Mato just raised pre-seed Read more
Podcast charts
Published by Ramona Shaw
If you’re in you're a new manager and want to become a confident and competent leader people love to work with, then join leadership expert Ramona Shaw in this podcast. Each week, Ramona shares inspiring new perspectives and practical tips you can use right away to successfully transition into your first leadership role and to think, act, and communicate like the leader you know you can be.
On the charts
Every published chart this podcast appears in, in the snapshot behind this page. Each one links to the chart it came off.
The Mato Topic Intelligence Platform does not report this podcast as charting in a published category in this snapshot.
From the feed
The latest episodes published to this podcast’s own RSS feed. Titles and descriptions are the publisher’s.
Sometime in the next few months, a decision will land on your desk that makes half the room unhappy. It will show up on an ordinary Tuesday, in a week that was already full, and you will have about a day to decide. Most managers meet that moment with instinct and hope. When the team performs and nothing breaks, principles never get tested. Ramona calls this sunshine leadership. Then a decision gets contentious, a strong performer starts to slip, or two people you like want incompatible things, and your team watches what you do next. They notice fast which of your stated principles are real and which ones are decoration. In this episode, Ramona walks through how to build a leadership philosophy that holds up in exactly those moments, including where it sits inside Archova’s APS method (awareness, principles, system). She covers: Why borrowed methods fail without an anchor, and what a block of clay has to do with it The two rules for choosing leadership values (most managers break both) The sentence that turns a value like quality into a rule your team can actually follow The two-week shadow test that reveals whether your philosophy is operating or decorative The trap of values that point away from your own goals, and how to bridge it If you have ever said one thing in a team meeting and done another under pressure, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/H3HyT3aDRgw — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator, Archova’s 12-week program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free masterclass on how to successfully lead as a new manager: archova.org/masterclass ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager’ by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books or amzn.to/3TuOdcP — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE ( calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session ). Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 106 – What Is Your Leadership Philosophy? Episode 247 – Beyond Values: Creating Explicit Leadership Expectations — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Six months ago you sat next to these people. You complained about leadership together, covered for each other when something slipped, and knew exactly what got said in the hallway versus in the meeting. Now you run the team, and every one of those unspoken rules is up for renegotiation. Most new managers handle this by saying nothing and hoping the awkwardness fades. Ramona did exactly that after her promotion into leadership. Within two years, she had damaged some of those relationships and felt more stressed than she ever had as an individual contributor. In this episode, Ramona walks through the conversations she wishes she had opened with, and why the manager who tries to stay liked ends up losing both the relationship and the team. She covers: The two kinds of expectations that shape every working relationship, and why the unspoken ones do the damage A four-box matrix of management approaches, including the trap that feels the safest and costs the most The four things to renegotiate out loud with every former peer in your first two weeks What to say to the person on your team who wanted your job Why the trust you built as a peer is already banked, and the one question your team still needs answered Whether you were just promoted over your peers, you can see that promotion coming, or you are two years in and still avoiding the elephant in the room, this episode gives you the words for the conversations you have been putting off. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LYlESAru-U0 — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org [verify link in show notes] "The Confident & Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw, including the explicit vs. implicit expectations framework and the productivity/rapport matrix: archova.org/books or Amazon Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass Personnel psychology research on multiplex workplace relationships (friendship plus reporting line) and maintenance difficulty Fiske, Cuddy, and Glick research on warmth and competence in how we assess leaders — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 24 – Can I Be Friends With My Direct Reports? Episode 321 – From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Somewhere along the way, you picked up the idea that thoughtful ICs wait until they’re ready before going for the manager role. So you keep asking the question. Am I ready? And every time you ask it, it feels responsible. It feels like preparing. Ramona has watched that exact question stall talented ICs for years. It has no evidence standard and no end date, which means you can ask it forever while it quietly turns your next career move into a verdict someone else gets to hand down. In this episode, Ramona throws out the usual trait checklist (communicate well, put the team first, manage your time) and replaces it with a willingness audit: four questions you answer yes or no to, all testable this week, none requiring anyone’s permission. She covers: The four willingness questions, starting with whether you can stand having your results measured through other people’s work The senior engineer who kept hearing "not quite there yet" and responded in exactly the wrong way Two scripts that turn vague feedback into a specific behavior and a date Three signs "you’re not ready" is your manager stalling, not a real assessment What Bandura’s self-efficacy research says about waiting until you feel capable The part almost nobody says out loud: for some of you the honest answer is no, and there’s a clean way to own it Whether you’re circling the decision, hearing "not yet" on repeat, or quietly suspecting the manager track isn’t for you, this episode gets you to an honest answer faster. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org/leadership-accelerator Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy and mastery experience Center for Creative Leadership research on how leadership capability develops Linda Hill, "Becoming a Manager" (research on new managers’ assumptions) Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass "The Confident & Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona here: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 61 – From IC to Manager: 4 Main Shifts Episode 321 – From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
You walk into a meeting with senior people, and within seconds the internal questions start: Should I speak early or wait until I’m asked? Am I reading the mood right, or am I about to present data to a room that wants something else entirely? And when the energy shifts mid-meeting, someone influential goes quiet, the questions turn political, the doubt gets louder: do I name what’s happening, or do I keep going through my slides and hope it passes? Ramona doesn’t treat reading the room as charisma you’re born with. The managers who look intuitive in meetings are running a short list of questions in their heads, typically faster than everyone else, and adjusting what they say based on the answers. That list can be learned. In this episode, Ramona breaks down what reading the room actually involves and why so much of your credibility in a new room gets decided before you’ve said anything of substance. She covers: The three reads to make in the first two minutes of any meeting, starting with who is actually running it (rarely the person who scheduled it) The four roles you can hold in a meeting, and why a mismatch here is the real reason meetings feel like they go badly What the room is hungry for, and how to tell when it flips from competence to relationship mid-meeting The "thin slices" research showing how fast people size you up, and what they judge first Five things that decide your first two minutes, and only one of them is what you say Whether you’re walking into a room of unfamiliar stakeholders, presenting to executives, or watching a meeting drift away from you mid-slide, this episode gives you the questions to run and the language to use. — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Executive Presence Program (8-week program for mid-level to senior leaders): archova.org/executive-presence-program — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
There is a thought a lot of managers carry around and almost never say out loud: “Honestly, my direct report is a stronger performer than I am.” If you have had some version of that thought, it usually shows up with a little shame attached. And the standard response, someone telling you that you are great and you do it better than your employee, tends to bounce right off. It does not fix anything, because it is aimed at the wrong problem. Here is what is actually going on. For your whole career, being good meant one thing: I know the most, I do it best, people come to me when the work is hard. Then you got promoted, and the definition of competence quietly changed. Nobody told you the new rules. So you are standing in a new role, still grading yourself with the old ruler, and of course you come up short. In Episode 321, Ramona breaks down: Why “my report is a stronger performer than I am” is an apples-to-oranges error, not a verdict on you What actually happens in your brain when your competence feels threatened, and why it registers like survival The quiet trap of comparing your year one to someone else’s year five The “which chair are you sitting in?” test that pulls you back into the right seat If you have ever caught yourself diving back into the technical work because it is the one place you still feel sharp, this episode will show you what to do instead. Watch on YouTube Resources mentioned in this episode The Leadership Accelerator, Archova’s 90-day manager readiness program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free Masterclass, the 4 shifts to lead as a new manager: archova.org/masterclass “The Confident & Competent New Manager” by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books (also on Amazon: amzn.to/3TuOdcP ) CEB research finding that 60% of new managers fail or underperform in their first 18 months, referenced in the episode Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Turn your 1-on-1 meetings into your most valuable meeting of the week: archova.org/1on1-course Grab Ramona’s best-selling book “The Confident & Competent New Manager”: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other episodes you might like Episode 256 – The Leadership Identity Shift: From Executor to Influencer youtube.com/watch?v=L_KXIyEjNAY Episode 311 – Delegating: When Stepping In Becomes Stepping On ramonashaw.com/delegation-for-managers What’s next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take the free Manager Archetype quiz: archova.org/quiz In your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave an honest review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on Spotify. Then take a screenshot listening and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership on Instagram or DM Ramona on LinkedIn. * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
There is a small flinch that happens when someone hands a high performer a compliment. A pause. A quiet thought of “I wonder if they really mean it,” followed by a fast handoff of the credit to the team, to luck, to timing, to anything other than themselves. Most people doing this have no idea it is a pattern. It reads as humility, so it hides in plain sight. Every time you move a win into the team’s column and a loss into your own, you are quietly editing your scorecard in one direction. Over months and years, that adds up to a distorted picture of your contribution, and it does not stay private. The systems that hand out promotions, scope, and pay reward the people whose work is visible. Deflect often enough and you file your best work under everyone else’s name. In this episode, Ramona breaks down why this happens, why it is a choice rather than a fixed trait, and exactly what to do instead. We cover: Why deflecting credit is not the same as humility, and what it actually protects you from The negativity-bias loop that makes praise slide off and criticism stick The language to give your manager an accurate account of your contribution without bragging A three-second practice that interrupts the deflection before it fires The attribution log that slowly rebuilds an honest view of your own work If you have ever assumed good work speaks for itself, or felt a flicker of discomfort the last time someone praised you, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube Resources Mentioned in This Episode Executive Presence Intensive : Archova’s 8-week program for mid-level managers and senior leaders ready for bigger responsibility, covering visible self-advocacy, stakeholder communication, and presence in high-stakes moments. Kicks off again in the fall. archova.org/executive-presence-program The Leadership Accelerator : where the weekly update email tool is taught. archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free New Manager Masterclass : archova.org/masterclass Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE . Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters into your most important meeting of the week: archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other Episodes You Might Like Episode 267 – Horizontal Leadership: Creating Teams That Own Their Work Episode 281 – Are You Overexplaining? When Leaders Should (and Shouldn’t) Justify Themselves What's Next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Want to better understand your leadership style? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype: archova.org/quiz In your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave a review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on our Spotify page. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you, take a screenshot listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
It usually shows up disguised as one of your strengths. You are the manager who notices the gap before anyone else does and quietly fills it. The deck gets polished, the deadline gets saved, the client never sees the mess. From the outside, you look reliable. What no one sees is that you are carrying two or three people's work on top of your own and falling behind on the things only you can do. In this episode, Ramona names a pattern that almost never gets flagged in leadership training, because on the surface, it reads as conscientiousness. She walks through how the rescue reflex runs behind the scenes, why working harder only feeds it, and what it quietly does to accountability on a team. She also gets specific about the fix, including the exact language to hand a piece of work back so it does not land as a punishment. In Episode 319, Ramona digs into: The hidden cycle that turns I'll just handle it into a permanent ceiling on your growth Why a team under-functions in direct proportion to how much the manager over-functions The one question to ask yourself the second you reach to redo someone's work The check-in that makes ownership real instead of taking the task back at the finish line If you have ever redone a direct report's work late at night, felt resentment building while the work kept getting done, or wondered why your team needs you for everything, this episode gives you the language to change it. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jLbQNx9e5_E Resources Mentioned in This Episode The Leadership Accelerator: Archova's 12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers. Goes deep on delegating without abandoning your team and running accountability conversations that stick. archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free Masterclass: The 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for. archova.org/masterclass Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE . Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Turn your 1-on-1 meetings into your most valuable meeting of the week. Learn more at archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book, The Confident and Competent New Manager: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other Episodes You Might Like Episode 311 Delegating: Why Smart Managers Get Stuck Doing the Work Episode 274 The Self-Sacrificing Manager: Breaking the Cycle of Doing Everyone's Work What's Next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype: archova.org/quiz In your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our free Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave a review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on our Spotify page. Thanks for your support of this show. If this episode helped, take a screenshot listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM on LinkedIn * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
You used to manage six people. Then a reorg, a hiring freeze, or a quiet round of cuts took out the layer above you, and now you are managing twelve. Same hours in the day, but double the team. Maybe a few dotted-line reports nobody else is covering, too. This is the Great Flattening, and the data is not subtle. Manager engagement has dropped to its lowest point in years, burnout among managers now ranks with the worst of any group at work, and the old advice to just work harder is exactly what tips people over the edge. Here is the part most stretched managers miss: the job did not get heavier, it changed shape. You cannot run a team of twelve the way you ran a team of six. In this episode, Ramona breaks down what actually works when your span of control doubles and your support disappears: The Hero-to-Architect shift that decides whether a bigger team crushes you or makes you indispensable Why delegating tasks is not enough, and what to hand over instead The one thing stretched managers quietly drop that quietly costs them their best people The operating cadence that protects your calendar from twelve people's random needs Whether your team just doubled, you are bracing for a reorg, or you simply want to be ready before the span widens, this episode gives you the playbook. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MdLKdcyk-2A RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2025 report: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/704063/state-global-workplace-united-states-country-level-data.aspx Executive Presence Intensive, Archova's 8-week program for senior leaders: archova.org/executive-presence-program Free New Manager Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass The Confident & Competent New Manager by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books LINKS Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE Ep 309: From Executor to Strategist: How to Talk About Your Work at the Right Altitude Ep 314: Letting go of control, why your best intentions are stifling your team WHAT'S NEXT? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
You walk in on day one and the team is already a fully formed thing. They have inside jokes you don't get, a process you didn't design, and a read on you that started forming before you said a word. You didn't choose them. They didn't choose you. And every one of them is quietly deciding whether you are about to make their work life better or worse. Here is the trap almost every new manager falls into. You try to prove you belong. You look at how the team operates, you spot the things you would do differently, and you start changing them fast to show value. That move feels like leadership. It usually reads as arrogance, and it costs you the one thing you cannot get back: the team's trust in your first few weeks. In this episode, Ramona breaks down how to take over a team you didn't build and earn the right to lead it, instead of spending your first year digging out of a hole. You will learn: Why inheriting a team is a completely different job from building one The quick gut-check that tells you how fast you are actually allowed to move How to run a listening tour that surfaces what is really going on The direct way to handle the person who wanted your job How to time your first real change so it builds trust instead of breaking it Whether you were just promoted over your peers, hired in from outside, or handed a team in a reorg, this episode gives you the playbook for the first 90 days. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VGOvul9YI0I Resources mentioned in this episode Free New Manager Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass The Confident & Competent New Manager (Ramona's book): archova.org/books The Leadership Accelerator (12-week program for new managers): archova.org/leadership-accelerator Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Turn your 1-on-1 meetings into your most valuable meeting of the week. Learn more at: archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other episodes you might like Episode 298 – https://www.ramonashaw.com/new-managers-build-trust/ Episode 300 – https://www.ramonashaw.com/new-managers-roundtable/ * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
In this episode, Ramona sits down with David Dean, a technologist with close to two decades inside complex organizations and the author of a new book, An Inbox Between Us. David calls himself a business AI realist. His core idea is that every company runs on two versions of itself: the official version in your job descriptions, SOPs, and leadership decks, and the unwritten contract, the side conversations and quiet workarounds where the job actually gets done. Most of that second version lives in your inbox, your chats, and your meeting transcripts, and most managers never get to see it clearly. David and Ramona get into what changes when you stop asking AI to solve the problem and start using it to find the problem first. In this conversation, we cover: Why the work that matters most is the work no one documents How silence, follow-ups, and stalled approvals are signals you can actually read The difference between a technical problem and a behavioral one, and why we keep confusing the two What makes a person irreplaceable when AI can mimic almost everything else The messaging that decides whether your team sees AI as a threat or a relief If you have ever rolled out a new tool and watched the same dysfunction show up wearing a new outfit, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mVWHPqdKRdU Resources Mentioned in This Episode An Inbox Between Us by David Dean: https://a.co/d/04RrQknz David Dean’s website: davidchristopherdean.com Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE . Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters into your most valuable meeting of the week. Learn more at: archova.org/1on1-course Grab Ramona’s best-selling book, The Confident & Competent New Manager: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other Episodes You Might Like Episode 312, Why Team-Level AI Integration Should Be Your #1 Job Right Now : ramonashaw.com/managers-ai-change Episode 296, AI for Managers in 2026 : ramonashaw.com/ai-for-managers-in-2026 What’s Next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org Discover your Manager Archetype with our free quiz: archova.org/quiz Watch our FREE Masterclass on the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave an honest review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on our Spotify page. Thanks for your support of this show. Take a screenshot listening and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership on Instagram, or DM Ramona on linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Most leadership advice tells you what to think. Be more decisive, be more empathetic, give better feedback, and so on. Charlie Munger spent his life paying attention to the layer underneath all of that, which is how to think. He never wrote a leadership book. He never gave a TED Talk on management. And yet his thinking tools hold up better in a real team meeting than most material on the leadership shelf. In this episode, Ramona pulls five of Munger's mental models out of Poor Charlie's Almanack and shows where each one lands inside the actual week of a manager. A few of the threads she pulls on: Why "How do I build a great team?" is the wrong question, and what to ask instead The pattern hiding behind the people problem on your team The cost of staying inside your circle of competence, and the higher cost of pretending you're outside it The favorite tool quietly editing what you're able to see in your direct reports Why a logically airtight rollout still hits a wall, and the second track you're missing If you've ever made a clean, rational call as a manager and watched it land badly anyway, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube Links Poor Charlie's Almanack (the collection of Charlie Munger's talks and writings referenced in the episode): https://a.co/d/03nCgIP8 Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Turn your 1-on-1 meetings into your most valuable meeting of the week: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book, The Confident & Competent New Manager: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other Episodes You Might Like Episode 105 – Train Your Thinking to Become a Better Leader: https://www.ramonashaw.com/105-train-your-thinking-to-become-a-better-leader Episode 169 – Dual Models Leaders Have to Navigate: https://www.ramonashaw.com/169-dual-models What's Next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org Grab Ramona's best-selling book, The Confident & Competent New Manager: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role? Watch our FREE Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave a review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on our Spotify Page If this episode inspired you, screenshot it on your device, post to your Instagram Stories, and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM Ramona on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Here is something most managers do not realize about themselves. The way you respond when someone gives you feedback is the clearest signal of how much control you are quietly exerting on your team. If you find yourself explaining, defending, or clarifying what you really meant the next time a direct report or peer pushes back on something, that defensiveness is not a personality quirk. It is control showing up in real time. And if you are doing it with the people who report to you, the dynamic playing out on their team is even more concentrated. This episode is about the quiet, well-intentioned forms of control that smart, capable leaders run on autopilot, and how to start unwinding them before they cost you the team you built. In Episode 314 of The Manager Track, Ramona sits down with Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation and author of "Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short," to cover: - The Vision vs. Control Distinction: why a strong vision is not the same as a controlling style, and where most leaders blur the line - The Growth Mindset Test: what to do if you suspect you are more controlling than you think, and the one practice that actually tells you - The Identity Trap: how leaders unconsciously bring their personal brand into roles where it does not fit, and what happens when they do - The Slow-to-Act Problem: Glen's honest take on when conflict avoidance becomes a leadership liability, and the signal that finally moves him to act - The Downstream Effect: what your team is experiencing when you resist feedback from your own manager Whether you have been told you are too hands-on, you have started to wonder why your team keeps bringing decisions back to you, or you are ready to test where your version of "high standards" might actually be control, this conversation gives you the language and the diagnostic to start. — Resources Mentioned in This Episode — Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short by Glen Galaich. https://www.amazon.com/Control-Why-Giving-Falls-Short/dp/1394352425/ref=sr_1_1 The Stupski Foundation: stupski.org TIME100 Most Influential People in Philanthropy: the list Glen was named to. https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/ — Links — • Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session • Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits • Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course • Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP — Other Episodes You Might Like — • Episode 105 — Train Your Thinking to Become a Better Leader https://www.ramonashaw.com/105-train-your-thinking-to-become-a-better-leader • Episode 213 — Executive Mindset https://www.ramonashaw.com/213-executive-mindset — What's Next? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
You schedule the one-on-ones. You show up. You take notes. You walk out feeling like a good manager, and your direct report walks out without having mentioned the thing they actually came to talk about. Most managers do not have a "I am not doing one-on-ones" problem. They have a "my one-on-ones quietly turned into status meetings and I do not like it" problem. The meeting that should be the most important hour of your week starts to feel like something a Slack message could have handled. In this episode of The Manager Track, Ramona breaks down why this drift happens, what is actually broken, and how to reset the meeting in real time. In this episode we cover: The three diagnostic patterns that turn every one-on-one into two status reports stacked on top of each other Why most managers fix the wrong problem when their one-on-ones stop working Four specific changes you can apply in your next one-on-one this week The closing technique that builds continuity between meetings, so nothing you discuss disappears the moment the call ends What 70 percent of employee engagement variance actually comes down to, and why one meeting on your calendar carries more weight than you might think If your one-on-ones have started to feel productive but somehow hollow, this is the reset. Listen to the episode: The Manager Track Podcast – Episode 313 Watch on YouTube or visit the episode page — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — Making the Most of One-on-One Meetings (60-minute on-demand course, includes agenda templates, curated questions, and a remote one-on-ones section): archova.org/1on1-course Gallup State of the Global Workplace research (the 70 percent engagement variance finding) Center for Creative Leadership research on employee-led development conversations Amy Edmondson’s research on psychological safety and team learning The Leadership Accelerator (90-day manager readiness program): archova.org/leadership-accelerator — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE . Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: https://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book “The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role”: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 108 – 3 Mistakes Managers Make During 1-on-1 Meetings — https://www.ramonashaw.com/108-3-mistakes-managers-make-during-1-on-1-meetings Episode 42 – How to Run 1-on-1 Meetings Your Direct Reports Actually Enjoy — https://www.ramonashaw.com/42-how-to-run-1-on-1-meetings — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book “The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role”: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
You might think your team is using AI well. Everyone has access to the tools. People are experimenting. The meeting notes get cleaned up faster. The emails go out a little quicker. On the surface, progress. But there's a pattern most teams don't notice until someone names it: all of that activity is still individual. One person's calculator on one person's desk. The AI is making individual tasks faster, but the underlying workflows, processes, and the way the team actually operates together have not changed. That's the gap. And if your team stays in Stage 1 much longer, the cost starts to compound. In this episode, Ramona walks through the difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2 AI adoption and why the shift is a leadership responsibility, not an IT one. She uses meetings as the clearest illustration of what Stage 2 actually looks like in practice, and then breaks down five concrete moves leaders can make right now. What you'll hear in this episode: Why the "everyone has AI tools" moment is actually just the starting line, not the finish What McKinsey and MIT Sloan research say about the productivity gap between Stage 1 and Stage 2 How to redesign a meeting end to end as an AI-integrated system -- without changing the meeting itself Why shared standards matter more than who has the best individual prompt If your team is using AI in a dozen different ways with no coordination, no shared standards, and no one asking whether the process itself still makes sense, then this episode is for you. -> The Manager Track on YouTube -- RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE -- * McKinsey Global Institute - 60-70% of today's work tasks are automatable with existing technology: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai-the-next-productivity-frontier * MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte - workflow-level AI produces 2.5x higher productivity gains vs. individual use: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends/2026/human-ai-interaction-design.html * Episode 311: Delegating - It's Actually About Managing Yourself: https://themanagertrackpodcast.com/delegation-for-managers/ * Team Workflow Audit Framework: https://bit.ly/42ixUWr * Free Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass * The Confident and Competent New Manager (book): archova.org/books -- LINKS -- * Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE. * Grab the free New Manager Toolkit: archova.org/freetoolkits * 1-on-1 meeting course: http://archova.org/1on1-course * Book: amzn.to/3TuOdcP -- OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE -- * Episode 210 - Your Future Role With AI: https://www.ramonashaw.com/210-artificial-intelligence * Episode 218 - GenAI for Managers: https://www.ramonashaw.com/218-genai-for-managers * Episode 296 - AI For Managers in 2026: https://www.ramonashaw.com/ai-for-managers-in-2026 * Episode 307 - The ‘AI vs Human Skills’ Managers Must Pay Attention to : https://www.ramonashaw.com/ai-human-leadership-management -- WHAT'S NEXT? -- Learn more at archova.org. Book: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Manager Archetype Quiz: archova.org/quiz Free Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Leave a review: ramonashaw.com/itunes and Spotify Tag us: @ramona.shaw.leadership on Instagram or linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
There is a specific kind of manager who reads everything about delegation, agrees with all of it, and still ends up working late on Tuesday redoing a deck someone else was supposed to own. The intentions are right but the math is what's broken. If you got promoted because you were fast and reliable and you figured things out, that exact skill set is now the thing capping your team. Every time you absorb a problem, edit a draft, or quietly redo something, the short-term math feels like it works. The long-term math is building you a ceiling you cannot see yet. This is not a control problem. It is a calculation problem dressed up as helpfulness. In Episode 311, we cover: The Efficiency Calculus Trap and why "I can do it in 10 minutes" is the wrong measure of cost The Delegation Scale (Levels 1, 2, and 3) and the exact language for each one Three responses to use instead of taking work back when someone brings a problem to you The 4-question checklist to run before any meaningful delegation If you are working late while your team logs off on time, getting work routed back to you that you already handed off, or starting to wonder why your team needs you for everything, this episode gives you the language and the structure to change the pattern this week. — Resources Mentioned in This Episode — The Leadership Accelerator: Archova's 12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers. Goes deep on delegation, accountability, and breaking over-functioning patterns. archova.org/leadership-accelerator Martin Seligman's research on learned helplessness and its application to teams : https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/learnedhelplessness.pdf — Links — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE . Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role' : amzn.to/3TuOdcP — Other Episodes You Might Like — Sourced from the Podcast Publication Schedule spreadsheet in Google Drive. Both episodes thematically extend Episode 311's territory: the over-functioning trap and the leadership identity shift. Episode 274 — The Self-Sacrificing Manager: Breaking the Cycle of Doing Everyone's Work / ramonashaw.com/274-leadership-boundaries Episode 256 — The Leadership Identity Shift: From Executor to Influencer / ramonashaw.com/256-leadership-shift — What's Next? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role' : amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Most managers know the first 90 days matter. There are books about it, frameworks for it, and a built-in understanding that you are allowed to ask questions and make mistakes early on. What almost nobody talks about is what happens after that window closes. Somewhere around the six-month mark, something shifts. Your boss is no longer evaluating your potential. They are evaluating your patterns. Your team has stopped wondering who you are and started noticing how you operate. Your peers are making decisions about whether you are someone who owns things or someone who needs approval before moving. And most managers are still running the playbook from month two. In working with hundreds of leaders through their first year and beyond, Ramona has noticed three specific shifts that get overlooked or delayed past the six-month mark. These are the behaviors that separate leaders who are growing from leaders who are stalling, and none of them involve working harder. In Episode 310 of The Manager Track, Ramona breaks down: How checking in with your boss can quietly erode your authority, and how to tell the difference between collaboration and needing permission to move. What strategic thinking actually looks like in daily practice during the first six months, and why waiting for someone to tell you to think bigger is a mistake. Why being vague about how you lead costs you credibility, and a 4-question framework to make your expectations explicit. Y The behind-the-scenes version of validation seeking that looks like smart stakeholder management but functions as a safety net. If you have been in your role for a few months and you can feel the expectations shifting around you but you are not sure what to do differently, this episode gives you the moves. Listen now on our Website , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and YouTube . RESOURCES MENTIONED Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session The Leadership Accelerator – 12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE Episode 298 - How to Build Trust Fast as a New Leader https://www.ramonashaw.com/new-managers-build-trust Episode 106 - What Is Your Leadership Philosophy? https://www.ramonashaw.com/106-what-is-your-leadership-philosophy/ — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page , and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Here is a test that comes up in almost every senior leadership conversation. Someone asks a manager, “What are you building?” And the answer goes straight into a to-do list: “We are migrating to a new platform. We are rolling out a new process. We are updating the tech stack.” It sounds productive. It sounds like proof of effort. What actually happens in that moment is that you shrink yourself in the room. The CEO, the cross-functional peer, the senior leader on the other side of the table was not asking for your task list. They were asking where you are taking this. And the longer you stay in the tactical lane, the more they file you as an executor, not a strategic leader. This gap between what you are doing and what you are building is one of the biggest reasons capable managers get passed over for the next level, especially right now when everything inside the organization is in motion. In Episode 309 of The Manager Track, we cover: The Route vs. Destination framing The “Continue” Trap The 3-Step Destination Statement If you have ever walked out of a senior leadership meeting wondering why your work did not land the way it should have, or if you know you are thinking strategically but your communication keeps landing tactically, this episode gives you the exact language to close that gap starting this week. Listen now on our Website , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and YouTube . — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — Executive Presence Intensive: 8-week cohort program for mid- and senior-level leaders. Next cohort kicks off May 4th. Learn more at https://archova.org/executive-presence-program — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE Episode 256 — The Leadership Identity Shift: From Executor to Influencer Episode 228 — How to Actually Connect & Build Relationships at Work - With Moe Carrick — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page , and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Do you know that moment when you realize that a new hire is not working out? Maybe it is a performance observation you made yourself over the past few weeks, or maybe someone pulls you aside (a senior leader, a peer) and shares their impression. Either way, a thought crosses your mind: Darn, maybe I should not have hired them. What happens next is where things go sideways. Most managers either go quiet such as privately deciding something is off but not saying anything while slowly pulling back their coaching, their attention, their investment. Or they move too fast, making a call before they have enough information to make it well. Both of those responses erode your leadership credibility. 'Maybe I should not have hired them' is not a conclusion. It is a signal and this episode is about what to do with it. In Episode 308 of The Manager Track, we cover: The 4 Diagnostic Questions: the framework to run before doing anything The 3 Categories: how to distinguish a skill gap (coachable), a behavioral pattern (addressable with specificity), and a role-strength misalignment (the most underdiagnosed category) The 2 Key Conversations: what those are, including how to open each and what to listen for Whether you are three weeks in and already second-guessing a new hire, navigating feedback from above, or simply trying to get better at turning difficult situations into clearer decisions, this episode gives you a repeatable process to use every time. Listen now on our Website , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and YouTube . — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — Leadership Accelerator: Archova's 12-week manager readiness program for new and early-stage leaders: archova.org/leadership-accelerator — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE Episode 292 — Performance vs. Potential: A Better Approach to Assessing Your People Episode 301 — Why Good Managers Still Lose Great People — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page , and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Most managers adopted the AI tools their company rolled out. They've played around with a few prompts. They think that's enough. Meanwhile, a split is forming. On one side, AI is handling tasks, workflows, research, briefs, data synthesis, meeting prep, drafted communications, and reports at a speed and quality that keeps accelerating. On the other side, there is an increasing premium on genuinely skilled human leadership: trust, coaching, real feedback, empathy, navigating conflict, creating alignment, and helping people grow through change. The managers who stay in the middle, the ones who outsource their leadership halfway to AI without leaning deeper into either side, will find it harder and harder to justify their value. If all you do is relay what the tool produced, the organization will eventually ask why it needs you at all. In Episode 307 of The Manager Track, Ramona walks through both sides of this divide and introduces five specific skills (built as Claude Skills) that help managers lean into their human leadership while leveraging AI as a training and preparation tool. If you've been leaning into AI but haven't asked yourself what your team actually needs from you as a human leader, this episode will help you figure out both sides. Listen now on our Website , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and YouTube. — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — Claude AI (Anthropic): Claude Skills for manager development -> claude.ai Horizontal Leadership: Archova's 60-minute organizational presentation on horizontal leadership: https://bit.ly/4dApTTy 90-Day Manager Readiness Program, the Leadership Accelerator: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Access the 5 Claude Skills (including instruction guide and Zip file for easy upload into your Claude account: https://bit.ly/3Q4BKQ0 — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session The Leadership Accelerator – 12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE Episode 256 – The Leadership Identity Shift: From Executor to Influencer Episode 267 – Horizontal Leadership: Creating Teams That Own Their Work — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page , and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
You’ve been told to work harder, be more patient, and wait your turn. So you did. You kept delivering strong results, volunteered for extra projects, asked for feedback, and acted on it. And nothing moved. The positive performance reviews kept coming, but so did the invisible wall. No meaningful scope change. No sponsorship. No advancement conversations that actually went anywhere. At some point, the quiet frustration sets in: if the problem isn’t my performance, then what is it? The answer, in many cases, is that your boss has quietly become the ceiling. Not always because of their character, but sometimes because of their psychology, their capability level, or the organizational system around them. In this episode of The Manager Track, Ramona walks through a diagnostic framework called TAPS to help you identify exactly which ceiling you’re dealing with and what to do about it: Ramona also shares specific scripts for each type, the research behind why these patterns are so hard to see from inside them (including the halo and horn effect), and the mindset shift that keeps you from becoming collateral damage in someone else’s limitations. If you’ve been stuck despite doing strong work and you can’t figure out why, this episode will give you a much clearer lens on what’s actually happening and what moves to make next. Listen now on our Website , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , and YouTube . RESOURCES MENTIONED Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session The Leadership Accelerator – 12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE Episode 212 – Tricky Relationships at Work Episode 187 - Difficult People at Work — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page , and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.
Ranking source
Apple Podcasts rankings via the Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed September 17, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
Apple and Apple Podcasts are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Pairs with
Bring this source into Mato to read its transferable patterns, then turn them into an original show for your own audience.