The Managing with Mind and Heart Podcast: Recent Episodes
Nash Consulting
This isn’t your typical management-skills podcast. Join Nash Consulting’s President Mike Nash (a cynical gen X’er) and his son and Business Manager Ethan Nash (an entitled millennial) as they sort through the plethora of leadership information out there in order to provide you practical, actionable ways to become a manager rockstar. If you manage people or you aspire to manage people, you should probably listen to this podcast.
Since 1996, Nash Consulting has been helping managers not suck. Their long-term mission has been to develop highly skilled, authentic, compassionate, effective leaders who know how to build morale, provide accountability, get stuff done, and build effective relationships with their people based on trust and respect. Their signature 5-day Managing with Mind and Heart workshop, which has inspired thousands of leaders over the past two decades, is the inspiration behind this fun, practical, unique podcast series.
Nash Consulting clients include the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, Wenatchee and others; Brooks Running; Microsoft; Perkins Coie, Stoel Rives, K and L Gates, and dozens of other law firms; Providence, Overlake, Confluence Health and many other hospitals; Salvation Army, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, American Lung Association, YMCA, and dozens of other nonprofits; NanoString; Central Washington University; the ACLU….to name just a few.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
On this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart, host Ethan Nash tackles the nitty gritty of email best practices, from formatting to feedback.
Links:
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122 — Feedback Over Email
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102 — The Magic Email
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Feedback on this episode? Send us an email: contact@nashconsulting.com.
On this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart Podcast, Ethan Nash is joined by Nash Consulting’s own Akpene Torku Sims. They discuss how to identify an employee’s strengths, and consider why assigning roles and responsibilities without considering individual talents is detrimental to the business and workplace morale.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Being willing to let people make mistakes is a bit of a sacrifice because when you choose not to over define the behaviors, people will learn from trial and error.”
Autonomy is one of the biggest drivers of motivation. But finding ways to give employees freedom in their jobs can be challenging. Tune in as Ethan and Mike explore this critical topic.
This episode originally released back in 2023.
Links:
- Episode on the Decision Making Styles
- Episode on SCARF
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
On this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart Podcast, hosts Ethan and Mike Nash explore workplace communication hierarchies and dynamics, including when skip-level meetings are appropriate and when they risk turning into going “over someone’s head.” The host duo digs into the nuances of open-door policies and how thoughtful, intentional communication can empower employees and management, leading to an improved culture and morale.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Feedback on this episode? Send us an email: contact@nashconsulting.com.
This episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart podcast explores the nuances of giving feedback over email. Join hosts Ethan and Mike Nash as they discuss which types of input are best suited to written communication, and which are more effective delivered in person.
Links:
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111 – Awareness of Your Power Differential
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113 – Moderating Your Power Differential
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Feedback on this episode? Send us an email: contact@nashconsulting.com.
In this episode, Ethan Nash discusses the 6 "thinking hats" teams can employ for better decision making, and all the good that can come from intentionally coordinating approaches. “Imagine you’re with your team making a decision,” Ethan invites listeners to consider. “You collectively decide to wear one of the six hats at the same time. By doing this, we can help ensure that our different approaches, different styles are all being leveraged.”
Tune in to understand the background and best practices of this approach.
Links:
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15 — Behavior Styles Part 1
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Feedback on this episode? Send us an email: contact@nashconsulting.com.
It’s easy for team projects to stall or implode with miscommunication and finger-pointing, and it may be first nature to blame emotional intelligence or individual shortcomings. But the real issue might be simpler: a lack of clear accountability.
In this episode, hosts Ethan and Mike Nash explore the power of Single Point Accountability (SPA) through a real-world case study. Learn how assigning one person ultimate responsibility can transform team dynamics and drive better results.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this episode, Ethan discusses the power differential: what it is, what it's made of, and how to moderate it.
In this episode, Ethan Nash unpacks the idea of the "Trust Bank Account," where every act of integrity is a deposit. But the goal isn’t to save endlessly; it’s to spend that trust strategically. When you do, you actually strengthen the trust you've built, and build the foundation of a really strong team.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this episode, Ethan discusses the concept of psycological safety in the workplace.
In this episode, host Ethan Nash discusses the four categories of feedback: feedback on ideas, on performance, on skills and competencies, and on style. A functioning team, he explains, is comfortable giving and receiving all types of feedback.
Ethan wraps up the episode with some discussion questions for managers to gauge their teams’ comfortability with feedback, with the goal of creating a culture of feedback at work.
We mentioned episode 96, "Coaching by Hypothesis" in this episode.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this episode, Ethan discusses why adaptive skills are so important, and how to improve them. He then double-clicks on the skill of listening, and gives participants top tips on how to become a better listener and leader.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou
In this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart, host Ethan Nash breaks down the core principles of coaching, a must-have skill for any manager. Listen in to sharpen your coaching game and lead with authenticity, curiousity, and care.
This episode referred to the following:
- Minisode: How to Really Listen
- Authentic Conversations: Building a Cohesive Leadership Team
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Join our upcoming online workshop series of our cornerstone program, "Managing with Mind & Heart."
“There is an inherent power to the nature of our work, and there’s a separation because of that.”
In this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart Podcast, hosts Ethan and Mike Nash discuss the concept of the inevitable “power differential” that exists between managers and employees. Taking advantage of the power is obviously harmful, but so is ignoring it.
A great manager knows how to moderate the power differential — tune in to hear Nash Consulting’s tips on how to master this skill.
(Note: This episode is a follow up to a recent episode on becoming aware of your power differential.)
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this short episode, Ethan discusses the most important management skill in good leaders' toolboxes: how to show care and respect to their employees.
Join our upcoming online workshop series of our cornerstone program, "Managing with Mind & Heart."
“We’re always more sensitive to the power differential looking up at those that have power over us, and we sometimes completely miss it looking down at those we have power over.“
The power differential is an inherent part of management — managers have power over their employees.
In this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart Podcast, hosts Ethan and Mike Nash explain that while this is not inherently a bad or a good thing, a failure to acknowledge the power differential — and be mindful of how it affects the ways your employees perceive your relationship — can harm the psychological safety of the team.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this short episode, Ethan discusses a common issue in nearly every workplace, the Peter Principle, and how to overcome it with good leadership training.
Join our upcoming online workshop series of our cornerstone program, "Managing with Mind & Heart."
Receiving feedback is a critical part of your job as manager. To keep growing as a person and leader, understanding your management blindspots are critical. But receiving feedback is a skill, and a critical one - because doing so defensively shuts down any future feedback.
Tune into this episode to learn how proper mindsets for receiving feedback.
In this show we mentioned the Coaching by Hypothesis episode.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Send an email to contact@nashconsulting.com to request the guide book of “350 One-on-One Questions.”
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this short episode, Ethan reminds listeners of a common saying on the Managing with Mind and Heart podcast: morale matters and it’s mostly your job as a manager.
If the most common question surrounding 1-on-1 meetings in your workplace is “wanna skip this week?”, your team is missing out on a huge opportunity for connection and support. In this episode, Ethan and Mike share practical tips to revitalize your 1-on-1s and make them impactful.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Send an email to contact@nashconsulting.com to request the guide book of “350 One-on-One Questions.”
Ever wonder what our live leadership development workshops are like? This episode is a short clip of a live workshop we put on a couple of months ago. If you sign up for this online workshop series, use this code at checkout to get a 25% discount: MINDANDHEARTPOD
We edited out any voices of participants, plus all the group work, breakout rooms, and Q/A, so you'll just hear Ethan.
In this short episode, Ethan reminds listeners that none of us are fully aware of our full growth potential and to be an effective leader/manager, you need to be growing as a human being.
On today’s episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart, Ethan Nash is joined by Cheryl Fields Tyler, founder and CEO of Blue Beyond Consulting, to discuss the organization’s recent report, Winning on the People Side of Business, which explores the top priorities and challenges facing businesses today.
Among other demographics, Blue Beyond paid close attention to differences in how generations felt across issues at work.
In conversation with Ethan, Cheryl Fields Tyler reflects on the consulting group’s 2021 study, comparing its findings with the latest 2024 insights while introducing fresh questions that address today’s evolving challenges.
Tune in for an engaging conversation on the changing face of leadership and practical strategies for building resilient workplaces in an ever-evolving business world.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this episode, Ethan Nash introduces the Challenge-Competency Continuum, a framework for understanding how stress impacts employee productivity. Picture an upside-down “U” with productivity on the y-axis and stress on the x-axis. Too little stress leaves employees unmotivated; too much stress overwhelms them. Peak productivity? It’s right in the middle.
The key to finding that balance, Nash says, ask your employees. Ethan dives into how understanding where someone lands on the continuum—how “challenged” and “competent” they feel—can help managers make smarter decisions. With the right insights, leaders can fine-tune workloads, reduce unnecessary stress, and unlock their team’s full potential.
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“You might have terrific goals set for your team, expectations that are solid, strategies that are great, tactics that are awesome, but when communication sucks, none of this is going to matter.”
In this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart, host Ethan Nash discusses the best channels for optimal team communication.
Tons of information is constantly thrown at managers, and it’s their job to act as a funnel and get the appropriate information to their team. Mentioning pertinent information to an employee in the lunch room might feel easiest in the moment, but strategies like these lead to confusion, crossed wires, and in turn, a decrease in workplace morale.
To avoid all that, there are best practices for information distribution at work (remember last week’s episode on the Magic Email?). Listen now to hear Ethan’s deep dive on the top five channels for sharing info with your team.
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this quick episode, Mike Nash discusses the magic of “The Friday Email.”
A strategy of consolidated communication, this end-of-week email is a suggestion for managers and employees who struggle with email overload. It narrows down communication channels and provides managers and employees a single place where all pertinent information will be stored.
To adopt this tactic, managers commit to creating and sending out a really well written and organized email at the end of each week. Employees, in turn, commit to reading and internalizing the contents of the email.
More than just an email, the Friday Email is a simplification of communication channels and a critical connector between employee and manager.
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“If you are thinking about work as you’re getting ready for your work day, what you're probably thinking about are tasks, phone calls and meetings. In addition to that, maybe even instead of that, if you just quickly review these 6 concepts, it would change everything.”
In this solo episode, Mike Nash dives into the essential elements of effective management every manager should be thinking about before the workday:
- Personal growth as a foundation for leadership (for more on the growth mindset, see Episode #97 with Hana Butler)
- Morale matters and it’s mostly a manager’s job
- Building trust by showing you have your team's best interests at heart
- Keep the 15 critical management skills and deliverables in mind
- Developing adaptive skills tied to emotional intelligence.
- Fostering psychological safety—creating a space where your team feels secure and valued (for more on psychological safety, see Episodes #57 and #58)
Tune in for actionable insights helpful to reset your managerial compass and lead with impact.
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
We’re 100!!
To celebrate the centennial, we’re taking a break from our usual programming as Ethan and Mike get personal, tackling questions like "What makes a good parent?" and "How do you define success?" This special episode pulls back the curtain on the minds and hearts behind Nash Consulting. Here's to the next 100 episodes!
Check out the Mind & Heart University app!
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Just a couple quick things for you!
Subscribe on Spotify here and Apple Podcasts here. Subscribe to our newsletter here or text the word "Leading" to the number 66866.
Cheers!
https://www.nashconsulting.com/
"People spend way too much time in crappy meetings. They suck your soul and they discourage you."
In this episode of Managing with Mind and Heart, Ethan and Mike Nash discuss the importance of a less glamorous yet essential part of the workplace: meeting agendas.
As a follow-up to the recent episode on how to wrap up meetings with clarity and closure, this episode focuses on what happens before the meeting ends. From starting with a check-in and icebreaker to giving participants space to raise their own concerns, they walk through each step of building a thoughtful and effective meeting agenda.
Whether you're leading the meeting or simply participating, understanding the flow and purpose of an agenda can make a big difference. Tune in to learn how to make your meetings more organized, efficient, and engaging.
Check out the Mind & Heart University app!
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this episode of the Managing With Mind and Heart, hosts Ethan and Mike Nash discuss how one simple tool can bring clarity and focus to your meetings. ABCD stands for Action items, By whens/by whom, Communication, and Decisions, and it's designed to ensure every meeting ends with clear, actionable takeaways. We’ll walk you through how these steps help teams clarify decisions, assign responsibilities, and communicate effectively. Tune in to learn how the ABCD method can transform your meetings and boost team productivity. Don't forget to visit our website and join our mailing list for more insights.
Check out the Mind & Heart University app!
To get our Effective and Enjoyable Meetings Guidebook, send a note to contact@nashconsulting.com.
We mentioned the following episodes:
- #54 – Committment, Accountability & Results: Building a Cohesive Leadership Team
- #13 – How to Have One-on-One Meetings That Don't Suck
- #21 – How to Run Meetings That Don't Suck Your Soul (Part 1)
- #22 – Tools & Tactics for Meeting Facilitation (Part 2)
- #23 – Remote Meetings: How to Make Them Worthwhile
- #64 – You Should Create a Meeting Code of Conduct
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"Mindsets really, really matter because they set us up for learning. I don't know any leader or organization that doesn't want their employees to be engaged, to have high morale, to be learning and innovating."
In this episode of The Managing With Mind and Heart, Nash Consulting's own Hana Butler joins host Ethan Nash to explore the transformative power of a growth mindset. Coined by Carol Dweck in the 1980s, the term "growth mindset" highlights how our beliefs about learning and failure shape our personal and professional lives. Hana breaks down the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, showing how each influences our ability to innovate and grow at work. She explains that in a fixed mindset, mistakes are seen as a reflection of who we are, while in a growth mindset, they’re opportunities for improvement.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this episode of the Managing with Mind and Heart podcast, host Ethan Nash explores an alternative approach to feedback that goes beyond the traditional “BIR” method (which we talked about back in episode #8 and wrote about here). This framework—where managers identify problematic Behavior, highlight its Impact, and suggest a Replacement—works well when specific behaviors need addressing. But what happens when feedback is based more on intuition or a general feeling about an employee?
Drawing inspiration from the book Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson, Ethan introduces the hypothesis-based coaching approach, which turns potential criticism into open dialogue. By framing intuition-based feedback as a hypothesis rather than a judgment, managers can foster more productive conversations, even when feedback is less clear-cut. Tune in to discover how to navigate these tricky conversations with confidence.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“In so many ways, we can’t be more of one thing without being less of another. The ability to recognize that I can't be everything -- and that there are tradeoffs for the best things that I bring to the table -- is really what the strengths based perspective is all about.”
In this episode, Ethan sits down with leadership coach, consultant, and all-around cool dude Andy Thompson. Andy provides insights on identifying and leveraging strengths, and starts by explaining what a strength really is: a combination of talent, skills, and knowledge, which all exist in unison within a certain context. The duo discusses the importance and how-tos of helping teams discover and harness their strengths collectively. Individual "weaknesses" are inevitable, and the strongest teams tap into one another’s complementary strengths.
Tune in to learn how to realistically balance strengths and weaknesses for personal and team growth.
Links and notes:
- Andy's podcast episode on strengths
- Clifton Strengths Finder
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this episode, Ethan Nash is joined by MIT Sloan’s Deborah Ancona, founder of the MIT Leadership Center, author of the new book xTeams, and contributor at the Harvard Business Review.
They explore the concept of “family ghosts” — a term coined to describe the way familial dynamics influence an individual’s workplace behavior and leadership. Deborah also shares insights from her pioneering research on high-performing teams and innovative leadership.
Resources:
- Family Ghosts in the Executive Suite
- Herminia Ibarra’s idea of provisional selves
- Immunity to Change model
- Lindy Greer's Hippo Theory of Leadership
- Course: Unlocking Your Leadership Signature via Executive Education at MIT
- "Discovering and Developing" picture cards at xlead.co
We're on YouTube! Watch this episode live on our channel.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
We are excited to invite you to our online workshop series focused on developing leadership skills. You can register for the workshop here or email us at contact@nashconsulting.com.
In this episode, Ethan explains the principles behind Nash Consulting's cornerstone leadership development program, Managing with Mind & Heart, and then provides a preview of the Top 15 Management Skills and what they look like in practice.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 (or go here) to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tools.
We're revisiting one of our most popular discussions—navigating the choppy waters of employee reactions after tough feedback. For those looking to dive deeper, consider enrolling in our leadership development program, Managing with Mind & Heart. This course is packed with essential tools not only for this topic but for a wide array of practical and actionable management skills. Learn more and register at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“When people step foot into the training, they need to already understand the big picture around this training.”
A training shouldn’t just be a box to check—it should be the impetus for long-term organizational change. In this solo episode, Ethan unpacks strategies for sustaining the momentum after a workshop or training so that the lessons don’t just become the “flavor of the month.”
He shares strategies to ensure long-term impact by getting buy-in from your team, helping them see the big picture, and integrating new knowledge into your existing systems. He also discusses the importance of ongoing education and reinforcement, as adult learning requires repetition, and the necessity of creating accountability to ensure consistent practice. Finally, Ethan suggests how to foster deep involvement, engaging your team in driving the change.
Check out the blog post we did about this topic.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this episode, Mike and Ethan Nash explore the power of self-awareness in leadership. Inspired by "The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership" by Chapman, Dethmer and Klemp, they break down the "line" metaphor: being "below the line" means you're closed and defensive, while being "above the line" means you're open and curious. They discuss why self-awareness is the most critical leadership skill, how our brains react to perceived threats, and why it's okay to be "below the line" — as long as you recognize it. Tune in to learn how to check in with yourself and lead more consciously.
We're on YouTube! Watch this episode live on our channel.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“The bottom line is: in the workplace, I am treating you no differently than anybody else. I’m going to spend the same amount of time with you at lunch. At work, we’re not going to talk about our social time outside of work.”
In this episode, Ethan and Mike Nash discuss the complex dynamics of friendship in the workplace. What is the best approach to being a good friend and a great manager?
The duo interrogates the commonly held belief that friendships with employees are inherently at odds with healthy management and suggests strategies for setting boundaries with friends that you also manage.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Having uncontrollable circumstances actually generates a threat response in the brain. When I’m in that fight, flight, or freeze mode at work, I can’t be creative. I can’t be empathetic. I’m in survival mode."
Unlock the secrets of autonomy in the workplace in this episode of The Managing with Mind and Heart Podcast. Discover how self-direction boosts morale, engagement, and productivity. Learn why unnecessary rules kill motivation and how involving others in decision-making empowers teams. We'll break down the four levels: 1) Just do it, 2) Do then tell, 3) Consult then do, and 4) Just don’t do it. Plus, see why shifting from a surveillance to an outcome-based mindset makes all the difference.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"Managing is a higher calling. It's not just air traffic controlling work, or being a chess master and making sure all the people are doing the right things. Management is - at its core - about equipping and empowering others."
In this episode, Mike Nash dives into a solo conversation on what prevents managers from thriving in their roles. Too often, he explains, managers assume the role of air traffic controlling their people or treating employees as chess pieces in a game that can be won.
Mike explains that a manager can only succeed in their goal of helping their people learn, grow and thrive by looking inward and examining their life, habits and history. He introduces the RAIN framework (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Nurture) as a way to guide managers in understanding and overcoming the obstacles that hinder their effectiveness.
Listen as Mike shares actionable strategies for navigating the complexities of management and cultivating a culture of trust, collaboration, and growth.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"The higher up you go on the org chart, the more important it is that leaders are leading from a mindset of 'I work for you' not 'you work for me.'"
In this episode, Mike is joined by Andy Thompson for a fun and enlightening discussion centered on the most important behaviors for executive teams in creating and maintaining healthy organizations. They discuss fizzy water and extra hot coffee, the challenge of pronouncing “anonymity,” why self-care for execs is vital, the importance of asking employees for feedback, hiring execs for high EQ instead of for subject matter expertise, humility, why “walking the talk” (leading by example) is so important for credibility, and more.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"Before I make my choice about what I'm going to do -- because I'm seeing the 'thing' not being done right, or well, or at all -- ask myself these two questions: Where is the employee in terms of skill? Where is the employee in terms of will? Get that sorted first, and whichever quadrant we land in gives me a lot of clues as to what I need to do next."
In this episode, Mike Nash is joined by Nash Consulting coach Val Jeffords to discuss the Skill-Will Matrix for classifying employees', well, skill and will with a particular task or job. Notably, each typology in the matrix requires different management and leadership approaches, a reality often overlooked in the workplace. Mike and Val discuss how managers often default to corrective action without assessing skill and will, a habit that can have detrimental effects in the workplace and can severely damage morale and trust.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"By following the Rule of Three, we start to see further possibilities. We get outside of our current paradigms because it forces us to put more cognitive effort into finding other solutions."
In this minisode, Ethan Nash explains the theory and evidence behind the Rule of Three for decision-making. Instead of binary this-or-that/yes-or-no options, the Rule of Three implores decision-makers to give themselves another option before making a final call. Doing so, Ethan explains, pushes decision-makers to consider possibilities they otherwise would have overlooked, leading to nuanced choices that take into account a broader range of perspectives and potential outcomes.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Anytime I interact with any member of my team, I’m creating a brand impression. I may create a different brand impression with my CFO than I do with some account manager I’m working with. My leadership brand is going to be based on everybody’s perception of me.”
In this episode, Ethan Nash engages with Skot Waldron, a communication strategist, podcaster, and author of Unlocked: A 52-Week Guide For The Intentional Leader. Drawing on his experience as a brand strategist, Waldron explores the art of crafting a personal leadership brand. The conversation centers on Waldron’s new book, offering key takeaways and lessons on building personal confidence, self-awareness, and a personal leadership brand that communicates the values and priorities of every leader.
You can learn more about Skot and his work at www.skotwaldron.com.
Links:
Skot Waldron on The Managing with Mind and Heart podcast, January 2021
Skot on YouTube, LinkedIn
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
"This person that we spend 24 hours a day with 7 days a week is yourself. And to live with someone that closely that you don't really like, is hell. Self-compassion is seeing your own goodness and having a 'correct' view of yourself. It includes the ability to give yourself grace, comfort yourself in a time of need, and treat yourself the way you would treat a friend."
Nash Consulting's own Hana Butler joins Mike Nash for a captivating cocktail hour conversation on the crucial topic of self-compassion at work. In this episode, they get into the fundamental questions surrounding self-compassion: What exactly is self-compassion, and why is it so vital in the workplace?
They explore the significance of cultivating self-compassion and its positive impact on individual well-being and overall team dynamics, as well as the challenges that arise when employees and managers struggle to develop this essential skill. Grab your favorite drink, relax, and join us for this thought-provoking exploration of self-compassion in the professional realm.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"Feeling cared about is feeling safe, which is a primary human need. I can't do my best work – and I probably don't want to do my best work – if I'm in a protected mode. Probably one of the most important abilities of a manager is the ability to communicate through words and actions that they actually care about their employees.”
In this one-on-one conversation between Mike Nash and our colleague, Scott Ummel, this episode delves into the fundamental principles of effective leadership. The duo presents five key attributes of an outstanding boss and shares valuable tips to refine these skills for your own personal growth.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this solo Minisode, Ethan riffs on the concept of authenticity as a manager. What is authenticity, and what is it not? What does it mean to bring your authentic self to work and show up as an authentic leader? Take a listen and pass it along to a manager you know.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
"Managers have more of an influence on peoples' quality of lives than their therapists or spouses. Managers define reality for their employees. Whether you like your job or not, whether you're productive or not, whether you're happy or not -- inside and outside of work -- it often comes down to the manager. It's something to be conscious of."
Eric Girard is the CEO of Girard Training Solutions, where he specializes in the development of new managers, focusing on their successful transition to their new role and on their team management skills. He's also the author of the new book Lead Like a Pro: The Essential Guide for New Managers. In this episode, Eric joins Ethan to discuss the primary strategies for new managers.
Resources:
Michael Bungay Stanier's book The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“What can I learn from this person I’m in conflict with? What might they know that I don't know? What can I learn about myself through this disagreement?”
In this fourth and final installment of our Healthy Conflict Series, Mike and Ethan get into the adaptive skills that come in handy when dealing with conflict in the workplace. Learn about the internal work of healthy disagreement that can make you a better coworker, boss, and human being.
Catch up on the rest of this series:
Conflict Part 1 (Episode #73)
Conflict Part 2 (Episode #74)
Conflict Part 3 (Episode #78)
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Certainty is the enemy of change.”
This episode is all about identifying our unique growth opportunities when it comes to navigating conflict. Ethan and Mike further explore the conflict styles and suggest specific adjustments each style can make to improve their ability to collaborate towards positive results with others.
Show Notes:
-
Conflict Part 1 (Episode #73)
-
Conflict Part 2 (Episode #74)
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“We as humans don't do a great job of anticipating reward for super long-term goals. We tend to be motivated by the here and now.”
Join Ethan for a rather nerdy deep-dive into the topic of motivation. He shares what he’s learned about some of the neuroscience of motivation and practical ways to motivate your team and avoid demotivating pitfalls.
Show Notes:
-
Huberman Lab Podcast
-
Richard Clark study on team and individual motivation (sites Druckman & Bjork)
-
The Feedback Fallacy (HBR article)
-
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
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Episode #13 – How to Have One-on-One Meetings That Don’t Suck
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“When employees feel cared about by their managers, 60% plan to stay at their company for at least three years. 90% are likely to recommend this organization as a great place to work. 94% say they feel personally engaged in their work, that they feel cared about. 94% say that they have wellbeing in their life.”
Join Ethan for an episode about six game-changers to get on your management radar that will change the way you show up as a leader. (In a good way.)
Show Notes:
-
Episode #1 – Morale: and why can’t pay for this stuff
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Episode #11 – The Top 15 Management Skills
-
Episode #4 – The Periodic Table of Skills (Adaptive Skills)
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Episode #57 – Psychological Safety
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“When we can receive feedback non-defensively, that's how we keep that channel of communication open, that's what allows you to hear the truth, and that's how you build strong teams.”
Join Ethan for a brief episode on how to receive feedback non-defensively and why it is critical for success at work and in life.
Show Notes:
- Episode #6 – The Truth Can Hurt
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In the second part of our series on healthy conflict, Ethan and Mike examine the different conflict styles. They discuss how each style manifests during a disagreement and the actions of someone who is committed to finding mutually beneficial solutions.
Show Notes:
-Our blog post on conflict styles
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Conflict” is usually seen as a negative experience. And it often is – we tend not to like being in conflict. Yet, disagreement is key to building high-performing teams. So, how can we learn to embrace disagreement, and navigate it in a way that is healthy and leads to positive outcomes, all while maintaining (and building) strong relationships? It starts with understanding our conflict style. Tune in.
Show Notes:
-Our blog post on conflict styles
-Our episode on psychological safety
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Listening is one of those skills that if we get excellent at it, it has an outsized effect on our relationships.”
Come join Ethan for a brief episode on the importance of listening with care and respect, and why it truly matters.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Being willing to let people make mistakes is a bit of a sacrifice because when you choose not to over define the behaviors, people will learn from trial and error.”
Autonomy is one of the biggest drivers of motivation. But finding ways to give employees freedom in their jobs can be challenging. Tune in as Ethan and Mike explore this critical topic.
Show Notes:
-Episode on the Decision Making Styles
- Episode on SCARF
This is one of our most popular episodes. Originally aired August 2022.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It really helps. Thank you for your support.
This episode (and the following episode) is all about psychological safety. Psychological safety is not a “safe space,” nor does it mean everyone gets a round of applause for everything they do. It’s a very real and critical ingredient of high-performing teams, and this is backed by research. It’s the ability for people to speak up and make mistakes without fear of being rejected or “punished,” leading to innovation, creativity, engagement, and more. Mike and Ethan Nash take a tour of psychological safety: what it is, its relationship to trust, why it matters, where it comes, barriers to creating it, and how to start building it among your team. Don’t skip this one.
Show notes:
-Episode on how to give feedback
-Episode on how to receive feedback
-Episode on how to listen really well
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“It doesn’t really matter whether favoritism is real or perceived. The impact is the same.”
In part 2, Ethan and Mike explore how managers can prevent favoritism in the workplace by being aware of the "friend factor," communicating changes consistently, explaining decisions, asking for input and feedback, and using the SCARF model to reward fairness.
Show Notes:
-Episode on the Decision Making Styles
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Humans are really, really sensitive to fairness. As soon as you sense that you're being treated unfairly - whether it's true or not - it’s going to trigger fight, flight, or freeze.”
The big “F” word. Whether real or perceived, the sense of unfairness is one of the biggest morale killers. So, how can we manage in a way to reduce the likelihood that our employees will experience a sense of unfairness and instead experience a sense of safety, belonging, and respect? Tune in.
Show Notes:
-Episode on the Top 15 Management Skills
-Episode on SCARF
-Episode on the Power Differential
-Episode on Behavior Styles
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
From having fun, building trust, and enhancing psychological safety, icebreakers can be a powerful force in team meetings. Yet, they are often avoided like the plague or poopooed because most of us have had rather awkward experiences with them. In this episode, Mike and Ethan attempt to make icebreakers cool again. Tapping into years of facilitating icebreakers with teams, they share best practices, principles, and a whole bunch of icebreaker questions that you can use with your team today.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
Mike and Ethan riff on their experience practicing meditation and other mindfulness exercises and discuss why the practice is so beneficial for those tasked with leading others.
Show notes:
-
Episode #33 on learning to manage your mind
-
Episode #36 on self-compassion
-
Tara Brach’s book Radical Acceptance
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
#65 – Dealing with Difficult Employee Responses
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
News Flash! If you’re a manager, you sometimes must deliver corrective feedback to employees. It’s not the fun part of the job, but it’s necessary. And what do you do when those employees respond in difficult ways? That’s the topic of our episode today. We’re hoping that by the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with some general concepts and tools for handling those difficult conversations, especially when you get those trickier responses.
Show notes:
-
- Episode on learning to receive feedback
-
- First episode of our series on giving effective feedback
-
- First episode of our series on behavior styles
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
“Meetings really do reflect the culture of the organization. They’re a microcosm.”
The title of this episode tells it all. You should do it and here’s why and how. Whether you have remote or in-person meetings, Ethan and Mike discuss the process of working with your team to build common commitments for ensuring meetings are productive, enjoyable, and foster collaboration and mutual respect among members.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
In this episode, Mike and Ethan discuss the six decision making styles and get practical with them. How do we use these? When should we use them? How do we communicate the style we’re using in a way that our teams understands? In general, how do we take these decision-making options and put them into action? Listen here!
Show notes:
- Our other episode on decision-making styles
- Our episode on building consensus
- Our blog post with a visual of the decision-making styles
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
We really enjoyed creating this episode series on building a cohesive leadership team, and we received great feedback on it. This is part 1 of a 5-part series. See episodes #47, #48, #50, #52, and #54 for the full series.
If a group of people makes key organizational or departmental decisions together, that group of people needs to be healthy before they can expect the rest of the department or organization to be healthy and achieve sustained positive results. And this is the topic of our episode and the next several episodes in this series. Ethan and Mike break down Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model and discuss how leadership teams can use the concepts to reach an uncommon level of clarity.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
This is one of our most popular episodes. Originally aired August 2019
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It really helps. Thank you for your support.
“It’s important that you acknowledge that this relationship you have with your peers is going to change. It’s just part of the deal. And we need to be prepared for that.”
I am friends with my peers in the workplace, but I’ve been promoted to now manage these peers. How do I go from peer to manager without making it awkward as hell for everyone? This isn’t an easy question, and the experts don’t always agree on the right answer, but Mike and Ethan still try to tackle it. In this episode, they discuss the pitfalls of failing to make adjustments to your relationships when you become a manager, the first steps to take as a new manager, how to build respect from the get-go, what to do if your former peers challenge your new authority, now to manage your relationship with a best friend that you now manager and other steps to take if you find yourself in this situation.
The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t – Book by Robert Sutton
This is one of our most popular episodes. Originally aired May 2020
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It really helps. Thank you for your support.
“We can’t afford to not be in the pre-frontal cortex. In the information age, it’s exponentially important to be in that part of our brain.” – Scott Ummel
In this wide-ranging conversation, Ethan and Mike bring on another Nash Consulting trainer and consultant, Mr. Scott Ummel. Scott, our inhouse Wizkid on the social neuroscience of leadership, discusses the concept of S.C.A.R.F. and its impact on how we lead, manage, collaborate and operate in the workplace. S.C.A.R.F. is an acronym for the five things are brains are always scanning for in our environment: Status (our pecking order in a community), Certainty (our need for consistency in our environment), Autonomy (the perception of having control), Relatedness (having a sense of inclusion) and Fairness (the need to be treated equally). Tune in to learn more about how our brains work and how we can use that information to lead well and thrive in the workplace.
We mention several resources, so here they are for you to check out:
SCARF: a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others – paper by Dr. David Rock
Leading Well from Within – book by Daniel Friedland, MD
The Body Keeps the Score – book by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Book by Yuval Noah Harari
NeuroLeadership Institute – training on the neuroscience of leadership by Dr. David Rock
Goleman EI – classes and training on emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman
This is one of our most popular episodes. Originally aired May 2020.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It really helps. Thank you for your support.
“If you don’t intentionally engineer a workplace culture, it will go bad.”
When Person A has a problem with Person B and they go talk about that problem with Person C, that is what we call triangulation. If this is the way a culture handles angst in general, look out. In this episode, Ethan and Mike tackle the tough problem of workplace negativity and how to build a culture based on trust and respect. They discuss the problems with workplace negativity, why we triangulate, healthy strategies for handling issues with a colleague, and what to do if people are trying to draw you into their negativity. If workgroups all get on the same page with how to handle negativity, amazing things happen. Trust us. Please listen and share.
“As team members, we want to be able to show up and be authentic within reason. But when you also have the power differential, there is much more need and responsibility for you to think about how you’re impacting people around you.”
In this episode, Ethan and Mike continue their conversation on psychological safety. Part 1 explores what it is, why it matters, and some barriers to creating it. In part 2, the discussion turns to another significant barrier leaders face to creating high levels of psychological safety on their teams: the power differential. This episode explores the outcomes of exaggerating or eliminating one’s power and how mitigating it with tact can create the conditions for a team characterized by high levels of collaboration and performance.
Show notes:
-Episode on the power differential
-Episode on how to give feedback
-Episode on how to receive feedback
-Episode on how to listen really well
“We all bring different past experiences around psychological safety into our current workplaces. An important practice for every individual on a work team is working to gain some awareness about the transference you might be bringing into that situation.”
This episode (and the following episode) is all about psychological safety. Psychological safety is not a “safe space,” nor does it mean everyone gets a round of applause for everything they do. It’s a very real and critical ingredient of high-performing teams, and this is backed by research. It’s the ability for people to speak up and make mistakes without fear of being rejected or “punished,” leading to innovation, creativity, engagement, and more. Mike and Ethan Nash take a tour of psychological safety: what it is, its relationship to trust, why it matters, where it comes, barriers to creating it, and how to start building it among your team. Don’t skip this one.
Show notes:
-Episode on how to give feedback
-Episode on how to receive feedback
-Episode on how to listen really well
“There are these six things we’ve been training managers for years to get on their radar…because they’re game-changers.”
Welcome back to the show! After a slight hiatus, Mike and Ethan are back in action with Season 3, and oh, do we have much in store for you. In this kick-off episode, the duo goes back to the foundation of management to discuss “the manager’s radar.” As you’re preparing for a day of work, you’re naturally thinking about the tasks that need to be accomplished for the day. That’s fine. But if you can get these six additional things on your radar every day, it will be a game-changer for your ability to lead with mind and heart and build teams characterized by high morale and engagement.
Show notes:
-Check out our Managing with Mind & Heart leadership development program
-Our episode on self-compassion and the growth mindset
-Boise State research paper on the “growth mindset” for HR development
-Google study on psychological safety
This episode originally aired in February 2020.
“We believe that in many ways, meetings are a microcosm of the workplace culture. You can watch a meeting and see so much about the health of the group. You see respect or lack thereof. You see decision making processes. You see efficiencies or lack thereof. You see how they collaborate. It’s all right there.”
Join Ethan and Mike Nash as they break down how to have effective and enjoyable meetings. They discuss the ingredients of effective meetings, why workplace meetings are creating a work-life balance problem, the roles of a meeting facilitator and notetaker, how to have a great meeting agenda, who to include in meetings, the four items you need to end every meeting with, and other helpful advice on how to have happy workplace meetings. Enjoy!
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
“We are now having to manage much more towards results instead of managing the process.” If you haven’t already, we recommend going back to listen to the first part of this series, episode 51.
Hana joins Mike back on the podcast for a round two conversation all about managing hybrid and remote work teams. Now that so many of us find ourselves supporting some or all of our employees in a variety of remote and in-office situations, we need to learn to flex a new set of management muscles.
For more information on Nash Consulting and our remote management workshops, visit our website at www.nashconsulting.com
Ethan and Mike conclude their series on building a healthy leadership team by discussing the interconnectedness between trust, conflict, commitment, and accountability. It’s the combination of these important team skills and behaviors that work together to produce valuable results. Using ideas from the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model, the guys discuss practical and actionable ways to gain team commitment towards goals and behaviors, and how to hold one another accountable in ways that build psychological safety and produce the desired results. For more information on Nash Consulting and our remote management workshops, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Tom Keziah, a consultant and coach with Nash Consulting, is a terrific listener. Listening well really matters – whether it’s in professional or personal relationships. The act of listening with care, respect, and attention is how you build relationships and cultures based on psychological safety. Tom and Mike take us on a tour of best-practice listening skills and behaviors and shows them in action through an experimental demonstration. Whether you are a manager, team member, parent, partner, or friend, there is something to learn here for everyone. Listen in. For more information on Nash Consulting and our remote management workshops, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“It’s not the topic of conflict that’s really the issue or the problem, it’s how we do conflict. We can grow towards learning how to do conflict in a way that really meets the needs of everyone in the group and helps us achieve our goals” Ethan and Mike continue their series on building a healthy leadership team by diving further into the topic of conflict. Conflict among a leadership team isn’t bad…in fact, the ability to authentically engage in conflict is a key behavior of a cohesive and effective leadership team. The cohosts get into a range of topics relating to mastering the art of conflict including what healthy conflict looks like, how to encourage and reward it, and how it can inform and enhance decision-making. Show Notes:
Episode 28 – The Art of Decision Making at Work
Episode 35 – How to Do Consensus Decision-Making
The Table Group
“The main bias that can get in our way while managing a hybrid workforce is this thing called distance bias. If I have half of my people in the office and they are available, I’m just going to go talk to them more. And unintentionally I will create a fairness issue.” In this episode, Mike is joined again by consultant and coach extraordinaire Hana Butler. Hana, one of our colleagues at Nash Consulting, has taken a deep dive into all things remote and hybrid management. Mike and Hana navigate through some of the big and scary challenges leaders face while learning to adapt to the new realities of work.
“We don’t know what we don’t know.”
In this mini-episode, Ethan discusses the Johari Window model and what it can show us about personal growth as leaders, managers, and humans in the world.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Show Notes:
- Ep. 36 – Developing a Growth Mindset Through Self-Compassion
- Kristin Neff’s self-compassion website
- Ep. 38-Ep. 44 – Series on the Top 15 Management Skills
- Ep. 13 – How to Have One-On-One Meetings That Don’t Suck
- First, Break All the Rules
- Awareness
“The resolution of conflict is predicated more on how people approach conflict than it is on the nature of the conflict itself.”
If a group of people makes key organizational or departmental decisions together, that group of people needs to be healthy before they can expect the rest of the department or organization to be healthy and achieve sustained positive results. In the first and second parts of this series, Mike and Ethan broke down Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model for creating a healthy and cohesive leadership team and introduced the concept of building trust. In this episode, consultant and coach Andrew Cline joins Mike to discuss the art of mastering conflict.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“If you know your personality, then you figure out you're not broken, you’re not a failure. You’ve just been trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. So let’s find a square hole.” – Akpene Torku Sims
Please welcome to the show business coach and consultant Akpene Torku Sims (see her bio below). Ethan and Akpene discuss archery (yes, archery), how Akpene helps clients understand who they are in the workplace and life, recognizing the different ways people show up, introverts and extroverts in the workplace, processing styles, behavior styles, how to recognize tension points in yourself and others, how to make better decisions by diversifying your team, and more. Enjoy!
Ezer Unfolding Business Coaching and Consulting is about organizing the chaotic and overwhelming clutter for service orientated start-ups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners by listening and identifying your focus and planning strategies to define and implement forward direction for a sustaining and successful business. We call on business owners, entrepreneurs, and other empire builders to step into who they already are.
Speaker and Coach, Akpene Torku Sims embodies the true meaning of an Ezer, a strong person who protects and delivers; a strong ally. She inspires people to find that Ezer within themselves through assessment, encouragement, and equipping, which in turn allows them to step into powerful leaders who slay obstacles, deliver quality services or products, and leave an incredible mark in their spheres of influence.
www.ezerunfolding.com
www.nashconsulting.com
If a group of people makes key organizational or departmental decisions together, that group of people needs to be healthy before they can expect the rest of the department or organization to be healthy and achieve sustained positive results. In the first part of this series, Mike and Ethan broke down Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model for creating a healthy and cohesive leadership team. In this episode, they discuss the foundation of a healthy and effective team – trust. They discuss what trust on a team looks like, why it matters, all the cool things it leads to, and how to start working on creating a high level of trust today. Stay tuned for our next episode on mastering conflict.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
If a group of people makes key organizational or departmental decisions together, that group of people needs to be healthy before they can expect the rest of the department or organization to be healthy and achieve sustained positive results. And this is the topic of our episode and the next several episodes in this series. Ethan and Mike break down Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model and discuss how leadership teams can use the concepts to reach an uncommon level of clarity.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Originally aired in October 2019.
“All the time you’re taking with these regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings pays itself back with higher morale, more engaged employees, better relationships, and more trust. So, a few in-depth conversations a week doesn’t seem like too much time to me.”
Running one-on-one meetings, without being hyperbolic, is probably the most important practice that a manager can take on. Don’t believe us? Tune into Ethan and Mike’s conversation and they’ll try to change your mind. In this episode, the boys discuss why running regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings with your employees is vital to your team’s success. Additionally, they get into the weeds about what questions you should (and shouldn’t) ask and how to ask them, how to keep a task-relationship balance in these meetings, why relationship building is different from friendship building, how to prepare for these meetings, how to make these meetings work if you have a ton of employees, and more nitty-gritties.
If you’d like a free e-book of great one-on-one questions to ask your employees, shoot us an email at contact@nashconsulting.com and we’ll send you one.
For more reading on running great, effective one-on-one meetings, check out this blog post.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Mark Morrey is a leadership mentor and consultant from Vermont. He works with executives and other leaders like Nash Consulting does, and he has a couple of really special and unique focuses. He’s passionate about, for one, reconnecting humanity to the natural world. Another of his unique areas of focus is building community in workspaces. He calls himself a “human-connection specialist” and works to shift workplaces from places of isolation to communities of human connection.
Please enjoy this conversation between Mike Morrey and Mike Nash.
You can find out more about Mark and his work here: https://www.aconnectedleader.com/
“I’m starting to think it might be dang impossible to be really good at delivering these Top 15 Management Skills without a regularly scheduled one-on-one meeting.”
Folks, we’ve made it. This is the final episode of our series on the Top 15 Management Skills, and it’s a goodie. This episode is all about regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings with employees. It’s in these meetings that managers deliver the Top 15 Management Skills. Mike and Ethan riff on the importance of these one-on-one meetings, how they can be used to deliver essential management skills, the benefits you and your employees get from these intentional conversations, and how to run these meetings. (Pro tip: Check out episodes 21 and 22 of season 1 for more on running great one-on-one meetings.)
If you’d like a free resource on great questions to ask in your one-on-one conversations, please email us at contact@nashconsulting.com.
Please consider supporting us by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or iTunes.
“Organizations are as healthy as the leaders are skilled.”
Welcome back to Part 6 of this series that is all about the Top 15 Management Skills. Now that Mike and Ethan have broken down each of the skills and discussed some of their implications, it’s time to get really practical. The topic of this episode is how a leader (or manager, if you prefer) can take these skills and deliver them in specific contexts. They discuss two of the three contexts for delivering these skills: Your Availability and Group Meetings. Tune in next episode to learn about the third context: one-on-one meetings.
Please consider supporting us by subscribing and leaving us a review. Leaving us a review helps other people like you find the show. Thank you!
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Show Notes:
Episode #21 on having effective team meetings
Episode #22 on more tools for facilitating meetings
Episode #28 on the different decision-making styles
“If my employees aren't feeling cared about, if their needs aren't met, if they don't feel like I have their back, they are not going to provide good customer service, and my customers are going to be bummed.”
In the fifth installment of our Season 2 kick-off series, Mike & Ethan cover the final of the Top 15 Management Skills. These skills are Be Available and Responsive, Follow Through and Follow Up, Make Your Expectations Clear, and Provide Resources and Training. Managers who practice these skills are more effective and have higher-performing teams. And from our experience, managers who totally neglect these skills tend to suck. Mike and Ethan get in-depth with each skill, providing research examples, personal accounts, and actionable tools along the way.
Please consider supporting us by subscribing and leaving us a review. Leaving us a review helps other people like you find the show. Thank you!
“How can you hold people accountable if you haven't made your expectations clear?”
In the fourth installment of our Season 2 kick-off series, Mike & Ethan cover three more of the Top 15 Management Skills: Give Recognition and Praise, Make Expectations Clear, and Hold People Accountable. Managers who practice these skills are more effective and have higher-performing teams. And from our experience, managers who totally neglect these skills tend to suck. Mike and Ethan get in-depth with each skill, providing research examples, personal accounts, and actionable tools along the way.
Do you have topics you’d like for us to cover in Season 2? Give us a shout at contact@nashconsulting.com
“Being a good manager is really about being a good human.”
Mike and Ethan are back for the third part of the Season 2 kick-off series. In this episode, they continue to break down the Top 15 Management Skills (according to research) that will make or break your success as a manager. Managers who practice these skills are more effective and have higher-performing teams. And from our experience, managers who totally neglect these skills tend to suck. Mike and Ethan get in-depth with each skill, providing research examples, personal accounts, and actionable tools along the way. This is a multi-part series where the top management skills are explored to help managers build trust and respect, enhance their team’s performance, remove barriers to success, and manage like a rockstar.
Do you have topics you’d like for us to cover in Season 2? Give us a shout at contact@nashconsulting.com
Show notes:
The Power Differential Episode (Season 1, Episode 3)
In the second episode of our kick-off Season 2 series, Mike and Ethan dig further into how not to suck at managing. In this episode, the duo breaks down the Top 15 Management Skills (according to research) that will make or break your success as a manager. Managers who practice these skills are more effective and have higher-performing teams. And from our experience, managers who totally neglect these skills tend to suck. Mike and Ethan get in-depth with each skill, providing research examples, personal accounts, and actional tools along the way. This is a multi-part series where the top management skills are explored to help managers build trust and respect, enhance their team’s performance, remove barriers to success, and manage like a rockstar.
We are back for Season 2 of the Managing with Mind & Heart Podcast! After a short hiatus from the mics, Mike and Ethan Nash get back in the studio to record their most important episodes yet. They break down the Top 15 Management Skills (according to research) that will make or break your success as a manager. Managers who practice these skills are more effective and have higher-performing teams. And from our experience, managers who totally neglect these skills tend to suck. Mike and Ethan get in-depth with each skill, providing research examples, personal accounts, and actionable tools along the way. This is a multi-part series where the top management skills are explored to help managers build trust and respect, enhance their team’s performance, remove barriers to success, and manage like a rockstar.
Do you have topics you’d like for us to cover in Season 2? Give us a shout at contact@nashconsulting.com
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“What are they saying [to others] about their job? That reputation caries out through the community and becomes either a recruiting tool or it becomes something that hurts the reputation of that company.” – Skot Waldron
In this wide-ranging episode, Mike and Ethan are joined by leadership and communication coach Skot Waldron. The trio discusses Skot’s unique background and the terrific work he does helping teams and individuals collaborate effectively, improve communication skills, and build their unique brand identity. Skot provides useful insights and tools for building an effective and healthy team, earning influence with the people around you, managing up, creating a brand identity, and so much more. You’re going to enjoy this one.
You can learn more about Skot and his work at www.skotwaldron.com.
Show notes:
Short video: The Influence Model
Skot’s YouTube channel
Giant free trial
“This is the beauty of self-compassion; it doesn’t mean complacency. It actually means experiencing your setbacks and emotions around those setbacks more fully. And accepting them more fully. It's leaning into your shortcomings and failures and giving yourself the support you need to use it as an opportunity for growth.”
In this shorter episode, Ethan riffs on a topic that he’s been exploring: self-compassion and its relation to developing a “growth mindset.” Our belief at Nash Consulting is that to be an effective leader, you need to be continually growing and developing yourself. Research indicates that staying on this path of growth and development becomes tricky when we beat ourselves up about our shortcomings. Cultivating the skill of self-compassion has shown to improve resilience and our ability to bounce back from failures. Ethan discusses the four stages of development; myths around self-compassion; research from Kristin Neff, Carol Dweck, and others; why self-compassion can stimulate a growth mindset; and tools for cultivating self-compassion and a growth mindset.
Show notes:
- Podcast Episode #33 – Learning to Manage Your Mind https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VH8WawaCcfgYsK6z4NCft?si=GjGOEswORICO-ryb7CKxHg
- Myths of self-compassion (Dr. Kristin Neff) https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_five_myths_of_self_compassion
- The three elements of self-compassion (Dr. Kristin Neff) https://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/
- Ted Talk - The power of a growth mindset (Dr. Carol Dweck) https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en
- Growth Mindset for Human Resource Development (Dr. Han & Dr. Stieha) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1534484320939739
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It really helps. Thank you for your support.
Mike and Ethan build off their decision-making conversation from episodes #28 (The Art of Decision-Making at Work). They break down the pros, cons, and best-practices for making consensus decisions. Many teams feel that consensus decisions are always best. Research and Nash Consulting’s experience tell a different story. That said, there is always a place for this style of decision if used correctly.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“You can’t hold people accountable unless they know what they’re supposed to be accountable to.” - Errol Doebler
We have a very special and unique episode for you. Errol Doebler, the founder of Leader 193 and author of a new book, The Process, Art, and Science of Leadership, joins Mike and Ethan on the show. In this wide-ranging conversation, Errol shares stories from his time as a Navy SEAL and FBI Special Agent and his journey to starting a company. Errol shares his unique perspectives on creating a leadership process, managing behaviors, setting expectations, accountability, managing emotions, applying the Wim Hof Method, and so much more. Go buy his book!
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It helps. Thank you for your support.
Errol Doebler is a 1991 Graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. During his time as a Naval Officer, Errol served as Assistant Operations Officer onboard the USS Monongahela, Assistant Platoon Commander at SEAL Team FOUR, and a Platoon Commander at Seal Team ONE.
After spending time in the private sector as a sales leader, Errol joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) where he investigated International Terrorist Organizations out of the FBI’s flagship office in New York City and also served as a member of the FBI’s New York SWAT Team. Because of his background and experience, Errol was attached to the United States Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment while serving as a Special Agent for the FBI. While deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Errol participated in extensive combat operations and was subsequently presented with the FBI’s second highest award for valor, the Shield of Bravery, for his actions on the battlefield.
Errol left the FBI after 13 years of service to begin his leadership consulting firm, Leader 193, in 2016. Errol has worked with executives and teams from Fortune 100 companies, professional sports organizations, small technical startups, and individual executives across a vast array of industries around the world as the Founder of Leader 193.
“We all evolved to have monkey minds that are looking for negativity because that’s what helped us survive. But when we can learn to pause and recognize the unhelpful stories our minds are telling us, we can begin to see things more clearly and act more wisely.”
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about mindfulness. In this episode, Mike and Ethan attempt to explain mindfulness as an adaptive skill (see episodes #4 and #5), why it has been getting so much attention, and why it’s a skill that leaders can genuinely benefit from practicing. Mindfulness, much like physical fitness, doesn’t happen overnight. It is a journey that takes time, effort, and patience. The Nash team discusses their own journeys in developing the skill, the positive effects it has had on their leadership abilities, and how leaders can use it to become better at their jobs. If you like what you hear, please leave us a review. (It helps other people like you find the show.)
We mention several resources, so here they are for you to check out:
10% Happier – Book by Dan Harris
Headspace – Meditation App
Real Happiness/Real Happiness at Work – Books by Sheryl Salzburg
Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics – Book by Dan Harris
Waking Up – Meditation App
The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook – Book by Kristin Neff
Mindfulness Northwest – Washington-based mindfulness organization
Nash Consulting trainer and consultant Hana Butler joins Mike on the show for an enlightening conversation about group dynamics and how to get more out of your team. They discuss the nature of group dynamics in different environments, the different stages of team dynamics, developing healthy and productive team interactions, and so much more.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It helps. Thank you for your support.
In this very special episode, Ethan brings on a former guest to hijack the studio while Mike is on vacation. Our guest today, Andy Thompson, is an organizational development consultant and family therapist. He also co-hosts a brilliant new show called The Thought Honey Podcast. (Available wherever you get your podcasts.) They discuss content from his show, including the 4 critical questions we are always asking, how to use vulnerability to build trust and why it matters, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and how we can apply it to live better lives. You’re in for a real sweet treat!
We referenced a number of The Thought Honey Podcast episodes. Check them out! Here are the links:
Episode 5: The 4 Critical Questions
Episode 8: Trust and Leading with Vulnerability
Episode 11: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Cognitive Distortions
“Change is hard, and we are creatures of predictability and consistency. And there is something comfortable about things being the same. And there is something frightening about change.”
Whether we know it or not, change triggers fear. It’s just human. That’s why we resist change. And that’s why systems tend to resist change. If an organization is to remain healthy, it has to understand the fundamentals of creating lasting change. Its ability to adapt and adjust is vital for its success. Ethan and Mike take on the topics of change, how to manage it, how to work through resistance, avoiding “flavor of the year,” sponsorship, and more. Go forth and create change.
Learn more about Prosci here, which we mention in the show.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
“All systems resist change. And it’s often unconscious.”
In this episode, Mike and Ethan bring on a special guest: Mr. Andy Thompson. Andy, an organizational development consultant, family therapist and all-around cool dude, joins the crew to discuss a fundamental pillar to understanding how to create change in organizations: Systems thinking. Like families, organizations are rooted in a web of interconnectedness. When change is applied to one part of the system, it tends to reverberate across the entire structure. The group discusses how to use this concept to create better and more lasting change in your organization…and in your family life.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“Employees just want to know if they are influencing, deciding or neither. That’s the main principle here.”
Does it take your team 23 minutes to make a trivial decision that would take 15 minutes to actually do? Maybe not. But we all can get better at making decisions as a workgroup and as leaders. In this episode, Mike and Ethan discuss the six different decision making styles, how to choose the right style for the right moment, the importance of finding a balance using all the different styles, and how doing decision making right can lead to engagement and efficiency. Make a good decision and give this one a listen.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“We can’t afford to not be in the pre-frontal cortex. In the information age, it’s exponentially important to be in that part of our brain.” – Scott Ummel
In this wide-ranging conversation, Ethan and Mike bring on another Nash Consulting trainer and consultant, Mr. Scott Ummel. Scott, our inhouse Wizkid on the social neuroscience of leadership, discusses the concept of S.C.A.R.F. and its impact on how we lead, manage, collaborate and operate in the workplace. S.C.A.R.F. is an acronym for the five things our brains are always scanning for in our environment: Status (our pecking order in a community), Certainty (our need for consistency in our environment), Autonomy (the perception of having control), Relatedness (having a sense of inclusion) and Fairness (the need to be treated equally). Tune in to learn more about how our brains work and how we can use that information to lead well and thrive in the workplace.
We mention several resources, so here they are for you to check out:
SCARF: a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others - paper by Dr. David Rock
Leading Well from Within – book by Daniel Friedland, MD
The Body Keeps the Score – book by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Book by Yuval Noah Harari
NeuroLeadership Institute – training on the neuroscience of leadership by Dr. David Rock
Goleman EI – classes and training on emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman
“If you don’t intentionally engineer a workplace culture, it will go bad.”
When Person A has a problem with Person B and they go talk about that problem with Person C, that is what we call triangulation. If this is the way a culture handles angst in general, look out. In this episode, Ethan and Mike tackle the tough problem of workplace negativity and how to build a culture based on trust and respect. They discuss the problems with workplace negativity, why we triangulate, healthy strategies for handling issues with a colleague, and what to do if people are trying to draw you into their negativity. If workgroups all get on the same page with how to handle negativity, amazing things happen. Trust us. Please listen and share.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“It’s your job as a manager that your employees know what they need to know….”
In this special episode, Mike Nash sits down with Eric Ummel, an Executive Vice President for CSAA Insurance Group (a AAA-affiliated company), as they discuss the nitty-gritties of successfully communicating with a remote workforce. When you don’t physically see your employees in the workplace, being a rock star communicator can be difficult. The two long-time friends discuss how to work around the communication barriers inherent in distributed teams, the advantages and disadvantages of digital communication, how information distribution is related to employee morale, how to be an information curator, creating a personalized communication plan with each employee, and much more. Enjoy!
Your teams need you. Maybe now more than ever. How can you stay engaged with your remote employees, enough for them to feel cared about and respected? In this episode, Mike and Ethan bring on a Nash Consulting coach and trainer to discuss the topic: Anna Gibson, Clinical Psychologist. The cohort discuss ways to show care and support, how to make sure you’re not overstepping with your communication (a tendency when teams shift to working remotely), how to set up systems to make sure your team is efficiently communicating about essential items, how to make one-on-ones worthwhile, and how to foster a healthy remote-working relationship with your team.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
In this episode, we dive into a timely subject: running remote meetings. Remote meetings are tough, but when done right, you can still have effective (and enjoyable) meetings. Mike and Ethan touch on what technologies to use, how to foster an environment of connection, how to create a Virtual Meeting Code of Conduct with your team, and tools for effectively facilitating a remote meeting. If you are now like us and running all your meetings via an online platform, then tune in. (Special Bonus: Tune in to hear Ethan’s best impression of Gollum.)
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
During these times of uncertainty, it’s important that we keep things in perspective and take care of ourselves and our communities. In this special edition episode that was recorded on March 18th, 2020, Mike Nash shares 10 things he’ll be doing and thinking about during this challenging time to help manage his own wellbeing.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
We are back for more on meetings! This time, Mike and Ethan Nash discuss tools that facilitators and leaders can use to create a healthy workplace meeting culture. First, they get into different ways a team can work collaboratively to create a meeting “code of conduct” that every team should have. They also discuss why it’s important to foster a culture of openness and safety and how to do it. Then, they dissect some of the skills needed to successfully facilitate a meeting (and why it’s such a hard job) and how to address bad behaviors. If you want better meetings, tune in.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“We believe that in many ways, meetings are a microcosm of the workplace culture. You can watch a meeting and see so much about the health of the group. You see respect or lack thereof. You see decision making processes. You see efficiencies or lack thereof. You see how they collaborate. It’s all right there.”
Join Ethan and Mike Nash as they break down how to have effective and enjoyable meetings. They discuss the ingredients of effective meetings, why workplace meetings are creating a work-life balance problem, the roles of a meeting facilitator and notetaker, how to have a great meeting agenda, who to include in meetings, the four items you need to end every meeting with, and other helpful advice on how to have happy workplace meetings. Enjoy!
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
“We believe that in many ways, meetings are a microcosm of the workplace culture. You can watch a meeting and see so much about the health of the group. You see respect or lack thereof. You see decision making processes. You see efficiencies or lack thereof. You see how they collaborate. It’s all right there.”
Join Ethan and Mike Nash as they break down how to have effective and enjoyable meetings. They discuss the ingredients of effective meetings, why workplace meetings are creating a work-life balance problem, the roles of a meeting facilitator and notetaker, how to have a great meeting agenda, who to include in meetings, the four items you need to end every meeting with, and other helpful advice on how to have happy workplace meetings. Enjoy!
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
Ethan and Mike wrap up our behavior styles series by discussing its relation to trust, stress, cultures, gender, society and more.
If you find value in this podcast and would like to support us, please go to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to our show and give us a review. Reviews help other people find the show, plus it’s good feedback for us to have. Thank you for your support.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
We have reached our final behavior style of this series! Are you still with us? We hope so, because Listeners are sometimes the most misunderstood of the four styles, so listen up! (No pun intended.) Mike and Ethan break down the top 10 wants, need and expectations of Listeners, and also dive into some of their most common growth opportunities. There are more Listeners in the population than any of the other styles and thank god for that! We need them in our workplaces. They keep the peace, notice when people are treated unfairly, love to help where needed, show empathy towards others and so many more terrific qualities. But like all the styles, these qualities can be a double-edged sword if Listeners are not careful. For instance, it may be harder for them to let go of past wrong doings of others (whether real or perceived), and they might have trouble speaking their truth if it’s contentious. Please join us as we explore Listeners and how they tend to show up in the workplace.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
In this episode, Mike and Ethan continue our series on behavior styles by trying to break the record for the shortest podcast ever.
In the fourth episode of our series on behavior styles, we explore the wants, needs and expectations of Conductors. Mike and Ethan open up about their own growth opportunities with the way they show up in the workplace (and in life) since they are both Conductors. We call Conductors our “air traffic controllers” – they have a knack for seeing the big picture, which allows them to charge ahead with a vision of the end result. Because of this, they get past obstacles, take on big challenges and make tough decisions. Due to these abilities, they often find themselves in leadership roles. But as you’ll see, these qualities don’t come without some challenges. If Conductors aren’t careful, they may end up making people feel like pieces on a chessboard, which can be especially damaging if you’re in a management role. Join in as the Nash team dissects all the great things Conductors bring to the workplace, as well as growth opportunities they see for this behavior style.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“If you have Promotors in the workplace with high morale, you’re golden. They can’t help but be influential. What we tell our promotors is ‘you have a superpower. Use it for good, not evil.’ ”
Welcome back! In the third installment of this behavior styles series, Ethan and Mike breakdown the wants, needs and expectations of the second of four styles: Promotors. Given that Mike is a Promoter himself, he takes the lead on this episode (in Promoter-like fashion). Promoters take the lead (see?), jump on new opportunities, get s*** done, help us not get stuck in old patterns and bring a sense of fun to the workplace. These are the kind of people who will be influential…no matter what. That means if you have a Promotor with high morale, that morale will be contagious throughout the workplace. But it’s a double-edged sword. If they aren’t careful, they may end up infecting the workplace with negativity. This episode will help Promoters understand the type of incredible characteristics they bring to the table and how to optimize them, and what some of their growth opportunities might be. Additionally, it will help those who work with Promoters to understand what these folks need to be successful and feel motivated in the workplace. Enjoy!
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“When trust and respect are high, these differences attract, and they work really well together. And when trust and respect are low, these same differences can be really problematic.”
In the second installment of our series on behavior styles, the Nash team digs into the first of four styles: Analyzers. But before they get into that, they first discuss what behavior styles are and what they are not, and how they are different than other personality assessments.
In the workplace, we need Analyzers. They help us stay the course, make sure things are done right and help raise the bar for quality. At the same time, if they aren’t careful, they can give off an unsavory vibe that says, “you’re not good enough yet,” and they don’t even know they’re doing it. Ethan, an Analyzer himself, shares some of his mishaps when interacting with other styles and discusses some of his growth opportunities as someone with this style. If you access this style or work with someone who does, tune in!
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“You don’t know what you don’t know about how you show up and how you impact those around you.”
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Why am I surrounded by idiots?” If you have (or if you happen to work with other human beings), you should tune in. Mike and Ethan discuss why understanding your own behavior style can improve relationships in the workplace, and how understanding the behavior styles of others will lead to greater business (and life) outcomes. They break down the four spectrums of human behavior: how we make decisions, how we like our environments, how we accomplish tasks and how we relate to others.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“This is just a huge systems piece. If this is on everybody’s radar, then the system is going to be better off. Things are going to get done. People are going to be more productive.”
This topic isn’t the sexiest, but it’s endlessly important. It’s all about creating a culture of reliability and trust in the workplace. If you’re a manager and give someone a task to complete, what happens if you don’t tell them when you need it by? Furthermore, if you receive a task and don’t ask when it’s needed by, what happens? It often doesn’t get done and people begin to lose trust with each other. Ethan and Mike Nash discuss a very simple, but key, systems piece that they’ve seen turn a culture from one of low trust and low reliability to one that flat out gets s*** done.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“All the time you’re taking with these regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings with your employees pays itself back with higher morale, more engaged employees, better relationships and more trust. So, a few in-depth conversations a week doesn’t seem like too much time to me.”
Running one-on-one meetings, without being hyperbolic, is probably the most important practice that a manager can take on. Don’t believe us? Tune into Ethan and Mike’s conversation and they’ll try to change your mind. In this episode, the boys discuss why running regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings with your employees is vital to your team’s success. Additionally, they get into the weeds about what questions you should (and shouldn’t) ask and how to ask them, how to keep a task-relationship balance in these meetings, why relationship building is different from friendship building, how to prepare for these meetings, how to make these meetings work if you have a ton of employees, and more nitty-gritties.
If you’d like a free e-book of great one-on-one questions to ask your employees, shoot us an email at contact@nashconsulting.com and we’ll send you one.
For more reading on running great, effective one-on-one meetings, check out this blog post.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
“When you’re a leader, success is about helping other people grow. That’s really what we’re talking about here with these skills.”
Geekery is afoot as Mike and Ethan drop a few Lord of the Rings references while they help managers explore the skills they absolutely need to be practicing. The main message of part two of our series on the Top 15 Management Skills is that your job as a manager is to help your employees grow. As a manager, these 15 skills need to be on your radar if you expect to build and sustain morale, establish trust and respect with your employees, get s*** done and help create the workplaces we all want to be in.
Turn on, tune in and drop us a review if you have found any value in this show! Stitcher and Apple Podcasts is the best place to do that. (It helps other people find this show.)
The Top 15 Management Skills:
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Show caring & respect
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Advocate for your people
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Communicate, communicate, communicate
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Involve others in decision making…be collaborative
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Be consistent, fair & equitable
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Give autonomy and trust
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Ask for (and be open to) feedback
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Deal with issues…fix problems
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Be approachable
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Give recognition and thanks
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Hold employees accountable
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Be available and responsive
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Follow through and follow up
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Make your expectations clear
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Provide resources and training
Resources:
First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently – Book by Marcus Buckingham and the Gallup Press
"Some of these other skills you can be challenged in and still be alright, but this one you just have to have if you're a manager."
If you’re following the plot, you’ll remember that in episode #2 Mike got up on his soap box and proclaimed, “skilled managers equal high morale, which equals all those cool things you can’t pay for and you can’t punish for.”
What the hell was he talking about?
Tune into this episode where the overly caffeinated Nash team gives a quick and dirty look at some of the top skills that, according to research, are the biggest bang for your buck in terms of managing people effectively.
The Top 15 Management Skills:
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Show caring & respect
-
Advocate for your people
-
Communicate, communicate, communicate
-
Involve others in decision making…be collaborative
-
Be consistent, fair & equitable
-
Give autonomy and trust
-
Ask for (and be open to) feedback
-
Deal with issues…fix problems
-
Be approachable
-
Give recognition and thanks
-
Hold employees accountable
-
Be available and responsive
-
Follow through and follow up
-
Make your expectations clear
-
Provide resources and training
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Resources:
First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently – Book by Marcus Buckingham and the Gallup Press
Robert Crosby – Founder of the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS)
“Just saying ‘good job’ isn’t always enough – people need to really think about what they did right in order to create a road map for repeating the behavior in the future.”
The Nashes return to their regularly scheduled program in this third and final installment of the feedback series. This episode is all about the power of giving positive feedback! Giving positive feedback has nothing to do with warm-fuzzy feelings and kumbaya circles – it’s about human psychology. The bottom line is that your employees need to know when they’ve done good work and why their work is excellent, or they might not be your employees for much longer. But beware! Giving positive feedback isn’t as straightforward as it sounds: if used incorrectly, it can backfire on an unsuspecting manager. Mike and Ethan will teach you why positive feedback matters and how to use it correctly in order to build employee engagement, create a more productive workplace and get more s*** done.
Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Resources:
The Feedback Fallacy – Harvard Business Review article by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
The Puzzle of Motivation – TED Talk by Daniel Pink
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Book by Daniel Pink
“It’s important that you acknowledge that this relationship you have with your peers is going to change. It’s just part of the deal. And we need to be prepared for that.” The Nashes take a break from the feedback series to discuss an issue they’ve been getting a lot of questions about: "I am friends with the people I work with, but now I’ve been promoted. How do I go from peer to my peers’ manager without making it awkward as hell for everyone?” In this episode, Ethan and Mike discuss the pitfalls of failing to make adjustments in your relationships when you become a manager, the first steps to take as a new manager, how to build respect from the get-go, what to do if your former peers challenge your new authority, how to manage your relationship with a best friend that you now manage and other steps to take if you find yourself in this situation. Have topics you’d like for the Nash team to tackle? Drop us an email with your questions, and they’ll take a stab at it! Contact@nashconsulting.com Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear. For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com Resources: The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t – Book by Robert Sutton
“There is only one thing, and one thing only, that you are allowed to give feedback about.”
In the last episode, Mike and Ethan Nash broke down the basics of delivering feedback in a way that actually communicates your truth while still keeping you connected relationally to the other person. Now it’s time to crank it up a notch. Welcome to the graduate-level course of giving feedback. In part 2, the Nash team explains why you can only give feedback about one thing: behavior. Not attitudes, not intentions, only behavior. They break down the three elements of good feedback: behavior, the impact of that behavior and replacement behavior. Additionally, they touch on the pitfalls of giving feedback via email or notes…a big no-no.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.
Resources:
The Power of Vulnerability – TED Talk by Dr. Brene Brown
CORRECTION: Please note that The Power of Vulnerability by Dr. Brene Brown was a TED Talk she gave, not a book as it was stated in this show. Her 2010 TEDxHouston talk on the power of vulnerability is one of most watched talks on TED.com.
“The main principle here is that your tone and body language have to give the message that you’re in their corner.”
Ethan gives his dad some tough feedback as they discuss a seemingly trivial topic that many people receive bad advice on. This episode is on how to give feedback in a way that tells your truth while also keeping you connected relationally to the other person. In Nash Consulting’s 20+ years of working with all types of organizations, they often hear leaders proclaim that they “have a feedback rich culture.” Although this may be true, these feedback cultures are not always healthy ones. The father and son duo discuss the pitfalls of delivering poor feedback, why the feedback sandwich (AKA the s*** sandwich) can be problematic, and the fundamentals of successfully delivering tough feedback.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter mailing list.
“As a manager, as a spouse, as a partner, as a parent, as a friend – the message of openness and non-defensiveness is what makes you approachable, it’s what builds trust and respect, it’s what allows you to hear the truth, it’s what allows you to grow.”
Join father and son duo, Mike and Ethan Nash, as they attempt to hack the evolutionary tendency to get defensive. Defensiveness is a fear response, and all our fearless ancestors were eaten by saber-tooth tigers. This episode is all about how to receive feedback non-defensively, even if the feedback is untrue. They discuss why defensiveness is built into us, why it’s not as useful today, how to stay connected with your colleagues so you can hear the truth, and why you simply cannot be an effective manager unless your employees know it’s “safe” to give you feedback.
By the way, if you have any feedback for us about this show, please email Ethan at ethan@nashconsulting.com. (And we won’t be defensive, we promise.)
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.
Check out our YouTube page for management greatness:
“This skill comes pretty naturally to about 30% of the population, and 90% of people think they’re within that 30%.”
In part 2 of adaptive skills, father and son duo, Mike and Ethan Nash, get down to the basics of how to grow and develop the most important skills for managerial (and personal) success. Adaptive skills are the skills that we brought with us from childhood, and they make or break our success as adults. You may be thinking, “Well, if I didn’t bring these skills with me from childhood, I guess I’m screwed.” Wrong! The Nash’s explain the formula for growing and developing skills and then dive into a specific adaptive skill that Mike is still working on (hint: it requires him to shut up every so often) to demonstrate the process.
NOTE: If you’ve already mastered every single adaptive skill known to humankind, feel free to skip this episode.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.
“These are the skills that we brought with us from childhood, and they make or break our success as adults.”
Join father and son duo, Mike and Ethan Nash, as they sip on cheap wine and get vulnerable about their growth opportunities. In this episode, they explore one of Nash Consulting’s core principles: The importance of continually developing your adaptive skills. The elder and younger Nash dissect the three different types of skills, discuss the most vital type of skills for managerial and personal success, the relationship between adaptive skills and emotional IQ, and why we must always have one eye on growing and developing ourselves in order to be effective managers. Cheers!
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.
“Many people spend nearly half their waking hours in relationship with this other person who has power over them, and that’s weird. It’s kind of unnatural, because most people, whether conscious or not, don’t feel comfortable with other people having power over them.”
Join father and son duo, Mike and Ethan Nash, as Mike steps up onto one of his favorite soapboxes and Ethan attempts to reconcile with the fact that his father is also his boss. This episode is about the Power Differential: the power managers have over their direct reports, and how to use it for good and not for evil. Having another adult in your life who has so much control over your time, tasks, and more is a bit…weird. So, how do we, as managers, wrestle with the fact that most people don’t like it when others have power over them, while still being responsible for running a productive workplace? They discuss how to avoid exaggerating the Power Differential without completely eliminating it, and why it’s vital for an organization’s health that managers understand this concept.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.
“Employees tend to get promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. This happens all over the place – the Peter Principle is alive and well in the vast majority of organizations.”
Join father and son duo, Mike and Ethan Nash, as they spend another 40 minutes attempting to help managers grow their skills. If you didn’t listen to episode 1, it is recommended that you start there before diving in here. In this episode, Mike and Ethan beat their favorite dead horse: a wild mustang named Morale. The two of them dissect the concept of the Peter Principle and why nearly every company falls victim to this dynamic, they explore the research-based Top 15 Management Skills, and they discuss why the skills of a manager is directly related to the morale of a workplace.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.
“You can pay employees for their back and their hands, but they volunteer their hearts and their brains.” - Dr. Stephen R. Covey
Join father and son duo, Mike and Ethan Nash, as they discuss a topic that may cause you to say, “Come on, enough already. The subject of morale has been beaten into the ground.” The Nash’s response to that? No, it hasn’t, because they work with leaders all the time who really don’t get what morale really is, why it truly matters, and why they must never stop talking about it. In this episode, Mike and Ethan discuss the four sources of morale, why morale is your job as a manager, what you get when you have a low-morale workplace, all the really cool things you get with high-morale, tactics for assessing your workplace’s morale, and more. Their bottom line? High morale in the workplace is the only way you’ll get all the cool things you can’t pay for or punish for.
For more information on Nash Consulting, visit their website at www.nashconsulting.com
Text the word “LEADING” to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting’s monthly newsletter.