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Half As Many, Twice As Good: Master These 7 Essential Management Skills
Use your summer reading to get back to basics with a playbook of playbooks designed to level up your leadership.
Dave Kline
June 26, 2024
It’s playbooks all the way down…
Read Time: 2 minutes.
Last Call For New Managers
MGMT Fundamentals is an experiment.
A new form of our proven formula.
Focusing on new managers.
Learning on a weekend.
Deeper fundamentals.
Faster results.
Lower cost.
We’ve invested 100s of hours focusing the content so you can leave with the 80/20 skills and systems to lead a high-performing team.
Leaders from Amazon, OpenAI, and JP Morgan will be there.
Will you?
Sometimes, the right move is more. New. Novel.
But usually, we just need to get back to basics.
We know the key principles and practices.
We just need to apply them.
A writer once saw Kobe Bryant doing grade-school-level basketball drills alone in a gym at 4 am.
“You’re the best player in the world; why would you spend 45 minutes doing basic footwork drills?”
He smiled, “Why do you think I’m the best player in the world.?”
Today’s playbook is just that.
A reminder to get back to basics.
To reexamine your foundational approach.
To do half as much twice as well.
Establish Clear Employee Expectations
Key Lessons:
Author together for ownership
Align on How, not just What
Amplify w/ clear feedback
Bonus: Free Expectations Template
Delegate Work That Empowers
Key Lessons:
Bucket the work by risk level
Pick the person for skill or interest
Tasks -> Responsibility -> Ownership
Bonus: Revised Eisenhower Framework
Hold Effective One-on-One Meetings
Key Lessons:
Don't cancel
Make it their meeting
Ask empowering questions
Bonus: Free 1:1 Dashboard Template
Deliver Honest Feedback
Key Lessons:
Lead with questions, not critiques
Avoid secret expectations
Structured & succinct
Deftly Handle Poor Performers
Key Lessons:
Ensure they're enabled to win
Pinpoint why they're underperforming
Be clear about acceptable vs. unacceptable
Avoid Making a Bad Hire
Key Lessons:
Spot the signs of common culprits
Focus on the Why more than the What
Use unexpected questions for authentic answers
Build A Magnetic Team Culture
Key Lessons:
"What you do is who you are."
Share your myths. Hold your rituals
Values strong enough to repel & attract
What You Missed
Here are a few posts you might have missed last week.
What you missed from me on LinkedIn:
What you missed from me on X/Twitter:
What topic should I cover next? Remember, I take requests.
Hit reply and tell me. Your requests stay confidential.
Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!
Dave
Ways To Work With Me
MGMT Fundamentals - Join our summer weekend sprint. November 2 and 3, 12:00-4:00 pm ET. Perfect for managers with 0-3 years of experience who need a jumpstart. Lower price. Faster results. Enroll today!
Customized Leadership Programs - Bring our MGMT Accelerator in-house for a tailored, two-day intensive workshop. Ideal for 20+ leaders.
1:1 Executive Coaching - I have a slot opening up this summer. Drop me a note if you’d benefit from a second seat of eyes on your company.
Speaking - We’re now booking keynotes for Q3 & Q4. Hit reply on this note, and we can set up a time to discuss topics and pricing.
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