Hi Reader,
I hope your Thursday is going okay over there. Let’s get right into your Monthly Management Memo - as always, with something bold, something new, something borrowed, and something to pursue.
🔥Something Bold - Share This Quote with Your Team
I lead a lot of workshops on project management (it's my most-taught topic in 2026). Here's an idea that came up recently in one: "A lack of communication is a lack of performance." That's a quote from CEO Sam Corcos, and I agree 200%. Let your team know that you don't just need them to do their work well, but you also need to keep the right people in the loop. When teams aren't sure what's happening, it can result in all sorts of unnecessary issues: micromanagement, duplicated work, disengaged team members, missed opportunities to collaborate, and resentment. If you need a way to discuss this, share some recent strong examples from your team when someone did communicate at the right level so that folks were in the loop (without drowning in every tiny detail). Shout out that good work publicly to encourage more of the same!
🆕 Something New - Best Practices of Excellent Managers
I'm leading a publicly available workshop in September on the best practices of excellent managers. It'll be a super-practical, resource-rich hour, and I'm aiming to make it the most useful hour of your month. Sign up here if you'd like to join! (but if you're already in my membership, don't buy a ticket - yours is included!)
🤝🏼 Something Borrowed - Social Sectors Are Breaking People
My good friend Atnre shared this article with me, and it feels like a must-read for anyone working in the social sector, or anyone working in any field who is feeling exhausted at a deep level. If this resonates, consider sharing it with your team at work. Or ask folks to read it and then discuss at an upcoming meeting.
🏃🏾♀️Something to Pursue - Managing Through Back-to-School
I was asked by a reporter about how to support working parents during back-to-school season, and here's the gist of what I shared with her: "The first few weeks of the school year are a lot for anyone with kids at home - the district paperwork, the new apps to sign up for, the hunt for shoes and backpacks and very specific glue sticks - and so much of it lands right in the middle of the workday. Being understanding of your team's home lives is just smart business: the people on your team are human beings first, and treating them that way pays off in retention and engagement over time.
So pick one thing to do for the parents on your team this year - ask them what would actually help, go easy on meetings that first week, let folks come in a little late on day one, or send a gift card to a local pizza place for that first exhausting Friday. And don't forget your team members without school-aged kids have full lives too, so offer them the same flexibility."
Last Month's Most-Clicked Management Memo Link: Justin's LinkedIn post about what to say to a grieving employee.
Bring your team; I’ll bring my A-game. I love helping teams with workshops on productivity, team culture, and effectiveness at work. Find out more and book a free chat to see if I can help your organization.