New week, new tried and tested tips to continue growing as a leader 👏
Hey fellow managers and leaders! Welcome back to the Manager TLDR Newsletter.
In today’s issue, we’re covering…
- How to overcome imposter syndrome
- Tactics to manage a perfectionist
- How to decline a meeting without being rude
- and more…
Let’s get into it! ⬇
🎧 New on the Supermanagers podcast
- Stop playing the blame game: How to approach conflict and become a self-aware negotiator with Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler (author of Optimal Outcomes).
- Don’t be the CEO of happiness: Why culture is defined by a team with Colleen McCreary (Chief People, Places, & Publicity Officer at Credit Karma).
😳 How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace (7 min read)
TLDR: Imposter syndrome – the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck and not because of your talent or qualifications – is a common feeling in the workplace, specially amongst women and underrepresented groups. So how can you, as a manager, overcome imposter syndrome and coach employees who might also be struggling with self-doubt? Here 3 out of 20 ideas listed in this article:
- Create a hype doc: A hype doc is a document where you keep track of accomplishments and positive feedback from coworkers. According to David Hoang, Head of Product Design at Webflow, maintaining a running document with all your wins is a great way to build self-confidence in the workplace:
“Whether you are starting from scratch or need to dust one off, I encourage you to maintain a Hype Doc! It’s been a great road down Memory Lane for me to see how much I’ve grown, and how much growing I still have to do. Block some time out and you’ll have a great look back, perhaps for your career memoir in the future.” - Find a mentor: Confiding in a seasoned professional that has walked in your shoes is a great way to gain insights and added confidence. Your mentor may also be able to identify your symptoms so you’re able to detect and disable a case of imposter syndrome before it even happens.
- Ask yourself ‘why not me’: If you find yourself feeling inadequate, experts recommend flipping the narrative and asking, “why not me?”… Why don’t I deserve to be here? Why shouldn’t I be managing a team?… After asking yourself these questions, you will most likely find that your claims of feeling like an imposter were completely unmerited!
💭 The Importance of Psychological Safety and 10 Ways to Create It (8 min read)
TLDR: Creating psychological safety means fostering an environment where employees are not afraid to make mistakes and behave genuinely at work. The truth is, if people on your team don’t feel safe to be their authentic selves, no one is going to have the courage to take risks or think outside of the box. Here are 3 (out of 10) ways to create a psychologically safe environment:
- Prioritize learning: Mistakes are necessary for you and the team to learn, pivot on the original plan, and try again with a different approach. Use mistakes as opportunities to brainstorm and problem solve as a team, thus adopting a growth mindset, instead of adopting limiting beliefs.
- Promote healthy debate: Positive, constructive debates are going to pave the way for smart, strategic decisions. To encourage healthy debate, rather than situations of conflict, remind your teammates that it’s ok to disagree with some ideas, as long as they do it in a respectful way.
- Bring your whole self to work: Think about how you work best, how you best communicate, and how you like to be recognized. This awareness and authenticity is going to encourage your team members to be themselves as well.
8 Tactics to Help Manage Perfectionists at Work (8 min read)
TLDR: As Winston Churchill once said, “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” Spending too much time focusing on irrelevant details can slow down project speed, spark friction between team members, and waste valuable resources. So, in the name of supporting productive workplaces, we’re sharing 3 (out of 8) tactics to effectively manage the perfectionists on your team!
- Help them prioritize: Focusing on small details or feeling put off by small failures may delay a perfectionist’s project delivery date. As a manager, you can help overcome this by setting specific timelines and expectations on the tasks that they should complete first.
- Coach them to delegate: Perfectionists are likely to under-delegate, because they want control over the projects at hand. Going through and examining the entire workload available is one key way you can teach the perfectionist to start delegating.
- Create a safe space: Most perfectionists have a fear of failure. However, you can help them understand that it’s ok to make mistakes by reframing challenges as learning opportunities. As JP Chauvet, CEO at Lightspeed Commerce told us on the Supermanagers podcast:
“Everybody learns by making mistakes. In the early days, I would put a ton of pressure on leaders, but now I tell them not to stress. It takes many years to build a career and it will all come in time. It’s important to take your time and avoid jumping any steps.”
How to Decline a Meeting without Being Rude (5 min read)
TLDR: You don’t have to attend every meeting under the sun, especially if you have other obligations or more pressing work. But how can you say no to a meeting invite without being rude? Here are 3 examples for different scenarios:
- Sending a coworker in your place: “Thanks for inviting me to this meeting. Unfortunately, I’m unable to attend, but I’d like to invite my colleague [name] in my place. Would that work for you?”
- Finding a way to speak separately: “I won’t be available to join this meeting, but I’d like to speak with you beforehand to share my thoughts on the subject being discussed. When are you free for about X minutes?”
- Rescheduling the meeting: “Although I’m not available at the time you requested, I’d like to find a time that works for everyone. Would [date and time] work for you instead?”
📅 Meeting template of the week
Executive alignment is essential when making strategic decisions for the company. Use this Executive Team Meeting Agenda to ensure business goals are met! Curated by executive coach, Shawn Kent Hayashi.
📅 Meeting template of the week
...and you’re invited to see it before everyone else
Join us live on March 1st as we take you inside of Fellow 3.2 and show you how the new features and integrations will help you run better 1-on-1s, client-facing meetings, project check-ins, and more!
… and that’s a wrap! We hope that the content we curated inspires you to continue growing as a leader!
If you enjoyed this issue, please share the newsletter with a colleague or friend.
Thanks for being part of our community,
Manuela & the Fellow.app team
