Tonya Harrison: 0:11

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Operations Toolbox podcast for business leaders. This is the show where we help business leaders build high- performing build teams and lead with clarity and confidence. I'm your host, Tonya D Harrison, and today we are taking a different look. During this podcast, we're going to do something different. Today I want to answer some of the most common questions I hear from new leaders of teams. These are the top five questions that I hear and we're talking about from making time for one-on-ones to navigating tricky team dynamics. We'll cover practical strategies to help you thrive in your role. Let's get started.

Tonya Harrison: 1:00

The very first question I have is how do I make time for one-on-ones with so much to do? Listen, I get it. I get it. I have been there. You have this to-do list and it is extremely long and it's overwhelming and it is easy to think about. How do I set aside time to now do something else, to do one-on-ones? But I want you to change the way you think. One-on-ones are an investment in your team's success and in your own sanity. Trust me when I tell you this, and it is going to require a shift in the mindset, right? So a lot of times we think I don't have a lot of time. It's easier or quicker for me to do it myself and I have been there and I did it but I can tell you with 100% certainty that there is a better answer and these one-on-ones can be game changing when you learn the foundational way to do them right. So we were always told you need to do one-on-ones, you need to be meeting with your team, and a lot of times we're not given any structure to it. So I want to color some of this in for you so that you could have some actionable steps that you can go back and start implementing right now when it comes to doing your one-on-ones, and so that you could have some actionable steps that you can go back and start implementing right now when it comes to doing your one-on-ones, and so that you can start reaping some of the benefits.

Tonya Harrison: 2:30

The very first thing you want to do is time block. You wanna dedicate recurring time on your calendar for one-on-ones. This is set aside as that sacred time that is going to be for one-on-ones. If you know that there's a time that you are extremely busy and you're always interrupted or there's always some type of other meetings going on, you don't want to schedule your one-on-ones doing that. You want to pick a time that you could do it and be consistent at it. Pick a time that you could do it and be consistent at it.

Tonya Harrison: 3:10

Now, a lot of times, people recommend that you do one-on-ones for one hour blocks. For me, I learned that doing them in shorter period of time works. Now, how frequent you do it is going to be up to you. So, initially, if you're not doing any one-on-ones, you want to try. You want to, you know, try different times, try different lengths of times and things like that, until you find something that works for you and your team. Just to get started, I would recommend doing them biweekly and you could do 20 to 30 minute blocks, right? So If you have multiple people, everybody gets 20 to 30 minutes every other week, all right.

Tonya Harrison: 3:46

So the first thing you're going to do is you're going to time block. You're going to block out some time. The second thing you want to do is you want to set an agenda, because this time it has to be focused time. You don't want to get in there fumbling and talking about, you know, things that may not be a priority, that may not add value, about things that may not be a priority, that may not add value. You wanna have an agenda, something that you and your team member are able to share, and something that both of you can add to and review before meetings and after meetings. So keep it simple, though, right? So you're gonna talk about things like the progress what progress are they making? Do they have any challenges? You're gonna talk about what like the progress what progress are they making? Do they have any challenges? You're going to talk about what your priorities are, another thing that you definitely want to include.

Tonya Harrison: 4:33

If you are meeting twice a month, at least once a month, I would talk specifically about what their goals are. What are their career goals? What does that journey look like? How can you help them achieve some of the things that they want to achieve? This is critical when we're talking about building relationships and building trust. You need to understand what their objective is, not just yours. These one on ones are not just for you. It's for both of you.

Tonya Harrison: 5:01

The second thing you want to do is leverage any tools, right? So I mentioned having a set agenda and I mentioned having a shared agenda, so it could be a shared document. That's a tool that you could use. You could also use project management platforms, so there's so many of them Asana, basecamp, clickup. You could use a project management software to kind of help you to share agendas but also to keep up with tasks, because some of them have where you can have an agenda and you can turn certain things that are listed on the agenda into a task. So it is really easy to kind of keep track of all of the things that you talked about For me.

Tonya Harrison: 5:45

Now, this last point may not work for everyone, but this last one worked for me Batch when possible. If you have multiple people that you are working with so say, you have a team of five people you may want to batch two or three one-on-ones, one right behind each other, or have five 10-minute breaks if you need a break in between. Now, the reason why I like to do that is because when I'm having one-on-ones, I'm in a certain mindset. I don't want to have a one-on-one and then go off and start working on this report and get all deep into it and then have to stop and change my mindset or my mind frame to now go back to another one-on-one. For me it works when I have them right behind each other. That just works really well.

Tonya Harrison: 6:38

And then the other thing is my day isn't broken up. I can get my one-on-ones done, I can make sure this time is set aside for exactly what it's for, and then I can start doing all of my other work. So with that, you're really going to have to play around with it. If you're doing them every other week, I could do two this week, three next week you know what I mean and then every week I'm doing it. Or I can do five in one week and then have a week off. However, it works for you.

Tonya Harrison: 7:08

You have to determine what your schedule is, but doing the one-on-ones are extremely important. It gives you an opportunity to check in with your team, to build a relationship, to help them, to let them know that you hear them, you see them, you're there for them and you're going to help them throughout. Let them know that you hear them, you see them, you're there for them and you're going to help them throughout this process and that you want to see them be successful. That's why, at least one of them during that month, you need to be talking about them and what their goals are and what their objectives are. All right. So remember this isn't just another task to do. This is an opportunity for you to address issues, to strengthen your team's engagement and your relationship with each and every member of your team. All right, so that is number one. That is about how to make those one-on-ones work right Now.

Tonya Harrison: 8:03

The second one is I got promoted over my friends. What's the best approach to managing people who were peers? I have to tell you, talking about transitioning from peer to manager, initially it can feel awkward, but it is extremely common. It is a common challenge. A lot of us have gone through it and you can successfully navigate it Right. So here's a couple of tips when it comes to doing that. First of all, congratulations, if that is you, congratulations on your promotion motion.

Tonya Harrison: 8:47

One of the things that you want to do is you want to acknowledge the shift. Don't act like it didn't happen. Don't act like things are going to be the same. I can tell you right now, if things are the same, that means that you are probably, more than likely, headed for some problems. There should be a shift and there should be a change, and you want to make sure that you're having an open conversation about it with your team, letting them know that. Yes, I understand that we were peers. Here's the new role. Tell them a little bit about your new role. Let them know that you respect the past relationship, but you understand that there has to be a change and that you are committed to being fair and transparent as possible.

Tonya Harrison: 9:28

The second thing that you want to do, after you acknowledge it and you have an open conversation, you want to set boundaries. Now you definitely want to be able to continue to have a relationship but, like we said, that the dynamics of that relationship are going to relationship are going to shift. They're going to change. There's going to be some things that you probably can't tell them or some conversations that you may not be able to have, where you may have had open conversations with them before you got promoted. So there's going to be a shift and, while you do want to keep that relationship going, you definitely want to make sure you establish professional boundaries and this is going to help you avoid favoritism and it'll help you treat everyone equally. So you are going to say what those boundaries are and you're going to make sure that you are again treating everyone equally and the same Right. So meaning you are going to execute these boundaries the same.

Tonya Harrison: 10:34

Be really clear on what your expectations are, be clear about your role, be clear about what you expect from your team, and this is going to help you minimize understanding. So clarity is really going to be your friend as you navigate this transition. One of the ways you can earn their respect is by leading by example. We talk about this a lot, right? So I have these boundaries, I've set these expectations. I'm going to lead by example. So if one of my expectations is that everybody is at work on time, I need to be at work on time. So you want to make sure that you are leading by example and you're staying consistent and you are focused on helping the team to succeed. Right? So your actions is going to speak louder than your words. What you say has to be what it is that you do. All right, so don't worry about it feeling a little different At first. That is normal. That is going to happen Eventually. Everything and everyone will settle in Over time. People will adjust and they'll see that you are committed to the growth of the team and the success of the team. So just make sure you remain consistent. And again, I just want to reiterate that this is a gray area and sometimes it can be tough when you got promoted over a friend and over your peers. But I will say this if they were truly your friends, they're going to be happy for you and they're going to understand that a shift needs to happen. All right.

Tonya Harrison: 12:23

Question number three I have a lot to do. I have a lot on my plate. I don't have time to navigate. Do you have any advice? Yes, I do so. This is a classic leadership trap, right, where we feel like again, I can do it quicker, faster, better, I don't have time to delegate. Delegating is extremely time consuming and you know, initially there is some upfront time that has to be taken, but it's long-term success, right. So when it comes to delegating, this is a long game, even though you still feel the rewards in the short term, right. So when it comes to delegating, this is a long game. Even though you still feel the rewards in the short term right, there's still some effort that has to be exerted upfront. So let's talk about how do you make it manageable when you have a lot going on.

Tonya Harrison: 13:18

Start small Nobody said that you had to start delegating entire projects. Start smallate a task that doesn't require much oversight, that doesn't require much training. This is an opportunity for you to build trust and confidence with your team. Give them something that is small, see how they do, see how they respond to you, and then you start building up to something that is a little bit more detailed. A little bit that requires a lot more effort and a little bit more oversight and maybe even training on your side. So make sure you're building up to that.

Tonya Harrison: 13:59

Leverage strengths. So this is the other tip that I would give right. So all team members are not created equal. Everybody bring different value, different skills, different talents to the team. Make sure that you are utilizing those. And here is where those one-on-ones really help you along getting to understand what they like to do, what they're good at doing, some of the areas that they may have challenges on, and things like that. So all of this works together. But leverage their strength. Assign tasks based on your team's skills and interests to ensure that they feel empowered and they are capable. And that leaves less training on your end, less follow up on your end, because you're playing to their strengths. So there's going to be some things that you don't have to to teach them on. So you want to play to their strengths.

Tonya Harrison: 14:53

And then you want to create processes wherever possible. If you are delegating something to them and this is something that is done more than once, you know it is done consistently, you know, and there's not a process for it this is an opportunity to create a process, to break it down into steps, to document it, and now you actually have somebody to help you document the process, because you're not the only one that's doing it. They've been doing it. They can document the process. This is something that you can do together, shared. You could provide your input, you can review it and approve it, and now everyone has it to use. So if that person is out, you can delegate it to somebody else and they have something to start with.

Tonya Harrison: 15:39

The last thing is check in, not micromanage. So one of the things you do not want to do is to micromanage your team, but you do want to check in on them, but do it in a way that's a little structured, so they understand from the beginning that you're going to be following up. So schedule brief follow-ups so that you can address any questions that they have, so you're available to answer those questions and that you can ensure that the task or the project is moving forward. You can ensure that the task or the project is moving forward. Do not hover over them every five minutes asking for updates. And then the other thing that you don't want to do is assign a task and run. So you want to make sure that you're doing these follow-ups so that they know that they have your support and they can ask you questions if they need to ask you questions.

Tonya Harrison: 16:34

So you're not dumping, you're delegating. Anytime you delegate, it's a win-win situation. You are able to take something off your plate, give it to someone else to do it and you are able to help them grow as a team member. So this is a new skill that they may be developing. It's an opportunity to empower them and allow them to take on additional responsibilities. So delegating is a win-win. When you dump, only one person wins, and that is the manager, because you're getting something off your plate which really, in the end, most times is not a win, because you find that you have to go back and redo it because you didn't do a really great job at providing instructions and following up and answering questions. So the key to delegation is to make sure you do it in a way that's a little bit structured and that you are developing your team and you are freeing yourself up, so now you can do more higher value work or some of the work that you really should be doing but you weren't doing because you were busy taking on other tasks.

Tonya Harrison: 17:39

Question number four All right, my boss is extremely busy and doesn't have time for one on ones with me. So I'm going to tell you a little story. I had a vice president when I first became a manager. He made the attempt, great attempt. He made the attempt to try to take us through this six-week course where we would meet All of the new supervisors would meet every week and we had a book that we read and a couple of videos that we watched and we would have conversations. But one of the things that he taught us was about managing up, and this is the first time that I had heard about managing up.

Tonya Harrison: 18:20

Many times we sit back and we say, oh, my boss doesn't have time for me and you know, and we allow that to stunt our growth and we allow that to stop us from excelling. And what he was saying is who said that you can't take it into your own hands? Who said that you can't be the one to initiate one-on-ones. So I would say the same thing to you If you have a manager or someone that is really busy, doesn't take the time to do one-on-ones. You can take the initiative to schedule one-on-ones. But here's some things that I would say around it. Right, make sure that if you are booking time on your manager's calendar, that you have an agenda, you are really clear on what it is that you want to discuss and that you are letting them know that you value their time. You understand that they don't have a lot of time and you value their time. So be proactive with setting the time, requesting the meeting, setting an agenda so they know ahead of time what it is that you want to discuss. That's extremely important.

Tonya Harrison: 19:31

The other thing that I want to say make sure you do as much as you can before reaching out to your manager. So remember, now you're elevated, now you're not frontline staff, you are a supervisor, a manager. You are at a higher level, so the level of expectation is higher. Make sure you've done all of the things that you could do before scheduling time or reaching out or what have you right. So do your job to the best of your ability and when you are completely stuck and you need them, then you're going to reach out. This is going to do a couple of things. They know that you are a self-starter. To reach out, this is going to do a couple of things. They know that you are a self-starter. They know that you must really need them and their attention if you are scheduling a meeting, because this isn't something that you do very often and when you do it it is focused and it is something that will stop progress, right? So you want to make sure that you are conveying this information to them. I'm at a point where I can no longer proceed with the project. I really need your assistance. So you take the initiative, you reach out to them, you schedule the appointment, you set the agenda. So now you're taking things into your own hands. So, basically, you're being proactive and you want to find creative ways to communicate. If you know your boss is really big on email, they communicate via email. If it's Slack or project management software, then use the project management software. So you know, work within their parameters as much as you can, but you take the initiative to do so.

Tonya Harrison: 21:13

Question number five, and this is our final question for this episode. Where can I find resources or mentors to guide me in this role? So if you are new to managing teams, you probably have a whole lot of questions way more than what I have here, way more than what. So finding resources and guidance can make a huge difference in your leadership journey. So I've listed a couple of places that you could go so that you can get some of the assistance that you're looking for. The first one is to leverage internal networks, so you're going to seek out experienced colleagues within your organization who can offer insights.

Tonya Harrison: 21:57

One of the things that I did when I was in corporate and at different levels so when I was a manager, I was mentoring supervisors and team leads. Find people who are willing to invest the time. I met with people because our workday was really busy. We had a lot of things going on. There were times where I would meet with people on lunch break or take a 15-minute break and mentor them, or even in the evenings. So you have people that are open and willing to do this and want to see you be successful and succeed. You just have to seek them out, right. So that's one thing that you could do. The second thing you could do is join professional groups. There are some online groups. Linkedin, I'm sure, has different groups. You can do local associations. You can do industry-specific communities. This is an opportunity to meet with people that are in the same industry as you. Usually they have multiple levels of people, so you could find people that you could not just network with but identify as a a mentor.

Tonya Harrison: 23:07

Reading and listening is number three books. So I have read so many different leadership books, some that were recommended, some that I went to Barnes and Noble or online on Amazon and found myself when I was interested in a specific topic. You can listen to podcasts, like this one that you're listening to now, and then also there may be some online courses about leadership and operations, although there's not a lot that have it blended the way we do here, but you can have some operations and some you know leadership're doing one-on-one right, because now you have this person's undivided attention and everything is geared towards you, whereas if you join a program or some type of group coaching, it's about the group. You still have an opportunity to get some one-on-one, but it's not at the level of a one-on-one, but usually it's not as expensive either and you can still get a lot of the information that you need and you want, and I'll talk to you about my lead ops program that I have as well, which is a group program. The last one is attend workshops. So many organizations have they offer leadership training sessions. So if you have an interest in one specific theme, maybe you want to learn a little bit more about delegation. They may have a workshop on only delegation.

Tonya Harrison: 25:01

Some of these are free. Some of these are paid. Usually, if you want a little bit more in-depth insight, you are going to opt for a paid version, but though you could find those kind of all over the place, so make sure you are. When you're looking for these resources, make sure it's something and someone that resonates with you and your style and things like that. So the resources are definitely out there. You're going to have to do your research to make sure that you're finding something that works for you.

Tonya Harrison: 25:34

And, as we close, I want to tell you a little bit about the program I have, but I just want you to remember that this is a journey, right? So there are going to be some challenges along the way and it may seem intense at times, but just make sure you know you have the right strategies and the support, and that is going to be something that is going to change the game for you. So, if you're ready to take your leadership journey to the next level, I want to invite you to learn more about our Lead Ops program. This is a 90-day program that uniquely combines operation excellence with leadership development to create real, sustainable change, and that is really one of the things that sets us apart, because we understand that in order to build high performing teams, you need strong systems and strong leaderships. You know strong leadership, so we combine them both together, and the program is information and implement implementation focus. So we're going to provide you with information and then you are going to be going back and implementing the pillars and principles that we share with you real time and bringing them back to the team, and then we'll have some work weeks and some time where you could really go back and assess how is this working within your team, if there's some shifts or changes that you need to make, and you'll be able to do that as a group under my guidance. So if you wanna learn more about that, all you have to do is really sign up for the team navigator email.

Tonya Harrison: 27:14

I share information. During this newsletter, I share information about the program and about any other resources that I have available. So I want to thank you so much for joining the Operations Toolbox podcast for business leaders. Don't forget to subscribe, share this episode and other episodes with other leaders that you feel could use the information. Also, leave us a review and then I also have an option where you could text me questions. I want to do more episodes like this, where I'm answering real questions that real leaders have, so you could share that with me and then, when I get a couple, I'll create another episode and share it with you, just like I did this. So until next time, keep building high performing teams and leading with clarity. Have a great day.