207: The Seven Paradoxes of Leadership with Sumit Gupta

200: Mamie’s Favorite Takeaways from 200 Episodes: Today I’m celebrating 200 episodes. This feels like a major accomplishment. When I launched the show in May 2018, just getting to 10 episodes felt a little overwhelming. Now, looking back, I’m so proud of what I was able to do and how many managers like yourself I’ve been able to help. It’s because of you that I create this show week after week. For this special 200th episode, I looked back over the guest episodes and thought about what ideas really stood out for me. While every episode has golden nuggets, I chose 5 key takeaways that have impacted or stayed with me in some way. I hope you find these ideas useful, but more importantly, I hope you’ll scroll back into the feed and check out older episodes even if you have already listened to them. There are some truly great conversations and solo episodes in the archive. And listening to a show for a second time helps us hear new things because we’ve grown and evolved since we first list by The Modern Manager

24 min listen

184: Embrace a Velocity Mindset with Ron Karr: What do you think of when you hear the word velocity? Speed? Direction? While we’re busy running quickly from one thing to another, it's important that we always have a clear vision for where we’re headed. Working effectively isn’t just about getting to the future quickly. It’s knowing where you’re going so that your speed is meaningful. Today’s guest is Ron Karr. Ron has worked with leaders on six continents to eliminate risk, gain buy-in and achieve better results faster with the Velocity Mindset®. His presentations and advisory services have generated over a billion dollars in incremental revenues for his clients. Ron is the author of five books including his latest, The Velocity Mindset® and the bestselling Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way. Ron facilitates the Chief Revenue Officer Mastermind Group made up of CEO's and VP's building high-performance sales cultures. Ron and I talk about lessons from his book Velocity Mindset. We ta by The Modern Manager

29 min listen

192: Unleash Your Brain’s Potential with Collin Jewett: The brain is an amazing thing. Its capacity to learn is almost endless. But too often the process of learning can feel boring, difficult, stressful, and even painful. In order for the brain to retain what we’ve learned, we need to deploy the right strategies. These simple approaches make learning efficient and enjoyable. Today’s guest is Collin Jewett. Collin is an industrial engineer, author, coach, and adventurer. He loves helping others rediscover the joy of learning and partnering with their brains to unlock limitless memory, boundless creativity, and unshakeable focus. Collin and I talk about the process of learning, how to remember better, the relationship between learning and creativity, and so much more. Members of the Modern Manager community get access to Collin’s 7-part video series titled “Unlock your 3 Brain States” to help you discover the 3 critical brain states and unlock hyperfocus and endless creative potential by The Modern Manager

35 min listen

189: Bridging All Sorts of Cultural Differences with Laura Kriska: It’s easy to get caught up in the “us versus them” mentality. Our brains naturally like to categorize people and then bond with those who are “on our team” while alienating those who are not. This can happen within an organization “marketing vs sales” or by identity “men vs other gender identities” or geography “London HQ vs remote team members” and many other factors. When cultural divides separate colleagues, it inhibits effective communication and collaboration. Instead, we need to find ways to bring people together that honors our cultural differences while building bridges. Laura Kriska is the author of The Business of WE and a leading cross-cultural consultant with more than thirty years of experience bridging gaps in diverse workplaces. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies on four continents helping thousands of professionals build trust across Us versus Them differences based on nationality, ethnicity, ra by The Modern Manager

34 min listen

194: Build a Culture of Accountability: Accountability, when done right, isn't about exerting power or authority. It’s not about enforcing punishments or negative consequences. Instead, it’s about making sure that everyone does what they commit to doing through shared responsibility for success. Managers who do this develop strong teams with strong performance. Those who don’t do this end up with extra pressure on themselves and disengaged employees who are underperforming or unhappy in their jobs - both of which are downright unhealthy for everyone. Today's episode is about how to create a culture of accountability. Accountability often feels hard, in part because it's the thing we do when something goes wrong. Instead, you can make accountability ever-present on your team so that everyone holds themselves and each other accountable. The full episode guide contains more detailed actions, questions for reflection, and worksheets to help you foster a culture of accountability with by The Modern Manager

13 min listen

187: Continuing to Develop Inclusive Leadership Skills with Perrine Farque: Like any field, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion continues to evolve. As managers, we need to continue to grow and develop our skills. While it may seem hard to keep up with the newest concepts, it may very well be one of the most important components to being a rockstar manager now and in the future. Today’s guest is Perrine Farque. Perrine is an author, entrepreneur, keynote speaker and diversity and inclusion expert who empowers leaders to leverage diversity and inclusion as their competitive advantage. Nominated in the Top 50 Most Influential UK Tech Women, Perrine continues to be recognized for her contributions. Perrine drove the strategy at companies such as Facebook and is on a mission to make the workplace more inclusive and diverse. Perrine and I talk about the experiences of feeling depreciated and rejected and what we can do to continue to develop our people management skills as the world of DEI by The Modern Manager

31 min listen

209: Master the Hiring Process with Tatiyana Cure: It's cliche, but true: Your people are your biggest asset. There's nothing more important than hiring people who are a strong fit for the job responsibilities and also align with your organization's values and mission. But recruiting the right people for your team can pose a challenge, and the hiring process can leave managers feeling exhausted. Today’s guest is Tatiyana Cure. Tatiyana brings her extensive background as an executive recruiter and talent acquisition leader to her work of coaching managers. She has partnered with thousands of hiring managers in a wide variety of industries. She is passionate about helping managers achieve their business goals through effective talent strategies. Tatiyana wrote her first book: "Hire to Win: Manager's Practical Guide for Attracting and Interviewing Top Talent" to share a blueprint for those looking for a step-by-step guide in hiring. We talk about the ins and outs of hiring: how to write a by The Modern Manager

34 min listen

196: Improve Performance by Improving Executive Functioning with Michael Delman: How we go about our work can make or break our productivity and effectiveness. The ability to meet deadlines, stay calm under pressure, develop a project plan and focus on a task without checking email every five minutes are all part of the skillset known as executive functioning. While this part of our brain develops throughout childhood, many of us still struggle with executive functioning as adults. Luckily, like any skill, we can develop them. Today’s guest is Michael Delman. Michael is the CEO of Beyond BookSmart and WorkSmart Coaching. Author, Executive Function Coach, and School Founder, his career has been centered for three decades on helping people become more effective. Michael and I talk about the four groups of executive functioning skills, how these show up in the workplace, what you can do to better perform in your role and how to better engage with your team using executive functioning by The Modern Manager

39 min listen

188: How to Work Effectively With Freelancers with Matthew Mottola: Some managers worry that hiring a freelancer means you will have to take a leap of faith. You won’t know that person’s work ethic or professional personality. But in reality, hiring and managing a freelancer doesn’t need to be scary. Instead, it can transform your team’s work. Today’s guest is Matthew Mottola. Matthew is a leader in ethically creating the remote freelance economy. He is CEO of Venture L, Author of The Human Cloud and a Forbes Contributor. Matthew and I talk about working with freelancers - how the Pandemic has changed things, how to overcome common challenges of working with freelancers, and how to optimize the entire lifecycle of hiring, onboarding, collaborating and more. Members of the Modern Manager community get Matthew’s Leadership Deck To Hire Freelancers and his Worksheets To Identify The Work And Hire Your First Freelancer. Get these bonuses when you join the Modern Manager community. by The Modern Manager

28 min listen

195: Lessons Learned From Managing People and Arranging Flowers with Elise Bernhardt: Managers know the value of team building, but not all activities are effective or right for your people. Traditional team-building activities like ropes courses, paintball games, or scavenger hunts often don’t speak to millennials or employees in other generations. They can also be competitive instead of collaborative, or require physical abilities that not everyone is capable of. Instead, managers can look for activities that are fun, accessible, and translate into productive relationships in the workplace, like floral design. Today’s guest is Elise Bernhardt. Elise served as CEO or Executive Director of multiple non-profit cultural organizations during her 30 year career. She then reinvented herself as a floral designer and facilitator which combined her passion for flowers and bringing people together through her flower design workshops. Elise and I talk about the lessons she’s learned from years o by The Modern Manager

31 min listen

191: Principles of The Leadership Blueprint with Lisa Marie Platske: It’s easy to get caught in the whirlwind of work. We can get carried along by the hundreds of things that need to get done, never stepping back to consider if it’s actually working or whether the path is even the right one. Taking time to prioritize, reflect, or set boundaries that actually get followed can feel like a luxury we just can’t afford given the fires that keep popping up, the ever-growing to-do list, and wanting to be there for our team members when they need us. But imagine what work and life could be, if we did. Today’s guest is Lisa Marie Platske. Lisa Marie is an award-winning leadership expert in human behavior and recognized as one of the top 100 women making a difference in the world. She left her Federal law enforcement career after 9/11 to build Upside Thinking, Inc. She is also a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, and Lisa has trained or coached over 100,000 leaders around the globe. Lisa by The Modern Manager

35 min listen

240: Change Your Questions with Marilee Adams: Of all the mindset tips and tricks, there is one aspect that is often overlooked: the questions we ask ourselves. Questions have the potential to shift conversations, open new ideas, and broaden understanding. The thoughts we have are in response to the questions we ask ourselves, often without conscious thought. Managers can learn how to use these internal questions as a tool to transform difficult relationships, spark creativity, reduce stress, and much more. Today’s guest is Dr. Marilee Adams. Marilee is an award-winning author and pioneer in the fields of inquiry-based coaching, leadership and organizational culture. She is CEO/Founder of the Inquiry Institute, a solutions and performance-focused company providing consulting, coaching, training, keynotes and eLearning. She is the author of the best selling book Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 12 Powerful Tools for Leadership, Coaching and Results. Marilee and I talk about the by The Modern Manager

32 min listen

193: Navigating Change, Ambiguity and Uncertainty with Russ Linden: As managers, we have a responsibility to help our employees find stability in a time of chaos. To do this most effectively, we need to understand how the brain functions best—and most importantly, how it can go wrong. Understanding the neuroscience of change will give us unparalleled insight into managing moments of uncertainty and times of change so that our team members remain productive, engaged, and loving their work. Today’s guest is Russ Linden. Russ is a management consultant, leadership instructor, and author who's worked with public and nonprofit organizations for 36 years. He specializes in change management, collaboration, and the use of influence (when formal authority won't cut it). Russ and I talk about the experience of navigating change, how to better deal with ambiguity, the phenomenon called loss aversion, the relationship between change and learning, and so much more. Members of the Modern Mana by The Modern Manager

33 min listen

185: How to Avoid the Great Resignation with Christine Comaford: The summer of 2021 saw a staggering increase in resignations and the trend has remained. Management professor Anthony Klotz called this phenomenon the "Great Resignation." In response to the pandemic, people are rethinking their job, career, and lifestyle. What can we do, as managers, to keep our best people from leaving us? Today’s guest is Christine Comaford. Christine is a Leadership and Culture Coach, Serial Entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author. For over 30 years Christine has helped leaders navigate growth and change. She specializes in applied neuroscience, which helps her clients achieve tremendous results in record time. As an entrepreneur she built and sold five companies with an average ROI of 700%, and she was a software engineer in the early days of Microsoft and Apple. Christine is a human behavior expert, a leadership columnist for Forbes.com, and the New York Times bestselling author of Pow by The Modern Manager

31 min listen

219: Motivation Through Core Values with Rob Toomey: Identifying the core values and potential motivators of your team members isn't always the easiest task. There are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to each individual personality, which makes for a delicate interpretation process. But optimizing your relationships with others comes down to understanding one thing: what on earth makes them tick? Today’s guest is Rob Toomey. As President of TypeCoach, Rob lives at the intersection of his two passions: personality type and entrepreneurship. Working with 800 global client organizations, he has delivered live sessions to more than 50,000 participants and the TypeCoach online tools have reached more than 185,000 people. Rob is also Managing Director of The Idea Factory which is focused on early stage app and website projects. Rob and I talk about the four temperaments - he’ll explain these better than I can in one sentence, but in essence we’re talking about the four different pe by The Modern Manager

31 min listen

190: Influencing without Authority: Influencing others is a key part of most managerial positions. Too often we conflate authority with influence. Authority is an exercise in power while influence is about encouraging people to join you in a shared mission. Whether it's getting a team member to change their behavior, generating buy-in from your supervisor, or getting a colleague in a different department to help out, we are often in positions where we don’t have (or don’t want to use) positional power to get what we need. This is where we rely on our ability to influence. In this episode, I walk through 5 approaches to influencing without authority so that you can gain support in ways that both deliver results and feel good along the way. The full episode guide includes tips and suggestions for each of the five approaches. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop. Get the free mini-guide at themodernnmanager.com/ by The Modern Manager

12 min listen

186: Create an Actionable Individual Development Plan: Great managers invest in growing their team members. But who is actually responsible for professional development? Surprise: it’s the individual, not the manager. Organizations take a wide variety of approaches to professional development ranging from none at all to reserving Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for only high potentials or those struggling the most. So where does that leave everyone else? This episode is all about taking control over your individual development plan. I walk through the process of crafting an IDP for yourself and how to work with your team members so they can own their professional growth. The full episode guide includes a detailed process for developing an IDP as well as how to work with your team members to create and manage their IDP. It also includes the template I use with my clients for documenting and tracking goals, measures of success and actions. Get it when you join the Modern Manager by The Modern Manager

13 min listen

208: The Personal Instruction Manual: Most people have a general idea about how their colleagues or team members work best. You may occasionally pick up a random fact about a person's personality or work style, but it's rare to have the full picture. The result: we are frustrated by our coworkers because we don’t understand them and they don’t understand us. Today I talk about creating a Personal Instruction Manual, or PIM for short. A PIM is a resource that describes a person’s personality and working preferences, and its purpose is to help that person’s coworkers and manager better understand and work with them. Similar to an instruction manual that comes with a new piece of hardware or software, a PIM helps people understand how to engage with someone most effectively. The full episode guide includes a template for creating a Personal Instruction Manual. You’ll find questions for each section to help the creator capture relevant insights about themselves. In addition, I’m offering by The Modern Manager

14 min listen

205: Becoming a Modern Manager with Joie Jager-Hyman: A modern manager is an employee’s partner. You support them, teach them, and guide them through the ups and downs of doing their work. While many new managers, and entrepreneurs are thrown into the position without training, they don’t need to flounder. With a bit of intention and determination, anyone can become a rockstar manager. Today’s guest is Joie Jager-Hyman. Joie is the Founder of College Prep 360, a boutique educational advisory group. She is also the author of two books on college admissions: "B+ Grades A+ College Applications" and "Fat Envelope Frenzy". Joie and I talk about her experience of transforming into a “modern manager” and how that has impacted her personally, her team, and her business. Members of the Modern Manager community get 10% off educational advising or college essay editing from College Prep 360. Get this bonus when you join the Modern Manager community. Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, by The Modern Manager

44 min listen

202: Managing the Boundaries of Personal and Professional with Deborah Grayson Riegel: For many people, the pandemic blurred the lines between personal and professional spaces. While this had many benefits such as bringing people closer together, it also created ambiguity that is challenging for managers to navigate. How can managers best create and maintain boundaries while supporting their team members’ whole selves? Today’s guest is Deborah Grayson Riegel. Deborah is a keynote speaker, executive coach, and consultant who has taught leadership communication for Wharton Business School, Duke Corporate Education, Columbia Business School’s Women in Leadership Program, and the Beijing International MBA Program at Peking University. She is the co-author of “Go to Help: 31 Ways to Offer, Ask for, and Accept Help” and "Overcoming Overthinking: 36 Ways to Tame Anxiety for Work, School, and Life” — both written with her daughter Sophie, who is Junior at Duke. Deborah and I talk about how to by The Modern Manager

34 min listen

214: Skills for Effective Communication with Richard Newman: Both verbal and nonverbal communication are critical interpersonal skills. Listening to others, observing their reactions, speaking in a way that promotes understanding and connection, using body language—these are all essential to our leadership development. Effective leaders must know that communicating is a combination of what you say, how you say it, and how you respond to what has been said back to you. Today’s guest is Richard Newman. Richard is the Founder of Body Talk. Over the past 22 years his team have trained over 120,000 business leaders around the world, to improve their communication and impact, including one client who gained over $1 Billion in new business in just one year, using the strategies that Richard teaches. Richard and I talk about the unspoken parts of communication, communicating effectively remotely, keeping people engaged in a meeting or presentation, and so much more. Members of the Modern Mana by The Modern Manager

31 min listen

217: Plan Your Day with Ashutosh Priyadarshy: Ever feel like you don't have enough time because you're too busy working on tasks, attending meetings, and checking email? If so, you're not alone. Who has time for planning when there is so much to do?! In reality, a daily planning habit puts you in control of your schedule, workload, and productivity. Today’s guest is Ashutosh Priyadarshy. Ashutosh is the Co-founder and CEO of Sunsama, a daily planning assistant that helps knowledge workers stay focused and productive throughout their workdays. Ashutosh has spent most of the last decade building and launching productivity software. His goal is to build products that help us navigate our work and life mindfully and intentionally. Ashutosh and I talk about why daily planning is an important process, how we can use daily planning to boost productivity and feel a sense of accomplishment, and more. Members of the Modern Manager community get an exclusive 30-day free trial of Sunsama. Get it by The Modern Manager

27 min listen

220: Methods for Robust Brainstorm Sessions: Brainstorming is a method of developing ideas in a group setting. It's used to solve problems, come up with new ideas, and generally explore possibilities. While it may seem like a simple task, there’s often much more than meets the eye when it comes to effective brainstorming. Working through various exercises helps you not only generate ideas but also deeply understand the situation you are looking at. Today's episode is about brainstorming. Almost every team, at some point, has a brainstorming session. While brainstorming can be as straightforward as “okay, what ideas do you have?” There are also different methods to help you make the most of your brainstorming time together, and that’s what I cover here. The full episode guide includes lists of prompts and suggested approaches for boosting your brainstorming sessions. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop. Get t by The Modern Manager

10 min listen

197: Coordinating Synchronous and Asynchronous Communications: It seems like every day there is a new communications app or an advance in communications technology capabilities. These tools are intended to help us collaborate more effectively with our team, but they can also lead to a tangled web of information and a messy communication system. Plus, teams are exploring new ways of working as hybrid work slowly replaces fully remote teaming. Given the foundational nature of communications, intentionally designing your communication practices can elevate and streamline your effectiveness. Today's episode is about synchronous and asynchronous communication. In short, synchronous means we’re all physically present at the same time. Asynchronous means each person is communicating independently of others’ timing. Communication is at the heart of how people work together, so getting the right tools, processes, and norms in place for your team to facilitate effective synchronous and asynchr by The Modern Manager

16 min listen

198: Elevate Yourself and Your Team Through Coaching with Dr. Richard Levin: Whether you're a leader or a manager, the chances are that you occasionally (or regularly) find yourself dealing with difficult situations. Coaching is an increasingly popular way of helping people develop the skills, habits, and mindsets needed to reach their full potential by better understanding themselves, their goals, and the situations they encounter. Today’s guest is Dr. Richard Levin. Richard is widely recognized as one of the first executive coaches. He is one of a half-dozen global leaders who have created and shaped the coaching profession since its inception in the 1980’s. As the founder and principal of Richard Levin & Associates (the first executive coaching firm, and the first network of independent executive coaches); as co-author of the popular and powerful book Shared Purpose: Working Together to Build Strong Families and High Performance Companies; and as a founder of Boston University’s by The Modern Manager

33 min listen

203: Cultivating Psychological Safety with Teresa Mitrovic: People that don't feel safe in their work can't reach their full potential. Psychological safety can make the difference between a productive and innovative workplace, and one where employees feel the need to keep their heads down. As managers, it's our responsibility to create a culture of psychological safety so our team members can communicate well, produce better results, and be their authentic selves. Today’s guest is Teresa Mitrovic. Teresa is the founder of ORO Collective, as well as a consultant, coach, course creator, and author specializing in performance, psychological safety, and trust. In her past life as a corporate leader, when the increasing demands of senior leadership clashed with single parenthood, Teresa pivoted her career to coaching leaders. Teresa and I talk about psychological safety and how to foster an environment in which people speak up, give feedback, show up authentically, and act without fear. by The Modern Manager

40 min listen

204: How to Get and Stay Focused: We live in an age of distraction. No matter what we have to do – whether it's writing an essay, working in an office, or just going about our daily lives – we are constantly at the mercy of internal and external distractions. These attention-breakers have serious consequences on our quality of work. The good news is that with our growing knowledge of the brain and improved technology, there are specific steps we can take to increase attention and improve focus. This week’s episode covers the difference between internal and external distractions and practical steps you can take to increase your focus. While our internal distractions are actually much more numerous than external, both can prevent people from focused work. I talk about the things you may be doing that prevent deep focus, then I give you steps you can take to mitigate distractions using short-term and long-term approaches. The full episode guide includes the matrix of focus along with tips by The Modern Manager

15 min listen

223: Insights From Improv to Improve Communication with Brian Rolnick-Fox: Anyone who's worked on a team knows that communication can be a challenge. Sometimes, common problems require creative solutions. Improv is a powerful tool that bring out the best in any group or team. It’s not just for comedians; it can be used to create new ideas, solve problems, explore feelings, and connect with each other. Today’s guest is Brian Rolnick-Fox, the Founder, CEO, and Chief Evangelist of Nimble Learning Strategies. Brian has been using improvisation as a channel for individual growth, group development, and organizational success since 1999. He has delivered communication and leadership programs for a diverse set of organizations from Fortune 100 companies to educational institutions some of which include Citibank, Goodyear, Dartmouth College, and Harvard Business School. Brian and I talk about what we can learn from the field of comedic improv to help us be better communicators. We get into s by The Modern Manager

29 min listen

206: Delegate to Elevate with Yuri Elkaim: When working with a team, delegation is one of the most important skills to develop. One of our main goals as managers is to unlock the potential of our people, and effective delegation enables that to happen. However, ineffective delegation can lead to frustration and inefficiencies for everyone. Today’s guest is Yuri Elkaim. Yuri is a former pro athlete, leading health expert, New York Times bestselling author, and the founder of Healthpreneur® where he helps health entrepreneurs, coaches, and practitioners start and scale online practices that create more income and freedom...and better results for their clients. Yuri and I talk about creating the parameters for people to take on additional responsibility and autonomy while meeting the standards and expectations that you’ve set. We talk about creating principles, the importance of effective onboarding, and finding the balance between micromanaging and being totally hands off. Members of th by The Modern Manager

33 min listen

207: The Seven Paradoxes of Leadership with Sumit Gupta: We’ve all been there. We thought we knew what was best, only to find out later that what we thought we knew was wrong. Even the best manager can get lost in all the leadership advice, trying to do what’s right and still somehow failing. This is because sometimes that leadership advice is wrong. Today’s guest is Sumit Gupta. Sumit spent 20 years in software, started 2 for-profit and 1 non-profit organizations, and is a photographer. He combines his experiences as a techie, engineer, 3x entrepreneur, and leader in companies like Yahoo and Booking.com, and as a poet and photographer – to help leaders merge the science of doing business with the art of leadership. Sumit and I talk about the seven paradoxes of leadership. These paradoxes are concepts that shift the way we think about leadership and what it takes to be a great manager. They take the typical leadership advice and flip it on its head. Members of the Modern Manager commun by The Modern Manager

31 min listen

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207: The Seven Paradoxes of Leadership with Sumit Gupta

207: The Seven Paradoxes of Leadership with Sumit Gupta

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