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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?
Reminder: MGMT Playbook readers get 25% off.
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. June 29 and 30th, 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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