The Modern Manager

Planning an agenda feels like it takes forever, so too often, we skip it or do it poorly at the last minute. But that’s often because we treat each meeting like we’re starting from scratch. Instead, what if you perfected your weekly team meeting, brainstorm session or any other type of meeting you hold regularly and then just used that same agenda structure again so meeting prep becomes fast and easy? That’s called creating a meeting portfolio. This episode breaks down exactly how to design a meeting once, so it works every single time you use it.
Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: The Hidden Cost of Winging Your Meetings
(01:06) What Is a Meeting Portfolio? (Episode Overview)
(01:36) Why Most Managers Reinvent Every Meeting From Scratch
(02:23) Building the Core Template: Name, Purpose, and Structure
(03:57) Adding Pre-Work to Complete Your Template
(05:01) Iterating Until Your Meeting Design Actually Works
(05:38) Your Action Step: Build and Use Your First Template
(06:44) Closing Thoughts and Recap
Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: 427-transcript
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1
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The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!
#Leadership #ManagementTips #MeetingCulture #TeamManagement #Productivity #WorkplaceCulture #MeetingDesign #LeadershipDevelopment

Most of what happens in a workday, from how you open a meeting to how you respond to bad news, runs on autopilot. Habits, not decisions, are doing the heavy lifting. Behavior scientist BJ Fogg explains why willpower fails, why "bad habits" aren't really the enemy, and how one tiny action, done consistently, can quietly reshape how you see yourself as a leader, teammate, and person.

Guest Bio
BJ Fogg, PhD, is a behavior scientist at Stanford University, where he founded the Behavior Design Lab. In addition to his research, Fogg teaches industry innovators how human behavior really works. He created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Find out more at BJFogg.com and TinyHabits.com.
Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: Meet BJ Fogg, Habit Design Expert
(01:06) How Habits Quietly Run Your Workday
(04:15) Building New Habits vs. Breaking Old Ones
(07:40) A Gratitude Habit in Action: BJ's Own Example
(11:23) How Small Habits Reshape Your Identity
(18:43) The Power of "Shine": Celebrating Small Wins to Make Habits Stick
(24:15) Coaching Your Team's Habits Through Specific Praise
(28:43) Closing Thoughts: Lessons from a Great Manager

Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_f7ADen1bpZN0FM21os0kTtb5GgQ_aSDAegwKCkNGA4/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1

Keep Up with BJ Fogg
Website: https://www.bjfogg.com
Tiny Habits: https://www.tinyhabits.com
Behavior Model: https://www.behaviormodel.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjfogg/
Social: @bjfogg on most social platforms
Training: Learn Fogg Behavior Design directly from BJ at bjfogg.com/training

Join my newsletter to get episodes and the one page takeaways delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themoddernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!

#Leadership #TinyHabits #BehaviorChange #ManagementTips #WorkplaceCulture #HabitFormation #TeamLeadership #PersonalDevelopment #ManagerLife #EmployeeEngagement

Most AI tools promise to make you more productive, but few actually remove the friction hiding in your daily grind. This episode breaks down four AI tools used every single day, not for the novelty, but for the real bottlenecks they eliminate: typing, email triage, meeting notes, and building the small tool you always wished existed. If you want less busywork and more bandwidth for the parts of management that actually matter, this one's for you.

Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: Becoming Obsessed with AI Tools
(00:44) The Core Idea: Removing Friction, Not Just Adding Features
(01:59) Wispr Flow: Ditching Typing for Dictation
(02:53) Shortwave: Taming Email Overload with AI Sorting
(04:18) Granola: Meeting Notes That Write Themselves
(05:30) Replit: Building Custom Apps Without Coding
(07:12) What These Four Tools Have in Common
(07:33) Your Challenge This Week & Closing Thoughts

Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u3xuVepkPpSSdju0--Kgu4M8U4qetYczr1h7MmCKGrY/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1
✨ Check out Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai/r?MAMIE12
✨ Check out Granola: https://join.granola.ai/t/e74nryr4pc
✨ Check out Shortwave: https://www.shortwave.com/
✨ Check out Replit: https://replit.com/refer/mamieks

Join my newsletter to get episodes delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themoddernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode! 

#Leadership #ManagementTips #AIforManagers #Productivity #ArtificialIntelligence #WorkSmarter #ManagementSkills #FutureOfWork #TechTools #TimeManagement

Most leaders pour all their energy into managing the people who report to them and forget the other two-thirds of the job: managing up to their boss and across to the peers who can make or break a project. Skip those relationships and you end up stuck in silos, guessing what your boss actually wants, and wondering why cross-functional projects keep stalling. Here's the mindset shift and the exact moves that fix all three.
Guest Bio

For almost 20 years, Kristen Harcourt has been a trusted partner to executives and emerging leaders across hundreds of organizations around the globe, helping them unlock extraordinary, sustainable results through the power of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and conscious leadership. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, she's a professionally accredited coach who empowers leaders to uncover their strengths, challenge their blind spots, and lead with purpose and impact. She hosts the Inspirational Leadership Podcast.

Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: The Art of Managing Up, Down, and Across
(01:28) Defining the Three Directions of Management
(05:53) How to Open Up the Conversation When Managing Up
(10:11) A Prioritization Tool — and Protecting Your Work-Life Balance
(14:22) Managing Across: Why Curiosity Beats Assumptions
(21:39) Building Trust With Cross-Functional Teams You Don't Manage
(27:52) When (and How) to Advocate for an Overloaded Teammate
(31:07) What Makes a Great Boss — Closing Thoughts

Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ynqnot4_ewNELrzpTs6bCT1Kq7qa0jSDdfp68rBF1PI/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1

Guest Links
Website: https://kristenharcourt.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenharcourt/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristenharcourt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenharcourt/
Email: kristen@kristenharcourt.com

Join my newsletter to get episodes and the key takeaways guides delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themoddernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!

#Leadership #ManagingUp #EmotionalIntelligence #TeamCommunication #WorkplaceCulture #Management #EQinLeadership #CrossFunctionalTeams #LeadershipDevelopment #TrustAtWork

Most of us have an instinctual positive response to great work.“This is amazing, thank you so much.” It feels warm and authentic, but could have been said about anyone or any work. The lack of specificity means those words are cheap and the positive impact they make is short-lived. Here's how to show authentic appreciation, using AI as a thinking partner (not a ghost writer) to pinpoint exactly what you appreciate so you can convey a truly meaningful message of thanks.

Conversation Topics
(00:00) Introduction: A Team Member's Effort and My Weak “Great Job”
(00:34) Welcome to the Show, Plus a Confession
(01:23) The Real Cost of Vague Appreciation
(02:21) Turning to Claude to Find the Specific Words
(03:17) Own It, Then Say It: Turning the Draft Into Real Appreciation
(04:21) The Right Way to Use AI: Thinking Partner, Not Ghostwriter
(05:31) This Week's Exercise and Free Resources

Additional Resources
✨ Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ft_fJZsu_cNReD1sjjPuSVaOo-u8hxu7G6fa2wp0yiU/edit?usp=sharing
✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipwithmamie/
✨ Visit my website for more: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
✨ Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7jhYz8b16g1SsLia4EhO5w?sub_confirmation=1

Join my newsletter to get episodes delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.themoddernmanager.com

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast that helps you close the gap between knowing what good management is and actually doing it. Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode!

#Leadership #ManagementTips #EmployeeAppreciation #AIforManagers #TeamLeadership #FeedbackMatters #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeRecognition #ManagerLife