Today we are diving into the topic of people management. A manager can make or break how you feel for so much of your day — yet some of the things we’re taught about management are so antiquated. This is a topic I’m personally so passionate about as a people manager and love talking about new ways to think about how we interact and run teams.

To discuss this topic today, I have Derek Gillette - who is the VP of marketing at Leadr - a new kind of people management software - designed to help companies grow leaders.

In today’s episode, we talk about Derek’s journey to people management as his very first job. We dive into his decision to leave operations and take a risk to follow his dream of becoming a marketer. And we talk about how he took a chance, quit his job, and eventually landed his gig today years later as VP of marketing

We dive into practical tips for any manager or someone thinking about management —

Themes like focusing on strengths vs. ironing out weaknesses. We talk about coaching and mentoring vs a focus on tasks and compliance. We debate 1:1s and who really owns it (manager vs. employee). We talk about how to give ongoing feedback vs. relying on performance reviews. And we talk about the importance of really specific recognition.

To cap it off we dive into the best advice Derek’s ever received as a manager and some hard lessons learned.

Manager resources:

• Radical Candor - Kim Scott
• 9 Lies About Work - Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall

Connect with Derek on LinkedIn. Learn more about Leadr here.

Follow the podcast on Instagram at @donttellmewhattodopodcast or visit the website www.donttellmewhattodopodcast.com.