If you're a new manager and your feedback isn't landing, the problem isn't the conversation — it's the diagnosis. Most new managers give the wrong fix for the wrong problem. This episode walks you through the framework that changes that. What you'll learn: ✅ Why feedback fails even when it's delivered correctly ✅ The root causes of underperformance — and how to identify the right one ✅ How to give feedback that leads to real, lasting behavior change ✅ What first time managers miss before every hard conversation If your team keeps agreeing in the moment and then doing nothing differently, this is for you. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

If your company just announced a change and you're dreading telling your team — this episode is for you.  As a first time manager, you have a disadvantage no one talks about: the processing gap. By the time you tell your team about a change, you've already had days or weeks to process it. Your team is hearing it for the first time. And that gap is where trust gets burned. In this episode, Jen breaks down the 4 things every new manager needs to do when leading a team through change. Whether you're 3 months in or a year into your first management role, you haven't built the trust reserve yet. How you handle change is where that reserve gets built — or destroyed. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

Every new manager has the potential to hit the same wall: burnout. The workload is real — but the thing that tips you over is a boundary problem you probably don't even see. In this episode, Jen breaks down the 3 boundaries new managers need to prevent burnout: ↳ Upward boundaries — When your boss keeps adding scope and after-hours demands  ↳ Downward boundaries — When you absorb your team's problems and underperformance ↳ Lateral boundaries — When you volunteer for peer requests and committee work Overfunctioning isn't dedication. It's a boundary failure — and on top of an already heavy workload, it leads straight to burnout. If you're noticing early burnout symptoms like chronic exhaustion, resentment toward your team, or the feeling that everything depends on you, this is the episode to listen to before it gets worse. Whether you're a first-time manager, a newly promoted team lead, or someone stepping into leadership development for the first time, these boundary strategies will help you protect your energy and actually lead instead of just surviving. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

Most leaders are told the same lie: more collaboration = better results. Ron Friedman's research says otherwise — and the data will change how you run your team. Ron Friedman is an award-winning social psychologist, bestselling author of Superteams and The Best Place to Work, and founder of Superteams Inc. His research on high-performing teams revealed something surprising: only 8% of teams qualify as superteams — and it has nothing to do with where they work. In this episode, we break down exactly what separates superteams from everyone else. Connect with Ron: https://superteamsinc.com/ Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

If you just got promoted and your first instinct is to prove you deserve it — stop. In this episode, I share the 3 things I now tell every new manager to focus on instead. You'll learn: ✅ Why "proving energy" is the biggest trap for new leaders ✅ The exact 3 questions to ask in your first team 1-on-1s ✅ How to set expectations that are clear without being controlling ✅ What to compile at the end of your first month to build your real plan Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

Nobody warns you about the emotional rollercoaster that comes with your first management role — but every new manager goes through it. If you've recently stepped into a leadership role and it's already harder than you expected, you're not failing — you're going through a predictable emotional progression that no one talks about. In this episode, I break down each stage, what's really happening, and the specific moves that help you get through it faster. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

Most managers aren't asking for feedback. They're waiting. And nobody's coming. If you finish a project, wrap a presentation, or get through a tough quarter and assume someone will tell you if something went wrong — they won't. Your manager is busy. Your team doesn't feel safe. And the silence you're reading as "everything's fine" is just everyone keeping their head down. In this episode, I'm walking you through the 4-step framework we teach at Growth Signals to ask for feedback in a way that actually gets you honest, useful answers. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. Take the free GUIDE New Leader Assessment: https://guide.scoreapp.com/ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themadeleader  

Got feedback that felt vague, unfair, or just plain useless? You're not alone — and you don't have to spiral or dismiss it.  In this episode, I walk you through a 4-step system for processing hard feedback as a new manager, including the TALC framework — four questions that help you separate what's real from what's noise. ✅ Ride it out ✅ Ask for clarity ✅ Run TALC (Truth, Agree, Learn, Control) ✅ Release what isn't yours to carry Because feedback without direction isn't a development plan. It's a hunch. And you're allowed to throw away what isn't helpful to your growth and development. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders. New to management? Subscribe for no-BS leadership advice twice a month: https://growth-signals-2.kit.com/22c1e16738 

No one warns new managers about the real cost of leadership — until now. You got promoted. Great. But nobody sat you down and told you what was actually coming. The identity shift. The humbling reality that you'll suck at first. The impossible squeeze. The grey areas with no handbook. The grief nobody names. In this episode of The Made Leader, I'm walking through the 7 harsh truths that blindside almost every new manager — and why most organizations hand you a title and walk away. Mentioned: https://youtu.be/bRKnZUx0dLE Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders.  

Before you put an employee on a performance improvement plan, there are a few leadership steps most managers skip. In this episode, I break down how to tell the difference between real support and over-functioning, what to do before formal corrective action, and when poor performance becomes an accountability issue instead of just a coaching issue. If you're a new manager dealing with defensiveness, repeated underperformance, or hard feedback conversations, this is the framework for what should happen first. Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/ Are you a new leader looking for support? Check out Made to Lead, our 12-week cohort for first time people leaders.