Managers and Service Levels ... Matt Grzybowski speaks with Steve King about the importance of clarifying expected customer service levels with team members.

So ... this is the signoff for season two of our podcast. Thanks to all of our listeners and season two guests. We will be taking a little hiatus before returning with a new season three. So in the meantime, keep us in your respective queues and continue to tell friends about our podcast. Word of mouth is our best way to grow listenership. And thanks for listening. https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

This week we are sharing an unheard bonus segment from Betsy Hagan's interview with Cheryl Fitch [S2/E6].  In this bonus track we hear Cheryl suggesting that since team members need have different career needs as their tenure grows, managers need to alter their approach to career coaching to address these different needs. She takes us on a journey through her own career and how managers successfully guided her on that journey. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

On occasion a manager will have the opportunity to hire someone onto the team for whom the job is their very first full-time role. Orienting these newly minted team members is just a little different then hiring new team members with plenty of work experience. In this bonus episode Kristen Slavish offers some thoughts on how to best on-board these kinds of folks and make their first professional experience an engaging and productive one. Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

One essential conversation managers must have with their team members is the "what's expected of me?" conversation, where the manager and the team member develop a mutual understanding of what the team member and the team must accomplish. Sometimes those conversations can get a little lazy, assumptions are made and inferences are unspoken, leading to misunderstanding about goals and goal achievement. In this episode our guest Jakada Imani points out the pitfalls when goals clarity is not achieved ... a kind of warning or reminder to all of us to be as explicit as possible when setting goals. Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

In prep for each podcast we ask our guests to talk about the best managers they have had in their career. Our guest today Dan Wargolet spoke of two managers and how these two helped shape him as a manager of others. In one case that managers shared a technique called "banks of the river" to help team members understand the boundries of their decision rights and form the basis for empowering those team members. We thought this metaphor might help guide you in your attempts to successfully empower others. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

In a world where the phrase "the customer is always right" often rules, managers can be caught in the difficult situation when a customer or client is acting inappropriately with one of their team members. Hopefully those listening to this podcast will not face this kind of moment. But if you do, our guest Kelsey Behringer offers some sound advise on how to navigate this kind of situation. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

A long and unfinished debate has gone on for decades about the distinction between managing and leading. In this bonus episode our guest JD Cox offers his view on this topic. While the primary focus of this podcast is on the role of a manager, we have have drifted now and again into the topic of leadership. JD believes it is important for a manager to display certain leadership qualities at critical moments of interaction with their team members. He outlines his thoughts for us here along with some outstanding, personal examples. Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

One of the most common challenges managers will often speak to is the challenge of managing former peers. Peer relationships are often adjanent to friendships. And while managers and their former peers can maintain friendships, the inherent power dynamic between manager and their team members changes the interpersonal landscape.In this bonus episode Steven Hansen explores lessons he learned to make this transitional relationship work for both parties. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

We first met Matt Grzybowski in the first episode of this second season where he spoke to the importance of influence skills for managers. In this episode we tap an unheard portion of our interview with Matt where he explores the importance of communicating to team members, particularly new team members, exactly what customers and clients will expect of them. He frames this as clarifying service level agreements to a level of detail that leaves no doubt what is expected and what will be delivered. Our Website ... https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm

Ever wonder what it would be like to really unplug from the managerial job when your on vacation? Shawnee Paren did more than wonder. She has found a handful of techniques to both prepare for time off so you can really take time off and not be overwhelmed upon your return. In this episode Shawnee shares those techniques and her journey towards peaceful and productive time off. We first met Shawnee in episode two of this second season. In that episode Shawnee offered some wonderful insights into how to translate organziational values into day-to-day behaviors. Its a grea listen if you have not gotten to it yet. Our Website: https://conversation-with-a-manager.captivate.fm