424: How to Manage Up, Down, and Across with Kristen Harcourt

Want to overcome resistance to change on your team? Start by noticing that the loudest pushback usually isn't the real problem. Hidden resistance often looks like nodding along in the meeting, then quietly sticking to the old way. Expert Tony Chatman explains why change threatens people's sense of identity, how to tell agreement from true buy-in, why the trusted voices on your team matter more than your title, and what AI adoption reveals about the fear of starting over. 💌 Get new episodes and one-page takeaways by email: https://www.themodernmanager.com Guest Bio

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.

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.

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

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.