The Modern Manager

It's 4:47 on Thursday, the report still isn't in, and the story forming in your head is that they just don't care. But that story is usually wrong, and it's also the easiest one to tell because it means you don't have to look at anything you did. This episode gives you a three-question framework, person, process, promise, to find where a performance problem actually lives before you walk into a feedback conversation assuming the worst.

Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: Why "They Just Don't Care" Is Usually the Wrong Story
(01:33) The Three Places a Performance Problem Can Live: Person, Process, Promise
(04:15) Why Managers Default to Blaming the Person
(05:15) The Right Order to Diagnose the Problem: Promise, Process, Person
(08:15) Turning Accusations Into Questions That Uncover the Truth
(10:30) Your Action Step and Final Takeaway
Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rp0C9sRoPtnHWJ5ZZ_ck_GEFjmbxeSD7lNNoUk76v70/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1
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The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!
#Leadership #FeedbackCulture #ManagementTips #PerformanceManagement #TeamManagement #WorkplaceCommunication #NewManager #LeadershipDevelopment

Some days, gratitude feels like something for people with calmer inboxes. Someone dropped the ball, you're three meetings deep, and "thank you" is the last thing on your mind. But gratitude that only shows up on easy days never shows up at all. Learn what grateful leadership really looks like, how to appreciate the team member you struggle with, why a pizza party can backfire, and the one question that reveals how each person wants to be recognized.
We could all use a bit more gratitude, so this one’s for you.

Guest Bio

TJ Sweet is a keynote speaker, author, executive coach, and host of the Living The Sweet Life podcast. He helps leaders and high performers reconnect with what matters most so they can win at work without losing what matters at home. Through powerful storytelling and practical tools rooted in connection, gratitude, and purpose, TJ has impacted more than 10,000 leaders across 48 countries. His message is simple: connection changes everything.

Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: Why Gratitude Feels Optional on Hard Days
(01:09) What Grateful Leadership Really Means
(04:47) How Gratitude Turns Scarcity into Ambition and Abundance
(11:50) Navigating Team Members You Struggle to Appreciate
(15:17) Building a Culture of Personalized Appreciation
(22:30) Taking Your Gratitude Practice to the Next Level
(26:47) Closing Stories: Gratitude in Action at Work and Home
Additional Resources

✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWCw68mo2xN5C6-fqN1gdk_g5eXumJzi7QEBSDQUwx0/edit?usp=sharing 
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1

Keep up with TJ Sweet

Website: https://tjsweet.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetjsweet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetjsweet/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetjsweet
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetjsweet
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thetjsweet
Podcast: Living The Sweet Life with TJ Sweet: https://tjsweet.com/podcasts/
Email: tj@tjsweet.com
Join my newsletter to get episodes and key takeaways delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themodernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!

#Leadership #GratefulLeadership #EmployeeAppreciation #WorkplaceCulture #ManagementTips #EmployeeEngagement #TeamCulture #PeopleFirstLeadership #Gratitude #TheModernManager

Planning an agenda feels like it takes forever, so too often, we skip it or do it poorly at the last minute. But that’s often because we treat each meeting like we’re starting from scratch. Instead, what if you perfected your weekly team meeting, brainstorm session or any other type of meeting you hold regularly and then just used that same agenda structure again so meeting prep becomes fast and easy? That’s called creating a meeting portfolio. This episode breaks down exactly how to design a meeting once, so it works every single time you use it.
Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: The Hidden Cost of Winging Your Meetings
(01:06) What Is a Meeting Portfolio? (Episode Overview)
(01:36) Why Most Managers Reinvent Every Meeting From Scratch
(02:23) Building the Core Template: Name, Purpose, and Structure
(03:57) Adding Pre-Work to Complete Your Template
(05:01) Iterating Until Your Meeting Design Actually Works
(05:38) Your Action Step: Build and Use Your First Template
(06:44) Closing Thoughts and Recap
Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: 427-transcript
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1
Join my newsletter to get episodes and key takeaways delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themodernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!
#Leadership #ManagementTips #MeetingCulture #TeamManagement #Productivity #WorkplaceCulture #MeetingDesign #LeadershipDevelopment

Most of what happens in a workday, from how you open a meeting to how you respond to bad news, runs on autopilot. Habits, not decisions, are doing the heavy lifting. Behavior scientist BJ Fogg explains why willpower fails, why "bad habits" aren't really the enemy, and how one tiny action, done consistently, can quietly reshape how you see yourself as a leader, teammate, and person.

Guest Bio
BJ Fogg, PhD, is a behavior scientist at Stanford University, where he founded the Behavior Design Lab. In addition to his research, Fogg teaches industry innovators how human behavior really works. He created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Find out more at BJFogg.com and TinyHabits.com.
Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: Meet BJ Fogg, Habit Design Expert
(01:06) How Habits Quietly Run Your Workday
(04:15) Building New Habits vs. Breaking Old Ones
(07:40) A Gratitude Habit in Action: BJ's Own Example
(11:23) How Small Habits Reshape Your Identity
(18:43) The Power of "Shine": Celebrating Small Wins to Make Habits Stick
(24:15) Coaching Your Team's Habits Through Specific Praise
(28:43) Closing Thoughts: Lessons from a Great Manager

Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_f7ADen1bpZN0FM21os0kTtb5GgQ_aSDAegwKCkNGA4/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1

Keep Up with BJ Fogg
Website: https://www.bjfogg.com
Tiny Habits: https://www.tinyhabits.com
Behavior Model: https://www.behaviormodel.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjfogg/
Social: @bjfogg on most social platforms
Training: Learn Fogg Behavior Design directly from BJ at bjfogg.com/training

Join my newsletter to get episodes and the one page takeaways delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themodernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!

#Leadership #TinyHabits #BehaviorChange #ManagementTips #WorkplaceCulture #HabitFormation #TeamLeadership #PersonalDevelopment #ManagerLife #EmployeeEngagement

Most AI tools promise to make you more productive, but few actually remove the friction hiding in your daily grind. This episode breaks down four AI tools used every single day, not for the novelty, but for the real bottlenecks they eliminate: typing, email triage, meeting notes, and building the small tool you always wished existed. If you want less busywork and more bandwidth for the parts of management that actually matter, this one's for you.

Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: Becoming Obsessed with AI Tools
(00:44) The Core Idea: Removing Friction, Not Just Adding Features
(01:59) Wispr Flow: Ditching Typing for Dictation
(02:53) Shortwave: Taming Email Overload with AI Sorting
(04:18) Granola: Meeting Notes That Write Themselves
(05:30) Replit: Building Custom Apps Without Coding
(07:12) What These Four Tools Have in Common
(07:33) Your Challenge This Week & Closing Thoughts

Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u3xuVepkPpSSdju0--Kgu4M8U4qetYczr1h7MmCKGrY/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1
✨ Check out Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai/r?MAMIE12
✨ Check out Granola: https://join.granola.ai/t/e74nryr4pc
✨ Check out Shortwave: https://www.shortwave.com/
✨ Check out Replit: https://replit.com/refer/mamieks

Join my newsletter to get episodes delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themodernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode! 

#Leadership #ManagementTips #AIforManagers #Productivity #ArtificialIntelligence #WorkSmarter #ManagementSkills #FutureOfWork #TechTools #TimeManagement