Jargon, Messes, and Feelings in Managers

Know Yourself, Get Curious, Speak Simply, Get out of the Way.

Hello to all the long-term readers and our new subscribers too! I really hope you are enjoying these last days of summer (ok, ok, sorry I mentioned it! But...pumpkin spice lattes! Did I make it any better?)

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Let's get right to this issue's main event....

If you are new here - every other issue of Up and to the Right, is an interview with a leader so that you get insights from very successful others about how they see the challenges and opportunities of leadership.

This week’s main event is a conversation with Christine LaFrance O’Byrne head of Client Success at M1Finance. Christine made the decision to leave JP Morgan to join a then 50-person start-up in part because the opportunity to lead a team was so important to her.

In Service of Others: Christine LaFrance O'Byrne

Christine’s take on the most important things a leader must do to be successful include being vulnerable, listening, being clear and concise, and being willing to trust.

Here are four pieces of advice she would share from her own leadership journey:

1. Do the work to build self-awareness and be human. Instead of a (false) image of perfection, showing that you’re a real person with emotions, problems, and mistakes builds emotional safety.

2. Ask good questions and get to know people personally. The better you know your people, the better you can understand and motivate them.

3. When speaking, cut the jargon and focus on the main idea. When writing, use bold text headers and bullets to your advantage. When making a request of team members, clarify the ask, timeline, and context.

4. Get out of the weeds and give your team room to run.

And here are two lessons she hopes you don’t have to learn the hard way (even if she did!):

1. The longer that you wait to clean up a mess, the more it stinks. She explains this story: There was a policy requiring new team members to obtain certain qualifications within 6 months of joining. Some folks met the requirements and others didn’t, but it felt like forward progress was being made. So, for a variety of reasons both good (we were growing fast and needed these folks) and bad (enforcing the policy would mean some difficult conversations), we didn’t enforce the policy. A policy without enforcement is an empty promise, and the longer you wait, the worse it gets. Learning: Don’t shy away from hard conversations — have them early and often.

2. How a manager makes you feel matters, from your first day to your last. She explains this story: I had a great relationship with and respect for one of my former managers – I looked up to them as a leader and person. I worked hard for them and made strong contributions to the team. So, when I decided to accept a new opportunity, I was surprised when they became cold and distant. It really hurt. Learning: While we do our best to retain team members, and selfishly we don’t want to see them go, it’s natural for people to take on new opportunities. How we react in this moment matters. Seize the opportunity to express gratitude, wish them well, and allow paths to cross again.

And if those gems aren’t enough to be thankful for, Christine ended with a piece of wisdom that is so universal it bears hearing (and doing) continually:

Give specific, actionable feedback and require that your team does the same for you. Feedback (both positive and constructive) is critical to expediting your growth and your team’s growth. No matter how much feedback you think you give, chances are your team is craving more! Find out how they want to receive it, what framework you're comfortable using to give it, and then be consistent!

Thanks, Christine!

I spend (too much) time scouring the socials to find insights from leaders to share with you all and here's one simple post that you might just find as useful as I did. Enjoy and check Jacob out for more.

May your last days of summer (there I go again!) be filled with BBQs, baseball games, picnics, lake days, beach excursions or whatever makes you happy.

Lead on,