TRUST OR BUST
An employee on your team comes to you with a concern about how to prioritize their workload while you are "in the zone" working on a critical planning exercise. As their manager, the best next step is...
a.) stop the work you are doing immediately & solve their problem- prioritizing your team always comes first
b.) encourage autonomy by asking them to do their best so you don't lose momentum on your work
c.) briefly acknowledge them and ask them to put time on the calendar to connect later this morning
C
A - displays support but is not sustainable & creates dependencies
B - encourages independence but does not offer true support
C - protects your work, maintains trust, & provides path forward
A manager assigns a project to two high-performing employees and clearly communicates the deadline and desired outcome. An hour before the deadline, both employees approach the manager saying they won't be able to meet the deadline because they unknowingly duplicated the same work. What is the most likely reason duplicate work occurred:
A.) The employees lacked coordination and should have aligned with each other earlier
B.) The manager underestimated the complexity of the project and timeline
C.) The manager failed to clearly define roles, ownership, and responsibilities
C
The others could be true but the duplicative work is due to unclear expectations set regarding project ownership and responsibilities
As a manager, you have provided feedback to one of your employees to "have a better attitude" over your last few 1:1s. No matter how many times you discuss it, nothing changes, likely because the employee doesn’t want to change their attitude. True or False? Why?
False
The statement "have a better attitude" is subjective and does not provide any specifics on behavior
One of your team members approaches you stuck on a step in the audit process. Deadlines are fast approaching. As a manager, the best next step is:
A. Quickly tell the employee where they can find the answer in the training manual
B. Complete that step for them given the time crunch
C. Spend 3 minutes asking questions to help them problem solve
C
Solves the problem & builds capacity
Regular 1:1s with your employees are critical, except during the busy weeks of the month when client deliverables trump 1:1s. True of False, and why?
False, frequently cancelling 1:1s with your employees erodes trust and signals they are not a priority to you
One of your employees leaves work early due to a personal medical concern. Another member on your team approaches you concerned and wants to know what happened and when they’ll be back. Since the employee is coming from a place of genuine concern/care, it’s okay to tell them what is going on. True/False? Why?
False
Managers should not disclose private information of team members as it violates trust.
You have an employee who is struggling with attention to detail. You tell them to “improve your attention to detail going forward” but the next deliverable comes back with the same errors as before your feedback. What was the managers error?
The feedback was subjective & did not provide clear direction on behaviors that needs to improve.
A manager regularly asks their team, “What’s one thing I could do better to support you?". The most likely reason the manager does this is because she is not confident as a leader and is looking for reassurance. True/False? Why?
False,
The manager is showing that she values her teams input and is reinforcing psychological safety/trust
When a manager identifies a gap in skills needed for an employee to be successful in their current role, this is an opportunity for development. True/False? Why?
False - development is to build skills needed for the future
A manager has an employee that consistently shows up late to team meetings. His manager says "I know you have a lot going on, so don't worry about always being late". This is a good example of radical candor. True/False? Why?
False, this is ruinous empathy as not providing any direct feedback about the importance of being on time
During a team meeting, one of your team members shares a unique idea that could improve a part of the prep process. You respond saying "Don't waste your time brainstorming new ideas. Our process is set in stone." Why is this the wrong way for the manager to respond?
It shuts down initiative, erodes trust, and discourages future ideas/innovation.
You send your team an email saying "We've been asked to make some changes to how we do things so I am scheduling an impromptu team meeting for tomorrow morning". After that email, one team member missed a deadline and two others reached out to HR with concerns about the future of their job. The biggest misstep here is that the manager sent the note in an email instead of addressing the team live. True/False? Why?
False
The issue wasn’t the channel, it was the ambiguity. The lack of clarity caused the team to fill in the blanks with worst-case assumptions
A manager has a high-performing employee who consistently goes into very granular detail during calls and meetings, frustrating other meeting participants. The manager is concerned about embarrassing or upsetting the employee by addressing it even though they have a strong foundation of trust built. How should the manager address this situation?
Use radical candor to bring it up directly in the next 1:1 & collaborate on alternative approaches
One of the employees on your team has asked for help navigating Excel 3 times. During your next 1:1 you say "I don't want to overwhelm you with work that requires you to use technology". Where did the manager go wrong?
a.) made assumptions
b.) did not seek to understand/stay curious
c.) provided subjective feedback
d.) all of the above
D
Over three months, an employee has missed multiple deadlines and missed the mark on quality expectations. You've given verbal feedback, to which the employee confirmed understanding. You reached out to HR to place employee on a PIP but HR advised against the PIP as the manager missed a critical step. What step was missed & why is it critical?
The manager failed to document the feedback provided to the employee which outlined the performance not meeting expectations, what the manager wanted to see going forward, and offering support.
Last quarter, you were promoted to manager and inherited a high-performing team with extremely complex districts. Since your promotion, you have spent a majority of your time analyzing reports for each district to get up to speed quickly. Meanwhile, your team members continue to go to their old manager with questions or concerns. What is the most likely reason the team does not go to their new manager?
The new manager has not built connection or a foundation of trust with the new team
You, as the manager, are a high D on the DISC profile. One of your team members is a high I. Yesterday, you stopped by his desk on your way to another meeting and told him to be sure to notify you when he completes a task you assigned to him. After the interaction, the employee became upset and withdrew from the team. Where did the manager go wrong?
The manager delivered direct, corrective feedback without adapting to the employee’s communication style or considering timing or setting. A high I would have preferred a quick connection-building moment first & then a collaborative conversation.
An employee from a different team approaches you and shares that they witnessed an employee on your team belittling others during a cross functional project. What should the manager do next?
Thank the employee for sharing & remain curious to gather facts - avoid making assumptions
An employee struggles with public speaking, which is a necessary skill for promotion. As their manager, you want to help them develop this skill so you assign them to present at conference next week. This is a great way to develop the employees skill. True or False, and why?
False - presenting at a high-stakes meeting is the end-game - it is not a developmental activity that builds the skills needed to improve public speaking.
A Regional Manager discovers a massive error made by an employee on your team on a deliverable that has already been distributed to the client. The RM approaches you about the error. How should you respond as the manager?
Thank you for flagging this—I take accountability for the oversight. I’ll connect with the team immediately, correct the issue, and follow up with a plan to prevent this moving forward.