Author, public speaker, and coach for managers and leaders across the tech industry.
Blog Posts
Six creative ways to use coaching questions
My most-used tool these days is definitely this list of 20 great open questions. There are so many things it’s useful for. read more
Manage up without getting (too) salty about it
An attendee from one of my Delivering Feedback workshops asked:
I think the Feedback Equation we learned today could work well with my manager, but I’m concerned about implementing it.
One of my biggest fears about giving them feedback is their negative response to it, so tying it back to what’s important to him makes a lot of sense to me.
However, how would I use coaching/open questions without getting salty that I have to coach them through the situation? I don’t have power in the relationship and that makes me worried about how I will handle it if and when my manager gets negative. read more
“Should I create a Performance Improvement Plan for my direct report?”
There’s lots to be said (and felt) about Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs); they’re often a step that a company takes when an employee is not meeting the expectations of their role, and their manager (or the company) is considering whether or not to terminate this person’s employment. read more
Resources for navigating complex leadership work
For a decade now, I’ve been writing and sharing free tools, templates, and how-tos for managers. My hope is, of course, that these have all been useful for you. But, my organization of it all finally hit a breaking point, so I’ve created a new, one stop shop for the most-searched-for topics. :) read more
What to do when a beloved employee quits
Happy Birthday To My 1:1 Questions!
When I wrote the Questions for our first 1:1 blog post six years ago, I had no idea that it’d have any impact for folks beyond my direct team. read more
How to get helpful, actionable feedback from your colleagues
What to do when your feedback doesn't land
This email I received from a recent workshop attendee describes a common, but challenging, situation: read more