The Manager’s Compass
Welcome to the practice of Leadership Cartography™. Each post maps the terrain of modern leadership—helping you navigate challenges, build confidence, and lead with steadiness.
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How to Develop Employees Who Actually Grow: 5 Principles Rooted in Clarity, Care, and Reality
You hired someone brilliant. Six months later, they're struggling, and you can't figure out what went wrong. The problem isn't always their potential—sometimes it's that we're developing the wrong skills, ignoring crucial signals, or mistaking good intentions for actual readiness. Here's your framework for developing employees with clarity, care, and a clear-eyed view of reality.
The Performance Review Playbook: How to Build Trust and Drive Growth in 60 Minutes
The calendar reminder appears: "Performance review with Sarah - Thursday, 3pm." Your stomach tightens—not because Sarah isn't performing well, but because you know how these conversations usually go. Stilted, formal, both of you counting minutes until it's over. But performance reviews can be different. They can become conversations your team actually looks forward to—moments that build trust instead of anxiety, clarity instead of confusion. The difference lies not in what you discuss, but in how you structure the conversation itself.
Performance Reviews Without the Pit in Your Stomach: A Manager's Guide
Your calendar reminder pops up: "Performance review with Jordan—Friday, 2 pm." And there it is—that pit in your stomach. You start rehearsing what you'll say, wondering if you'll come across as too harsh or too soft. Performance reviews are supposed to be mile markers on the leadership journey, but they often feel like rocky terrain you'd rather avoid. That pit in your stomach isn't weakness—it's a signal that you understand the stakes. Learn the three landmarks and practical tools that transform dreaded reviews into confident navigation check-ins.
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