THE BLOG

I've asked 20 managers a simple question: "What wastes your time the most?"

The answer was unanimous. But before I reveal it, here's some context - each of them has been:

• a manager for over 2 years,

• leading a team of at least 8 people,

• part of a company of 100+ employees,

...

When someone steps into their first management role, I often see them fall into one of two mental traps:

"This will be easy!"

"This is way too hard!"

Two extremes.

Both wrong.

Both completely normal.

And both in serious need of support.

The first extreme: "This will be easy!"

"Do you have a coach yourself?"

A client—a new manager—asked me that recently.

And I loved that question.

Because I practice what I preach.

Over the last 20 years, I’ve had a number of coaches. Right now, I work with two:

• one helps me build my business,
• The other helps me grow as a coa...

You sit in a car for the first time.

No instructor.

No idea how the machine works.

No clue about road signs or rules.

No practice.

How far do you think you’d get?

Chances are, you won't be able to move the damn thing, but if you do, you’d crash at the first corner or intersection. In the b...

When I first stepped into leadership, I thought that if I were clear enough, supportive enough, and gave my team all the right tools, things would…work. No drama, no confusion, just a well-oiled machine moving toward shared goals.

You can probably guess how that turned out.

The reality? Issues ...

Congratulations! You've been promoted to a managerial role. The excitement is palpable, but if you're like most new managers, there's also a nagging question in the back of your mind: What now? You've entered uncharted waters, and the skills that made you successful as an individual contributor w...