MC70 Self-Leadership is the Foundation of Management with special guest Morgan Legge
Release Date: 01/15/2024
MC93 Knowing When to Move On - our final episode
Management Café
Yes, this is Tim and Pilar's last episode, so we talk about moving on and the importance of wrapping things up. Interview with Andy Gotts photographer that Pilar mentions: Find out more about Pilar and Bree’s book on loneliness in remote teams:
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MC92 Manager Mindset: Perfectionism
Management Café
In this episode, hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about the dangers of being a perfectionist when managing a team, and why it's different to being a perfectionist individual contributor. (And you'll hear for yourself how neither Tim nor Pilar are perfectionists...)
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MC91 Manager Mindset: Loyalty
Management Café
Hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti have a good chat about the nature of loyalty, who we should be loyal to at work and what happens when we get the balance wrong.
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A quick thank you and we'll be back next year!
Management Café
Have an excellent start to 2025 - from Tim and Pilar.
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MC90 Manager Mindset: Pessimism
Management Café
Who knew that talking about pessimism could be so much fun... even if most of the laughter is self-deprecating. In today's episode, hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about what happens when we let our "inner pessimist" come through. For more information, visit
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MC89 Manager Mindset: Comparison
Management Café
The new series on Manager Mindsets starts with a discussion of comparison. Comparison is unavoidable, especially in the age of social media. It can feed difficult and unpleasant emotions like doubt, jealousy and imposter syndrome. Indeed, someone once said “Comparison is the thief of joy”. And if we aren’t careful comparison can even tempt us into mindlessly copying others, which takes us away from our own unique path. But in many aspects comparison can be helpful. It can be wonderfully motivating. It can show us what can be improved and help us understand what we value. It can even...
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MC88 Feedback, Mindset vs Cognitive Tendencies and Long-Covid Awareness
Management Café
As co-hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti wrap up the Manager Emotions series, they explain why they're moving onto mindset, and how this is different from cognitivie tendencies (and why they might well be mixing the two up!). Plus, some feedback on our episode on Emotional Contagion, and Pilar shares an episode from Workplace Geeks where one of her connections talks about living with long-covid and how this affects her work life. Get in touch with Pilar and Tim through the
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MC87 Manager Emotions: Confusion
Management Café
Our hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about the many times they've been confused, the difficulties in feeling the emotion as individual and manager, and what happens when a team member becomes confused.
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MC86 Manager Emotions: Compassion
Management Café
For the sixth episode of our series on manager emotions, Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about Compassion. Good leaders don't just remove obstacles and show their people the way forward. People also need to know that their leaders will support them in the hard times. And importantly, they need leaders to demonstrate compassion when they are in difficulty. This is distinct from sympathy - where the leader might acknowledge someone is suffering but not do anything to help or even really align with their emotions. Empathy is closer - it helps when leaders can demonstrate that they...
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MC85 Manager Emotions: Pride
Management Café
Welcome to the fifth episode of our series on manager emotions, where hosts Tim Burgess and Pilar Orti talk about Pride. We want to see good work, both in ourselves as managers and also in the teams that we lead. Pride creates a virtuous cycle that rewards and encourages healthy achievement. Do a good thing -> share this achievement with others -> receive recognition -> feel proud -> do more good things. But pride can be a tricky emotion in the workplace. Excessive displays of pride can turn people off. Pride can also clash with other attributes, most notably humility....
info_outlineThe wonderful Morgan Legge, founder of Pivot Your Work and Head of Organizational Change at Convert.com, joins the Management Cafe! Morgan, Pilar and Tim met through online communities and podcasting, a great example of what we discussed in #65 "Building a network outside your organisation".
You might need 2 coffees for this wide ranging conversation covering Morgan's path to her leadership style, self-leadership, holacracy, how managers can protect their team against a toxic company culture, small changes managers can make that kickstart a broader change and how to take feedback well.
01:25 mins Morgan, Pilar and Tim share how they all met. Unsurprisingly online communities and podcasts all played a part!
6:15 Morgan recommends an interesting addition to the Management Cafe menu: the London Fog.
7:10 We learn more about Morgan's current role as Head of Organizational Change at Convert.com
8:35 Back in episode #60 we discussed whether leaders are born or made? Morgan says leadership is in her DNA. She's particularly drawn to coaching and leadership as a servant to teams. And her style of leadership has been influenced by her experiences being micromanaged and being a leader when she wasn't a manager.
9:55 Morgan implemented self-management at Convert.com and learnt that even if leadership isn't in someone's DNA they can learn to lead.
10:50 Tim says that we need to lead in ways that feel comfortable and authentic to us. And it can take time to develop that style.
11:30 It was pivotal for Morgan to establish boundaries on what she would and would not accept in a work environment.
12:30 For Morgan, leadership starts with self-leadership. This ties in well to Holacracy, an organizational model of decentralised management which empowers the people closest to the work to make decisions about that work. But self-management delivers great outcomes no matter what kind of management structure you are in.
16:30 Leadership skill development can be extended futher "down the chain" in organisations to help foster self-leadership.
17:00 Tim has some scars from organisations that weaponised the concept of self leadership. And seen people diminished by their experiences of being managed. To encourage self leadership the company must provide a suitable level of safety and opportunity.
19:15 Mid-level managers can create and sustain culture within their team that is different to the overall company culture. But it requires a lot of effort.
22:00 There is a great untapped demand for self-leadership amongst individual contributors and managers of teams. Morgan's new venture encourages these people to develop their capability and connect with others walking the same pathway.
26:10 Big changes can start with small steps. For example managers can start with how they structure their meetings. Meetings are regular and somewhat repetitive which gives lots of opportunities to practice our new behaviours.
30:00 Tim shares his slow and painful road to personal changes.
30:45 Morgan explains how to take feedback with curiosity and grace. Giving feedback takes bravery and it helps if we acknowledge their effort and demonstrate that we are receptive to them. This is especially powerful for leaders to role model.
35:00 Even uncomfortable feedback conversations generally improve the atmosphere, because at least everyone gets some clarity. Pilar welcomes constructive feedback but thinks that she could approach receiving positive feedback with more curiosity and grace. Morgan, Pilar and Tim all agree that receiving feedback, whether positive or constructive, gets easier with practice!
40:30 Morgan outlines her vision for Pivot Your Work and rescues the hosts with the outro. What a star guest!!
What about you, dear listener? Do you foster self-leadership in yourself and your teams? We'd love to hear from you!
Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/
You can connect here with Morgan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganlegge/
pivotyourwork.com
And get in touch with Tim and Pilar through managementcafepodcast.com