome says to you, it’s time to tell it to be quiet. In this episode, I speak with Todd Palmer. Todd is an executive coach, keynote speaker, renowned thought leader, author, and CEO who is committed to helping business owners tackle their obstacles and clear their path to success. He specializes in helping leaders join the mission statement of the organization with their personal core values, while addressing fears, self-doubts and imposter syndrome. He brings a unique blend of authenticity, transparency and vulnerability to help leaders & organizations achieve their highest goals. Todd and I talk about imposter syndrome - what it is, how it’s different from your inner critic, and how to overcome it’s unhelpful voice. Plus, how getting past your imposter syndrome can make you a better manager. Get the chance to win a free 30-min coaching Todd to help you get unstuck around crucial or difficult conversations, change, adjusting to the new normal, or whatever is on your mind. You must be a member by October 6th, 2020. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.   Read the related blog article: How To Overcome Imposter Syndrome’s Unhelpful Voice   Key Takeaways Imposter syndrome and your inner critic work together; your inner critic says you’re not doing enough and your imposter syndrome fears you’re not able to be better and will be exposed for being a fraud. Imagine putting your negative voices in the passenger seat so you can control the wheel and drive forward despite their chatter. If a manager feels pressure to be an all-knowing, all-powerful savior for their team, they won’t reach out for help when necessary or deeply listen to their team. We all have our zone of genius where we personally shine but we can’t excel at everything. Change your expectations to focus on what you’re great at. We can’t wait for the motivation; take action first and motivation will follow. Anchoring your motivation to helping someone else may help you move forward and take action when imposter syndrome strikes. One of the greatest gifts we can give our staff is not to solve their problems, but to help them feel seen and heard. Say “tell me more” three to five times before giving advice. A manager’s other central listening task is to remove the “bottlenecks” that make their staff’s work life difficult. When a manager exposes their authentic, imperfect self and reaches out for help, it gives their staff permission to overcome their own imposter syndrome and reach out for help. KEEP UP WITH TODD Website: http://extraordinaryadvisors.com/   mamie@mamieks.com

Asking for what you want or need is almost never easy. Whether it’s a raise, greater autonomy, more responsibility, or something else, it’s important to ask for what you want in order to do your best work. Plus,as managers,we need to enable our team members to ask us for what they need.  In this episode, I speak with AmyK Hutchens. AmyK is an international award-winning speaker, Amazon bestselling author of the brand new book, GET IT: Five Steps to the Sex, Salary and Success You Want, and has over nineteen years’ experience training and consulting with clients such as The Home Depot, Starbucks Canada, Comerica Bank, Expedia and Lockheed Martin. She also is honored to be THE designated Cool Aunt in her family. AmyK and I talk about building buy-in for your vision, how to ask for what you want, how to have a disarming tough conversation, and how to create an environment where your team feels comfortable asking you for what they want. Become a member of The Modern Manager Community to get $100 Off AmyK’s The Power of Profitable Conversations Online Course. From connecting with another and healing a relationship to asking for a raise or drawing a boundary, being a Master Communicator sets you up for success… however you define it.  Join AmyK in her signature online course, The Power of Profitable Conversations and start using Magical Phrases and brilliant communication techniques to get more of the life you desire. To learn more about membership, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join. Subscribe to the newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.  Have you worked for a rock star manager? Be part of the research for my next book - schedule your 45 minute interview at www.managerialgreatness.com Read the related blog article: Magical Phrases That Get You and Your Staff What You Need Key Takeaways: Each person has their own needs and wants. To get what you want, align what the other person wants with your desires. Use questions to engage people in a robust conversation. The phrase “How might we…” is a great way to open up thinking. Create a meeting agenda of questions to be discussed. Ask people to contribute their questions as pre-work to help co-create the agenda. Instead of assigning work, try asking, “Would you be willing…” This gives the person the choice to accept your offer, providing them autonomy in the conversation. Hire good people and then give them the freedom to do good work. If you can, follow the “three strikes and I’m out” rule. If your manager abuses you or creates a toxic environment, after three attempts to improve the situation, if they still don’t make any changes, it’s time for you to leave that role. It's important to recognize your own self worth. If you can’t leave an unhealthy work environment, look for ways to create boundaries to protect yourself. You can ask for what you need by connecting - seek to understand the person and share how they can understand you. You can ask for what you need through personal power - be straightforward in sharing your desire, values, or what you need in order for the situation to work for you. You can use connecting or personal power, but it’s hard to do both at the same time. The life you want is on the other side of a tough conversation. Give yourself permission to go back and re-open a conversation that didn’t go as planned.  Use the phrase “I have this story in my head…” to share how you interpreted the conversation or their position, and check for accuracy. Always explain your thought process behind your decisions and actions. This builds trust and enables the person to make better choices for themselves going forward. KEEP UP WITH AMYK Website: www.amyk.com Instagram: @AmyKHutchens Twitter: @AmyKHutchens mamie@mamieks.com

It’s been months of living in a COVID-restricted world. Remote work, limited public life, rising tensions, and mounting uncertainty, has taken its toll. Many managers and their team members are experiencing non-stop excess stress, overwhelm or are nearing burnout. This isn’t healthy or sustainable. In this episode, I speak with Peter Gourri. Peter is a qualified Executive & Business Mentor and Coach, non-practicing lawyer, and retired Royal Air Force officer with particular expertise in mentoring as well as leadership coaching and training. His clients range from individual executives and high-growth start-ups to multinational Fortune 500 corporations and others. Peter and I talk about how to take care of yourself and your team members during this time of immense stress and uncertainty. We get into some healthy self care practices that are good even when there isn’t a pandemic, how to take advantage of this strange time, and more. Become a member of The Modern Manager Community to get 50% off coaching with Peter. To learn more about membership, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join. Subscribe to the newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.  Have you worked for a rock star manager? Be part of the research for my next book - schedule your 45 minute interview at www.managerialgreatness.com Read the related blog article: Self Care Tips For Managers And Teams During COVID-19 Key Takeaways: Because our mood heavily impacts how we see the world, when under excess stress, it's easy to misinterpret actions or written communications (e.g. email or chat). Before assuming the worst, consider the facts vs your interpretation of them. Pause before responding when you feel emotionally triggered. Take a break and return to the situation with fresh eyes and a calm mind. Give yourself and others a break. We’re all navigating the same complex, confusing and stressful situation. Mark time on your calendar for self care, including time to prepare and eat meals, go for walks or exercise, etc. Offer to switch a video meeting to audio only or a phone call.  Take vacation time even if there is nowhere to go. Discover a new park within driving distance or simply take a personal day at home to relax. Encourage your team members to take breaks and time off. Role model this healthy behavior, too. Take up a new hobby or find an activity that energizes you. Or design a project for yourself and work toward it. Create a future vision for yourself and write a letter to yourself as if you’ve achieved that future state.  Spend time investing in your skills that will help you advance your career. Take an online course, etc. Know that you will get through this and be stronger because of this experience, no matter how challenging it is.  KEEP UP WITH PETER Website: http://www.petergourri.com/ Instagram: @petergourricoaching LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergourri/ mamie@mamieks.com

Dealing with change is a process for everyone, but why is it that sometimes we adapt quickly while other times it's almost painful and yet other times, despite our best intentions, the change doesn’t stick? Understanding various elements of how change happens and factors that influence change can make the process easier for yourself and others.    In this episode, I walk through seven factors that can help you streamline the change journey and increase the chances of a smooth change process.   The full episode guide includes an overview of the seven areas to consider to help you manage changers more smoothly. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.     Get the free mini-guide which contains an overview of the emotional change curve at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: 7 Ways to Help Yourself and Others Manage Change   Key Takeaways: Think of change as a journey, not an event. We experience change as a process of moving from point A to point B, from leaving what was and arriving at what will be. The change journey is complete when you’ve arrived at your new normal. We experience change more positively when we are in control and have chosen to change.  Invite people into the decision early or give people a choice to opt in to a change. In order for us to gain something new, we must let go of something else. This experience of loss can be more dramatic than adapting to the new. Consider who is gaining what and who is losing what for each change. Avoid blanket statements about change being good or bad in the same way for everyone involved. The change journey is also an emotional journey. By understanding the emotional rollercoaster, we can put our experience in context.  When we lack the skills, knowledge, environment or motivation for change, the journey is almost impossible. Changes often have implications beyond what is initially perceived. Some changes seem small but are quite big while other changes appear big but are actually small.  Dealing with change is easier when we are part of a group. Whenever possible, talk about the change experience and support each other to move forward. We each experience change differently. Be patient with yourself and others who need more time to process. Additional Resources: Emotional change curve https://www.rmm-i.com/leading-change-understanding-the-faces-of-resistance/ Hugo - meeting agenda planning software within GoogleCalendar: https://www.hugo.team/ Meeting Sense - meeting agenda planning software within Outlook: http://www.meetingsense.com/ mamie@mamieks.com

You’re probably familiar with the old saying, “do as I say, not as I do.” Unfortunately, when it comes to building a healthy team culture, how you act as a manager is significantly more important than the mission, vision or values you espouse. We must ‘walk our talk’ to ensure our team members see and feel our values, in addition to hearing them.  In this episode, I speak with Kit Krugman. Kit is the Head of Organization + Culture Design at co:collective and the former President of WIN:Women in Innovation. Kit and I talk about the difference between story-telling and story-doing, the power of simply asking, a culture of psychological safety, the idea of being on a quest, and so much more. Become a member of The Modern Manager Community to be entered to win a free coaching call with Kit Krugman. In addition, you’ll be entered to win a collective mindset report worth $1,500. This report provides you with information on the quality of your current culture and mental lenses of the leaders and employees. You must be a member by September 1st to qualify for both drawings. To learn more about membership, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join. Subscribe to the newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.  Have you worked for a rock star manager? Be part of the research for my next book - schedule your 45 minute interview at www.managerialgreatness.com Read the related blog article: Are You Sending The Wrong Signals To Your Team?  Key Takeaways: The story you tell about your company mission, vision and values is only as powerful as the actions that follow it. That is ‘story-doing’ instead of story-telling. When actions don’t align with espoused values, people read the signals and follow what the leadership role models, incentives, and rewards. Reflect on your own behaviors. Are you acting how you expect others to act? Engage your team members in the conversation. What do they want to do? Ask for their feedback and input rather than dictating to them. In order to get honest input and feedback, there must be psychological safety. To develop that trust, ask for critical feedback and take it without being defensive. If you respond negatively, you undermine that psychological safety. Explore what makes you defensive? Get to know yourself and what triggers an emotional response. Prepare to hear critical feedback and to accept it without a defensive or emotional response. Pause to let the emotion pass, say thank you and that you want time to consider it and/or ask for guidance on how to improve. Set your company on a quest that is larger than your products, services, and goals. Establish a Northstar to guide your work that inspires people and opens up possibilities. Create a mission for your team that contributes to that quest. Culture is always a competitive advantage. Culture is about engagement, productivity, attracting and retaining talent. Managers must create a sense of community within their team, especially during this time of physical distancing. Over communicate, invest more time in relationship building individually and collectively. When times are uncertain, people will create their own narrative if you don’t tell them the story. Create the narrative and live into it. KEEP UP WITH KIT Website: https://womenininnovation.co/ Twitter: @kitkrugman Instagram: @24hrkitness mamie@mamieks.com

Mindsets are powerful because they deeply impact our view and approach to managing a team. Yet, we are often unaware of the mindsets we hold and how they may be undermining our intent. When you understand a mindset and the fears, desires, and assumptions that it is grounded in, you can better align that mindset with your values and goals.  In this episode, I speak with Ryan Gottfredson. Ryan is a mental success coach and cutting-edge leadership consultant, author, trainer, and researcher. He is the author of "Success Mindsets: The Key to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership," and a leadership professor at Cal State Fullerton. He has a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources from Indiana University. Ryan and talk about what mindsets are and how they impact us as managers, the four typical manager mindsets that might actually be holding you back, how vulnerability comes into play, and how to begin shifting your mindset. Become a member of The Modern Manager Community to be entered to win a free collective mindset report worth $1,500. This report provides you with information on the quality of your current culture and mental lenses of the leaders and employees. You must be a member by September 1st to qualify. To learn more about membership, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join. Subscribe to the newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.  Have you worked for a rock star manager? Be part of the research for my next book - schedule your 45 minute interview at www.managerialgreatness.com Read the related blog article: The Four Human Desires that Undermine Great Managers Key Takeaways: Mindsets are the mental lenses that we wear that shape how we see the world and how we behave. How you approach a situation can make all the difference. Consider what happens when you view someone as not trying vs doing their best. Intention and impact are not the same. A lack of awareness of your own mindsets can lead to negative impact, even if unintentionally. 60% of employees say their manager damages their self esteem. Managers, and humans, typically have four desires that can undermine their ability to be great managers. These desires are (1) to look good, (2) to be right, (3) to avoid problems, and (4) to get ahead. These desires stem from self preservation and are associated with four negative mindsets: (1) fixed, (2) closed, (3) preservation, and (4) inward. We can replace our negative mindsets with positive ones: (1) instead of looking good, seek to grow, (2) instead of being right, seek truth, (3) instead of avoiding problems, aim to achieve goals, and (4) instead of getting ahead, strive to lift others.  You must be willing to be vulnerable because in order to develop these success mindsets, at times you will look bad, be wrong, have problems and get past up. When managers struggle with vulnerability, they tend to develop a command and control style. This creates an unhelpful situation where team members are unhappy but don’t feel comfortable speaking up. To become more aware of your mindsets, do the following 4 steps: (1) Identify a goal, (2) Reflect on what you are doing, or not doing, that is inhibiting your from achieving that goal, (3) identify the underlying fears, commitments, and assumptions, are holding you back, and (4) connect these to the negative mindsets or desires so that you can begin shifting them. When you are aware of your negative mindset, you can begin to change your outlook and therefore your behavior. KEEP UP WITH RYAN Website: https://ryangottfredson.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryangottfredson/ Assessment: https://ryangottfredson.com/personal-mindset-assessment Book: Success Mindsets: The Key to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership mamie@mamieks.com