A field guide for first-time managers
The job nobody trained you for.
Writing for managers handling hard conversations, difficult bosses, and the weight of a team that suddenly looks to you. No motivational posters. No business-school jargon. Just moves that work on Monday morning.
This week
When You Inherit a Team With High Turnover
Inheriting a team with high turnover puts the next departure on your record. Four moves that make the survivors stay through your first 90 days.
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The archive
- When You Inherit a Team With High Turnover
- When Your Boss Is Always Negative
- Skip-Level Meeting Questions: 25 That Surface Real Issues
- When Your New Boss Won’t Listen and Changes Everything
- How to Write a Performance Improvement Plan That Actually Works
- How to Manage People: The 7-Part Framework for First-Time Managers
- Leadership Skills for First-Time Managers: The 10 That Actually Matter
- How to Fire Someone for the First Time
- The Disrespectful High Performer
- How to Manage Your Team When Your Boss Micromanages You
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The Disrespectful High Performer
The 10-step playbook for handling a disrespectful high performer without losing your team. Four diagnostic patterns, the full cost model, an…
Letter
How to Manage Your Team When Your Boss Micromanages You
A practical guide for new managers dealing with a micromanaging boss. Diagnose the cause, protect your team, manage up, and decide when to e…
Letter
Your First Difficult Conversation as a New Manager
A step-by-step guide to your first difficult conversation as a new manager. How to prep, what to say, and what to do if it goes sideways.
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Letter
How to Manage Someone Older Than You Without Pretending You Are Not Nervous
The first direct report you ever managed who was older than you probably scared you more than you admitted at the time. The fear is not actu…
Letter
How to Run Your First 1-on-1 as a New Manager: A Practical Template
Your first 1-on-1 as a new manager is usually scheduled in a rush, ten minutes before it happens, with someone you have never formally sat a…
Letter
The First Time You Feel Like a Fraud as a Manager
The imposter moment that hits every new manager around month two. What the feeling is telling you, how to name the Month-Two Dip when it…