The Manager Track

Hosted by Ramona Shaw

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331

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Sep 2026

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About the show

If you’re in you're a new manager and want to become a confident and competent leader people love to work with, then join leadership expert Ramona Shaw in this podcast. Each week, Ramona shares inspiring new perspectives and practical tips you can use right away to successfully transition into your first leadership role and to think, act, and communicate like the leader you know you can be.

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September 8, 202622 min

Stop Overexplaining at Work: The Three-Beat Answer (Ep 329)

You give a good answer. Clear, accurate, done in one sentence. Then you keep going. You add the context, the caveat, the option you considered and did not pick. All of it is true but together it tells the room something you never meant to say. The person who asked was not doubting you. By the end of your answer, they are. Not because the decision was weak, but because you spent ninety seconds defending something nobody attacked. Ramona calls this the difference between explaining and justifying, and often, even the most capable professionals cannot tell which one they are doing while they are doing it. This episode gives you the tell, the correction, and a protocol for people who use questions as a status instrument. In this episode: Why the length of your answer is the signal people actually read The three-beat answer, and why the third beat is the one everyone skips The Why Ladder: how to spot a question that is really a test, and how to name it without sounding defensive What you are actually chasing when you overexplain, and why it has to go If you have ever walked out of a meeting knowing you talked too much, this episode is for you. Listen to the episode: The Manager Track Podcast, Episode 329: ramonashaw.com/stop-overexplaining-at-work Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0mepS-bnejY Resources Mentioned in This Episode The Executive Presence Intensive, eight weeks for mid-level and senior leaders. Next cohort starts September 28. Learn more at https://archova.org/executive-presence-program Last week’s episode on the update trap and reporting your judgment instead of your work. https://www.ramonashaw.com/status-updates-to-leadership/ Next week: the written version of this problem, and what your Slack messages say about how senior you are. Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other Episodes You Might Like Episode 281 – Are You Overexplaining? When Leaders Should (and Shouldn’t) Justify Themselves – https://www.ramonashaw.com/281-overexplaining-leadership Episode 303 – Exec Communication: How to Speak So Senior Leaders Actually Listen – https://www.ramonashaw.com/how-to-speak-so-senior-leaders-actually-listen What’s Next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

September 1, 202634 min

The Update Trap: Why Good Status Updates Cost You Authority (Ep. 328)

You have done it a hundred times. Someone senior asks where things stand, and you give them the full picture: every work stream accounted for, clear timelines, nothing missed. Sure, you must have sounded competent and in control. But what if that type of response actually costs you authority? Most managers never catch this happening, because nothing about the update looked wrong. The cost shows up months later, in a promotion conversation, or in who gets pulled into the room where the decision actually gets made. In this episode, Ramona breaks down why an update and a briefing look identical on the surface while functioning as two completely different transactions, and what to change before your next meeting with anyone more senior than you. In this episode: The Decision Line: the invisible boundary between where effort lives and where authority lives Why the research on processing fluency is so unkind to thorough people The four moves that keep you above the line, including the one most managers skip entirely What to say when someone deliberately pulls you down into the weeds A one-word protocol you can install with your team this week If you have ever walked out of a leadership meeting feeling like you did everything right and still lost the room, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube. — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Executive Presence Intensive , Ramona’s eight-week program for senior leaders. Next cohort starts September 28. https://archova.org/executive-presence-program/ Free New Manager Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass The Confident & Competent New Manager by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session). Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 303 – Exec Communication: How to Speak So Senior Leaders Actually Listen — https://www.ramonashaw.com/how-to-speak-so-senior-leaders-actually-listen/ Episode 309 – From Executor to Strategist: How to Talk About Your Work at the Right Altitude — https://www.ramonashaw.com/crafting-a-vision-as-a-leader/ — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page , and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

August 25, 202640 min

Resistance to Coaching: What Leaders Area Really Protecting (Ep 327)

Most resistance to growth never announces itself. It shows up as a calendar that will not cooperate, a quarter that is too full, a leadership program that would be a better fit next year. Maren Perry, founder and CEO of Arden Coaching, has spent twenty years working with senior leaders and executives. She can identify what usually lies beneath that scheduling problem. People reach senior roles because they were very good at something, and that gives them something to protect. Coaching asks them to set it down for an hour and look honestly (and vulnerably) at what is working and what is not. In this episode, Ramona and Maren get into the part of leadership growth that rarely gets said out loud: the distance between what a leader knows they should do and what they actually make room for. They dig into: What resistance looks like The two sides of any goal, the thinking side and the feeling side, and what it means when they do not match Why people feel stuck The quadrant most leaders agree drives their success and still give zero attention to If you have a project, a conversation, or a development opportunity that has been sitting on your list for months, this conversation will help you understand why it is still sitting there even though you know you "should" tackle it now. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — Maren Perry, Founder and CEO of Arden Coaching, on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marenperry Arden Coaching: ardencoaching.com Listener resources from Maren: ardencoaching.com/podcast — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona here: calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 194 – Coachability: https://www.ramonashaw.com/194-coachability Episode 294 – Want to Achieve Big Goals? The Two Critical Factors Most People Miss: https://www.ramonashaw.com/achieve-big-goals — WHAT'S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

August 18, 202628 min

Giving Feedback as a Manager: The 3-Conversation Method (Ep 326)

Someone on your team does something you do not like. It is small, so you let it go. It happens again a few weeks later, and you let that one go too. By the third time, you are irritated, and now you are carrying six weeks of unspoken frustration into a thirty-minute feedback conversation. Even if you keep your cool, that pressure goes somewhere. Into your tone, your body language, sometimes the words you pick. Ramona calls this the most reliable way managers turn a manageable issue into a performance problem. Silence is not neutral. Every week you notice something and say nothing, you are teaching your team member that it is acceptable. In this episode, Ramona breaks one feedback conversation into three and gives the exact language for each one. The 90-second conversation that stops most performance problems from ever becoming performance problems The recovery move for when you already skipped the first two conversations and the review is next week Three research findings that explain why your direct report is genuinely surprised when you finally speak up If you have ever documented a problem privately for months and then watched someone say "this is the first I'm hearing of any of this," this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Confident & Competent New Manager by Ramona Shaw, the source of the meetings example: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Kluger, A. N., and DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance. Psychological Bulletin. The meta-analysis covering 607 feedback incidents and over 23,000 observations. The invisible gorilla selective attention study by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. The Leadership Accelerator, Archova's 12-week program for new and first-time managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 124 – Giving Feedback: 3 Common Mistakes Episode 286 – The End of “Nice Leadership”: How to Be Direct, Kind, and Respected Episode 292 - Performance vs Potential: A Better Approach to Assessing Your People — WHAT'S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona's best-selling book 'The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role': amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don't want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven't left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

August 11, 202632 min

How to Write a Leadership Philosophy (Ep 325)

Sometime in the next few months, a decision will land on your desk that makes half the room unhappy. It will show up on an ordinary Tuesday, in a week that was already full, and you will have about a day to decide. Most managers meet that moment with instinct and hope. When the team performs and nothing breaks, principles never get tested. Ramona calls this sunshine leadership. Then a decision gets contentious, a strong performer starts to slip, or two people you like want incompatible things, and your team watches what you do next. They notice fast which of your stated principles are real and which ones are decoration. In this episode, Ramona walks through how to build a leadership philosophy that holds up in exactly those moments, including where it sits inside Archova’s APS method (awareness, principles, system). She covers: Why borrowed methods fail without an anchor, and what a block of clay has to do with it The two rules for choosing leadership values (most managers break both) The sentence that turns a value like quality into a rule your team can actually follow The two-week shadow test that reveals whether your philosophy is operating or decorative The trap of values that point away from your own goals, and how to bridge it If you have ever said one thing in a team meeting and done another under pressure, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/H3HyT3aDRgw — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator, Archova’s 12-week program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free masterclass on how to successfully lead as a new manager: archova.org/masterclass ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager’ by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books or amzn.to/3TuOdcP — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE ( calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session ). Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 106 – What Is Your Leadership Philosophy? Episode 247 – Beyond Values: Creating Explicit Leadership Expectations — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

August 4, 202627 min

Managing Former Peers? Have These 4 Conversations First (Ep 324)

Six months ago you sat next to these people. You complained about leadership together, covered for each other when something slipped, and knew exactly what got said in the hallway versus in the meeting. Now you run the team, and every one of those unspoken rules is up for renegotiation. Most new managers handle this by saying nothing and hoping the awkwardness fades. Ramona did exactly that after her promotion into leadership. Within two years, she had damaged some of those relationships and felt more stressed than she ever had as an individual contributor. In this episode, Ramona walks through the conversations she wishes she had opened with, and why the manager who tries to stay liked ends up losing both the relationship and the team. She covers: The two kinds of expectations that shape every working relationship, and why the unspoken ones do the damage A four-box matrix of management approaches, including the trap that feels the safest and costs the most The four things to renegotiate out loud with every former peer in your first two weeks What to say to the person on your team who wanted your job Why the trust you built as a peer is already banked, and the one question your team still needs answered Whether you were just promoted over your peers, you can see that promotion coming, or you are two years in and still avoiding the elephant in the room, this episode gives you the words for the conversations you have been putting off. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LYlESAru-U0 — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org [verify link in show notes] "The Confident & Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw, including the explicit vs. implicit expectations framework and the productivity/rapport matrix: archova.org/books or Amazon Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass Personnel psychology research on multiplex workplace relationships (friendship plus reporting line) and maintenance difficulty Fiske, Cuddy, and Glick research on warmth and competence in how we assess leaders — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 24 – Can I Be Friends With My Direct Reports? Episode 321 – From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

July 28, 202621 min

Am I Ready to Be a Manager? The Four-Question Audit (Ep 323)

Somewhere along the way, you picked up the idea that thoughtful ICs wait until they’re ready before going for the manager role. So you keep asking the question. Am I ready? And every time you ask it, it feels responsible. It feels like preparing. Ramona has watched that exact question stall talented ICs for years. It has no evidence standard and no end date, which means you can ask it forever while it quietly turns your next career move into a verdict someone else gets to hand down. In this episode, Ramona throws out the usual trait checklist (communicate well, put the team first, manage your time) and replaces it with a willingness audit: four questions you answer yes or no to, all testable this week, none requiring anyone’s permission. She covers: The four willingness questions, starting with whether you can stand having your results measured through other people’s work The senior engineer who kept hearing "not quite there yet" and responded in exactly the wrong way Two scripts that turn vague feedback into a specific behavior and a date Three signs "you’re not ready" is your manager stalling, not a real assessment What Bandura’s self-efficacy research says about waiting until you feel capable The part almost nobody says out loud: for some of you the honest answer is no, and there’s a clean way to own it Whether you’re circling the decision, hearing "not yet" on repeat, or quietly suspecting the manager track isn’t for you, this episode gets you to an honest answer faster. Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org/leadership-accelerator Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy and mastery experience Center for Creative Leadership research on how leadership capability develops Linda Hill, "Becoming a Manager" (research on new managers’ assumptions) Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass "The Confident & Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona here: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — OTHER EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE — Episode 61 – From IC to Manager: 4 Main Shifts Episode 321 – From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

July 21, 202633 min

How to Read the Room: The 3 Questions Intuitive Leaders Ask (Ep 322)

You walk into a meeting with senior people, and within seconds the internal questions start: Should I speak early or wait until I’m asked? Am I reading the mood right, or am I about to present data to a room that wants something else entirely? And when the energy shifts mid-meeting, someone influential goes quiet, the questions turn political, the doubt gets louder: do I name what’s happening, or do I keep going through my slides and hope it passes? Ramona doesn’t treat reading the room as charisma you’re born with. The managers who look intuitive in meetings are running a short list of questions in their heads, typically faster than everyone else, and adjusting what they say based on the answers. That list can be learned. In this episode, Ramona breaks down what reading the room actually involves and why so much of your credibility in a new room gets decided before you’ve said anything of substance. She covers: The three reads to make in the first two minutes of any meeting, starting with who is actually running it (rarely the person who scheduled it) The four roles you can hold in a meeting, and why a mismatch here is the real reason meetings feel like they go badly What the room is hungry for, and how to tell when it flips from competence to relationship mid-meeting The "thin slices" research showing how fast people size you up, and what they judge first Five things that decide your first two minutes, and only one of them is what you say Whether you’re walking into a room of unfamiliar stakeholders, presenting to executives, or watching a meeting drift away from you mid-slide, this episode gives you the questions to run and the language to use. — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE — The Executive Presence Program (8-week program for mid-level to senior leaders): archova.org/executive-presence-program — LINKS — Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session) Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters, awkward moments, status updates, or non-existent into your most important and valuable meeting with your directs all week. Learn more at: http://archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP — WHAT’S NEXT? — Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org. Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager: How to Rapidly Rise to Success in Your First Leadership Role’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype and learn how to play to your strengths and uncover your blind spots: archova.org/quiz Are you in your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass and discover the 4 shifts to become a leader people love to work for: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast and haven’t left a review yet? All you have to do is go to ramonashaw.com/itunes and to our Spotify Page, and give your honest review. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

July 14, 202616 min

From Doer to Leader: Redefining Competence in Your New Role (Ep 321)

There is a thought a lot of managers carry around and almost never say out loud: “Honestly, my direct report is a stronger performer than I am.” If you have had some version of that thought, it usually shows up with a little shame attached. And the standard response, someone telling you that you are great and you do it better than your employee, tends to bounce right off. It does not fix anything, because it is aimed at the wrong problem. Here is what is actually going on. For your whole career, being good meant one thing: I know the most, I do it best, people come to me when the work is hard. Then you got promoted, and the definition of competence quietly changed. Nobody told you the new rules. So you are standing in a new role, still grading yourself with the old ruler, and of course you come up short. In Episode 321, Ramona breaks down: Why “my report is a stronger performer than I am” is an apples-to-oranges error, not a verdict on you What actually happens in your brain when your competence feels threatened, and why it registers like survival The quiet trap of comparing your year one to someone else’s year five The “which chair are you sitting in?” test that pulls you back into the right seat If you have ever caught yourself diving back into the technical work because it is the one place you still feel sharp, this episode will show you what to do instead. Watch on YouTube Resources mentioned in this episode The Leadership Accelerator, Archova’s 90-day manager readiness program for new and early-stage managers: archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free Masterclass, the 4 shifts to lead as a new manager: archova.org/masterclass “The Confident & Competent New Manager” by Ramona Shaw: archova.org/books (also on Amazon: amzn.to/3TuOdcP ) CEB research finding that 60% of new managers fail or underperform in their first 18 months, referenced in the episode Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona: calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Turn your 1-on-1 meetings into your most valuable meeting of the week: archova.org/1on1-course Grab Ramona’s best-selling book “The Confident & Competent New Manager”: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other episodes you might like Episode 256 – The Leadership Identity Shift: From Executor to Influencer youtube.com/watch?v=L_KXIyEjNAY Episode 311 – Delegating: When Stepping In Becomes Stepping On ramonashaw.com/delegation-for-managers What’s next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Want to better understand your leadership style and patterns? Take the free Manager Archetype quiz: archova.org/quiz In your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave an honest review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on Spotify. Then take a screenshot listening and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership on Instagram or DM Ramona on LinkedIn. * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.

July 7, 202617 min

Why You Keep Handing Away Credit You Earned (Ep 320)

There is a small flinch that happens when someone hands a high performer a compliment. A pause. A quiet thought of “I wonder if they really mean it,” followed by a fast handoff of the credit to the team, to luck, to timing, to anything other than themselves. Most people doing this have no idea it is a pattern. It reads as humility, so it hides in plain sight. Every time you move a win into the team’s column and a loss into your own, you are quietly editing your scorecard in one direction. Over months and years, that adds up to a distorted picture of your contribution, and it does not stay private. The systems that hand out promotions, scope, and pay reward the people whose work is visible. Deflect often enough and you file your best work under everyone else’s name. In this episode, Ramona breaks down why this happens, why it is a choice rather than a fixed trait, and exactly what to do instead. We cover: Why deflecting credit is not the same as humility, and what it actually protects you from The negativity-bias loop that makes praise slide off and criticism stick The language to give your manager an accurate account of your contribution without bragging A three-second practice that interrupts the deflection before it fires The attribution log that slowly rebuilds an honest view of your own work If you have ever assumed good work speaks for itself, or felt a flicker of discomfort the last time someone praised you, this episode is for you. Watch on YouTube Resources Mentioned in This Episode Executive Presence Intensive : Archova’s 8-week program for mid-level managers and senior leaders ready for bigger responsibility, covering visible self-advocacy, stakeholder communication, and presence in high-stakes moments. Kicks off again in the fall. archova.org/executive-presence-program The Leadership Accelerator : where the weekly update email tool is taught. archova.org/leadership-accelerator Free New Manager Masterclass : archova.org/masterclass Links Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE . Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits Learn how to turn your 1-on-1 meetings from time wasters into your most important meeting of the week: archova.org/1on1-course Grab your copy of Ramona’s best-selling book ‘The Confident & Competent New Manager’: amzn.to/3TuOdcP Other Episodes You Might Like Episode 267 – Horizontal Leadership: Creating Teams That Own Their Work Episode 281 – Are You Overexplaining? When Leaders Should (and Shouldn’t) Justify Themselves What's Next? Learn more about our leadership development programs, coaching and workshops at archova.org . Want to better understand your leadership style? Take our free quiz to discover your Manager Archetype: archova.org/quiz In your first manager role and don’t want to mess it up? Watch our FREE Masterclass: archova.org/masterclass Love the podcast? Leave a review at ramonashaw.com/itunes and on our Spotify page. Thanks for your support of this show! If this episode inspired you, take a screenshot listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag @ramona.shaw.leadership or DM on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ramona-shaw * Disclaimer: Shownotes may contain affiliate links. That means that I am awarded a small commission for purchases made through them, at no added cost to you.