Advertise on podcast: The New Manager Playbook with Lia Garvin

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★★★★★

4.9

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95 reviews

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Tired of feeling like the old tools for motivating your team no longer work? Productivity is dipping, engagement is at an all-time low, and you are being asked to get more done with fewer people. The workplace has changed, and managers need a different playbook to lead effectively. The New Manager Playbook podcast gives you practical, actionable, real-world strategies that help you navigate the messy realities of managing people today. No theory. No fluff. Just things that actually work. Hosted by Lia Garvin, known as the “Team Whisperer,” the show blends her experience at Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Bank of America with hands-on work supporting small businesses from homebuilding to MedSpas. Every episode helps you answer the real questions managers are searching for, including: • How do I manage former friends or peers?• How do I give feedback without people getting defensive?• How do I get out of the weeds as a leader?• How do I motivate my team when I cannot pay them more?• How do I oversee a remote team without micromanaging?• How do I improve my team’s productivity without burning people out?• How do I set priorities when everything is important?• How do I lead effectively in an AI-driven workplace? Whether you are a first-time manager feeling overwhelmed, a founder who never signed up for “management,” or a seasoned leader ready to break old habits, each Tuesday episode delivers tactical playbooks you can use the same day. No more guessing. No more stress. Just clear, proven strategies that help you lead with confidence. About the Host: Lia Garvin is a 3x bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and team management consultant. Known for her practical approach to building high-performing teams, she brings more than a decade of experience driving team operations at Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Bank of America. Her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and more. Join thousands of managers who have discovered a new way to lead. Subscribe to The New Manager Playbook today. Learn more: www.liagarvin.com

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Check latest episodes from The New Manager Playbook with Lia Garvin podcast

Second in command not stepping up? Wrong fit or wrong expectations

2026/10/20

When your second in command isn't stepping up, it's tempting to decide you hired the wrong person. But most new number twos think the job is to do everything themselves, so they say yes to all of it, get spread too thin, and lose track of what matters most. In this episode, Lia shares how to tell if it's the wrong fit or the wrong expectations, and how to reset the expectation so your successor can start running things the way you hired them to. In this episode you will learn: How to tell whether you have the wrong person or the wrong expectations The biggest symptom that your number two thinks they have to do everything Why building a leadership bench raises what your business is worth What a successor should and shouldn't copy from you How to have the expectation reset conversation with your number two How long to give it before you make the call Resources mentioned: Work with Lia on your number two's role and coaching: liagarvin.com/contact Connect with me: Website: www.liagarvin.com Email: [email protected] Free guide to making hard conversations easier: liagarvin.com/convo Instagram: @lia.garvin LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/liagarvin

3 things great leaders do, no matter the team size or industry

2026/10/13

Being a leader people want to work for looks the same on every team, even when the challenge on yours feels like nobody else has ever dealt with it. A team at an insurance company and a team at a creative agency run into the same dynamics, and the same three tools motivate and keep people on both: build trust, be clear, and delegate and motivate. In this episode, Lia walks through the framework from her keynote and how to use it with your team, whatever your team looks like. In this episode you will learn: Why the same team dynamics show up in every industry, at every size How to set an intention as a leader so your team gets the same you on Monday and Thursday Why trust is the first thing to build, and what happens on a team without it The question to ask instead of "why aren't they doing it?" How accountability and The Sit-Down create clarity Why delegation is a trust issue, not a skill issue, and the three places that trust breaks down Coaching questions that start with what and how, never why Resources mentioned: The New Manager Playbook: liagarvin.com or Amazon Bring this keynote to your team or event: [email protected] Connect with me: Website: www.liagarvin.com Email: [email protected] Free guide to making hard conversations easier: liagarvin.com/convo Instagram: @lia.garvin LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/liagarvin

How to give a performance review your team won't dread

2026/10/06

How to run performance reviews your team doesn't dread: a simple performance review conversation, a one-page self-assessment, and feedback with zero surprises. Performance reviews fill employees with stress because they feel like one moment that could decide a career, and leaders dread them too. In this episode, Lia breaks down how to structure the review so your team member leaves with a plan they own, whether your company runs a heavy review cycle or you've never run a review at all. In this episode you will learn: The two things every performance review covers: looking back and looking ahead How long a performance review meeting should be How to set up a one-page employee self-assessment, and what to ask for in it What a team member's self-reflection tells you about their future on your team How to give specific feedback in a review that reinforces what you've already discussed Why your team member should own the follow-ups, and why skipping reviews costs you your best people Resources mentioned: The New Manager Playbook: liagarvin.com or Amazon Owning Your Impact workshop: liagarvin.com/contact Connect with me: Website: www.liagarvin.com Email: [email protected] Free guide to making hard conversations easier: liagarvin.com/convo Instagram: @lia.garvin LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/liagarvin

How to create a sense of urgency without micromanaging

2026/09/29

Creating a sense of urgency on your team starts with the ask. When employees don’t follow through, the handoff was usually missing something. You ask for the client email, the deck, or the vendor follow-up, they say “on it,” and a day later you’re doing it yourself and wondering if anyone cares. In this episode, Lia breaks down the three pieces of a handoff that turn “on it” into ownership: a deadline, the reason behind it, and a two-minute check that it’s doable. In this episode you will learn: Why “on it” is an incomplete handoff, and how to fix it inside the ask How to put a deadline on a request without it feeling like micromanaging How to share context so the deadline matters to your team member, even when the reason is your own workload The questions that get your employee to own the urgency and flag risks early How to tell a delegation problem from a performance problem Resources mentioned: Work with Lia on mapping how work gets done on your team: liagarvin.com/contact Tell Lia how the three steps went with your team: [email protected] Connect with Lia: Website: www.liagarvin.com Email: [email protected] Instagram: @lia.garvin LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/liagarvin

The tool that pours rocket fuel on employee motivation

2026/09/22

What to say instead of good job: "great work" and "nice job" are comments anybody could get, and specific employee recognition is a completely different tool. This episode breaks down acknowledgement, naming a quality you see in someone out loud, and why one sentence from a leader can change what a person believes they're capable of. Lia shares the sentence a manager said to her at a conference that changed the trajectory of her career, and the two-step method for doing it with your own team this week. In this episode you will learn: Why "I think you're good at this" undoes the compliment, and the two words to use instead The two-step method for recognizing your team members: pay attention first, then name it out loud Where to find hard evidence of what your people are great at when you're not sitting next to them all day What to say when someone pushes back and tells you no, they're not good at that The three rules for naming a strength in an employee: it has to relate, it has to make sense, and it has to be true Why the people who are best at something are usually the last to know it's rare Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

The 3-step conversation that retains your best employees

2026/09/15

How to keep employees from quitting rarely comes down to money. Gallup found 42% of voluntary employee turnover is preventable, and most of it traces back to one conversation that never happened. In this episode, Lia breaks down the retention conversation to have with your best person before they start looking, and tells two stories from her own career where 30 minutes would have kept her in a job she loved. In this episode you will learn: Why the person about to quit almost never tells their manager first, and what they do instead What made a promotion conversation at Google land as nothing, and the version that would have kept her on the team What to say when the answer is no and you can't change it, so the no doesn't end the relationship The 3 steps of The Sit-Down applied to employee retention, including the words to open with Why waiting for your team to raise a concern first never works, even for approachable leaders The signals a good employee sends for months before the resignation lands Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

The Sit-Down: the conversation that makes feedback and recognition easier

2026/09/08

The hard conversation with an employee you keep putting off has a structure. Giving feedback to an employee does not have to become a whole thing. In this episode, Lia breaks down the Sit-Down: one thirty-minute conversation, three steps, that works for the missed deadline, the behavior nobody has named out loud, the change your team did not ask for, and the person doing great work who has not heard about it in six months. In this episode you will learn: The three steps of the Sit-Down, and why leaders skip the first one Why "hey, can we talk" makes people brace for bad news, and what to say instead The exact language for recognizing a high performer so it lands as a career plan, not a compliment What to say to the employee who keeps saying "I'm on it" and never finishes the work How to follow up in writing so you have documentation without making it feel like a case file How the same three steps work when you are announcing a re-org or a change nobody asked for Resources mentioned: Free guide, the Sit-Down across five sticky team situations: liagarvin.com/convo Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

How to make 1:1s the most impactful meetings of your week

2026/09/01

One on one meetings are the first thing leaders cancel and the one that costs the most. The fix isn't discipline, it's your one on one meeting agenda. In research run across Google, the top two behaviors employees named when they didn't feel supported by their manager were both about this meeting: canceling it, and showing up late. Lia breaks down why this is the most impactful meeting of your week, why yours feels pointless right now, and the four-part agenda that fixes it in fifteen minutes. In this episode you will learn: Why canceling and rescheduling one on ones lands harder on your team than you think What you only ever find out in a one on one, and never at the coffee cart or on a client call How your next delegation decision surfaces in this meeting The three reasons one on ones get canceled, and the fix for each one The four-part agenda: highlights, lowlights, blockers, and feedback What to ask when you get to the end and there's time left over Resources mentioned: The New Manager Playbook, which has the one on one agenda template: liagarvin.com/newmanagerplaybook Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

How to be a great Player-Coach manager

2026/08/25

Player coach management breaks down the same way every time: the player work wins and the coaching slides. If you lead a team and carry your own deliverables, you already know how the week goes. The player work has deadlines and escalations. Coaching has none of that on a Tuesday, so the one on ones come off the calendar first, starting with the people who seem fine. In this episode, Lia breaks down what that costs you and your team, and the three moves that get you back into the coach half of the job this week. In this episode you will learn: Why the player half of the job always wins when you're spread thin The high performers most at risk while you're heads down on your own deliverables How to make one on ones survivable at 15 to 30 minutes every other week Why status updates don't belong in your one on one, and where to put them instead The one question to ask about every piece of work that lands on your plate What it means when the answer to that question is no, every single time Resources mentioned: Weekly team check-in tool: liagarvin.com/snippets Advisory and manager training: liagarvin.com/contact Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

Revenue goals don’t motivate your employees. Here’s what does.

2026/08/18

Revenue goals don’t motivate employees. The fix is one metric per role that each person can control, a number their own daily work moves. In this episode, Lia Garvin explains why the big number on your slide lands as “somebody is taking that home and it isn’t me,” and what to put in front of your team instead. Your team can name the company goal. They can name their task list. Nothing connects the two, so they nod in the meeting and nothing changes on Tuesday. Lia walks through how to name an individual metric for every role, why explaining the cost of running your business backfires, and how to build the raises and bonuses around the numbers people actually control. In this episode you will learn: Why a company revenue goal demotivates the people you need most The one sentence every person on your team should be able to finish out loud What the metric looks like for a front desk role, an injector, a creative team, and a project manager Why walking your team through the P&L makes the disconnect worse What changes about a month in, when people start solving for their own number How to structure bonuses, commissions, and raises around a metric each person controls Resources mentioned: Work with Lia (Ops Playbook for business owners, advisory sessions for corporate managers): liagarvin.com/contact Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

The reason your team didn’t follow your plan - and what to do

2026/08/11

You gave your team the full picture: the research, the roadmap, the direction. They said they were on board. Then nothing moved. In this episode, Lia Garvin breaks down the gap between strategy and implementation, why it's the most expensive gap on any team, and what it actually looks like to bridge it. In this episode you will learn: Why giving your team a clear strategy isn't enough to get anyone to follow it The difference between knowing what to do and actually internalizing, owning, and doing it What the behaviors on the surface, the quiet team member, the recurring detail miss, the title question every week, are often actually telling you Why AI has made the strategy side faster and the implementation gap wider What implementation looks like in practice: the conversation, the system, the communication Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

The person you just hired didn’t bring the ROI? Here’s what to do.

2026/08/04

You took a real risk and made that hire. 90 days later, you're wondering if it was the wrong call. Before you assume it's the wrong person: nine times out of ten, it isn't. In this episode, Lia Garvin breaks down what the hiring hangover actually is, why it happens across businesses of every size, and the specific shift that turns extra pairs of hands into owners who actually drive ROI. In this episode you will learn: What the hiring hangover is and why it shows up at the 90-day mark The difference between hiring an extra pair of hands and hiring an owner Why being in the same meetings as your team member is costing you more than you think What handing off a project end to end actually looks like in practice How to shift your current team into owner mode even if you didn't start there Resources mentioned: The Ops Playbook: liagarvin.com/contact Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

Why your team can’t be your friends (and where the line actually is)

2026/07/28

You thought she was a friend. Then the reorg came out and she found out with everyone else. What felt like a betrayal was a clarity problem. In this episode, Lia Garvin breaks down the difference between being friendly with your team and being their friend, what self-management really means before any other management tool can work, and the one thing to say upfront that changes the entire dynamic. In this episode you will learn: Why the betrayal your team feels when hard news hits is almost never about what you did, and what it actually is The kinds of things you will always know as a leader that your team cannot know yet, and why that is the job Where the friendship line quietly blurs: lending money, bending policies, venting, inviting one person and not all What equitable management looks like and why it protects everyone, including you The one sentence to say when you hire someone that sets the dynamic from day one Resources mentioned: Free conversation guide (5 scripts for your stickiest leadership conversations): liagarvin.com/convo Reach out: liagarvin.com/contact Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

Where AI fits on your team today

2026/07/21

The headlines said AI would be cheaper than your team. The receipts say otherwise. If you jumped in fast and are feeling the cost, or you've been holding back wondering if you're already behind, this one is your reset. Lia breaks down how to figure out where AI actually fits on your team — without an arms race, a Chief AI Officer, or a plan to replace the people who make your business run. In this episode you'll learn: - Why AI isn't the wholesale cost savings you were promised — and why that's actually good news - How to tell whether your business really needs a "Chief AI Officer" (most don't) - The tool mindset that separates teams who benefit from AI from teams who just spin their wheels - Where AI genuinely claws back hours — and where a team conversation solves it faster - Why the hard part was never the tech, and the people conversations to have first - How to start with foundations so AI augments your team instead of replacing it Resources mentioned: - Grab Lia's free guide with 5 scripts to make any hard conversation easier: liagarvin.com/convo - Send Lia the AI challenge you're wrestling with (she'll cover them on the show): [email protected] - Snippets — stay in the know of what your team is working on without having to micromanage: liagarvin.com/snippets Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

How to make managing former peers easier (The Sit-Down in action)

2026/07/14

You got promoted. Your closest work friend is now your direct report. And what felt like it would be easy is now the most uncomfortable relationship in your professional life. This episode is for you. Lia shares her own worst management experience -- managing someone who was her best friend at work -- and the 30-minute conversation she wishes she'd had from day one. In this episode you will learn: Why managing someone you already know tends to go wrong faster than managing a stranger The assumption that skips the most important conversation -- and how to have it even when you're already in the mess The Sit Down: a 30-minute, three-step framework for turning around even the most difficult working relationship What to say first (most leaders get this backwards) How the same conversation keeps your best people before they send you a resignation email Chapters 00:00 Navigating Friendships in Management 05:45 Taking Responsibility in Leadership 11:51 Proactive Conversations for Team Retention Resources mentioned: Free guide -- 5 Conversations We're Avoiding (with word-for-word scripts): liagarvin.com/convo DM "convo" on Instagram to receive the guide Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered. Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work. I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER. Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com Contact: liagarvin.com/contact Email: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

Podcast reviews

Read The New Manager Playbook with Lia Garvin podcast reviews

4.9 out of 5

95 reviews

★★★★★

Katebrhoades 2026/07/02

Lia knows her stuff

Lia is extremely knowledgeable and knows her stuff.

★★★★★

jcarter3 2026/07/02

Helped my business!

Lia has such a great way of explaining things that are hard for me to grasp. I love the way she’s able to break down hard topics that are really about...

★★★★★

Angie Wiley (You Are Strong) 2026/04/10

So real and true!

I love your podcast and the real truths you bring to the table instead of fluff. You can tell this is lived experience and it shows in the thoughtful ...

★★★★★

diamonds33 2025/04/01

The BEST for all things teams!

I cannot say enough about Lia. Not only is she brilliant with all things team and leadership, she also brings knowledge in a way that is so easy to un...

★★★★★

Yaboysilentt33 2025/04/01

Lia is the 🐐🐐 of running teams

Listening makes you feel like you’re having a conversation with Lia, and like she’s your best friend giving you an inside look into the mind of an exp...

★★★★★

Trish Calandra 2025/04/01

Realistic, usable advice

Lia’s podcast episodes, videos & books offer a wealth of fantastic advice, examples & real-life stories that you can apply to your team as a new or se...

★★★★★

Crisbis12 2024/07/25

Lia is such a wealth of knowledge!

Whether you own a business or are inside a corporate organization you can benefit from listening to Lia’s podcast. The anecdotes and helpful tips she ...

★★★★★

FriendofSI051962 2024/06/09

Great management pod!

Pragmatic episodes are chock full of takeaways that can be immediately applied to the real world. A soft marketing touch is also key!

★★★★★

mathut 2023/10/21

Practical solutions to team performance

I’m a big Lia Garvin fan! Through her own experience and the wide range of experts she brings onto her show, Lia provides super valuable advice and gu...

★★★★★

A extremely huge fan!! 2023/08/17

Must listen for leaders ⚡️

Lia packs every episode with knowledge and insight. This is a must listen for any leader looking to level up.

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