LeaderLabs Blog https://leaderlabs.io/blog Practical guidance for first-time people managers. en Sun, 27 Sep 2026 18:29:15 GMT Difficult conversations for new managers: the complete guide https://leaderlabs.io/blog/difficult-conversations-new-managers https://leaderlabs.io/blog/difficult-conversations-new-managers What to say, when to say it, and how to hold your nerve in the conversations that make or break a new manager's first year. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to talk to an employee who is burning out https://leaderlabs.io/blog/employee-burning-out https://leaderlabs.io/blog/employee-burning-out How to raise burnout without diagnosing it, what to offer, and why the usual reassurance makes things worse. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Your first 1:1 as a new manager https://leaderlabs.io/blog/first-one-on-one-new-manager https://leaderlabs.io/blog/first-one-on-one-new-manager What to ask, what to avoid, and how to set up a recurring meeting that stays useful after the first month. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT The first-time manager's playbook https://leaderlabs.io/blog/first-time-manager-playbook https://leaderlabs.io/blog/first-time-manager-playbook What to do in your first ninety days, what to stop doing, and the three mistakes almost every new manager makes in the first month. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Managing a high performer who damages the team https://leaderlabs.io/blog/high-performer-damages-team https://leaderlabs.io/blog/high-performer-damages-team What to say to someone whose results are excellent and whose behaviour is costing you people, and why delaying it is the expensive option. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to mediate conflict between two team members https://leaderlabs.io/blog/mediate-team-conflict https://leaderlabs.io/blog/mediate-team-conflict When to step in, how to run the joint conversation, and why hearing both sides separately first is usually a mistake. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to talk about missed targets without crushing motivation https://leaderlabs.io/blog/missed-targets-conversation https://leaderlabs.io/blog/missed-targets-conversation Separating the number from the person, working out whether the target or the effort was wrong, and agreeing what changes next quarter. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Performance review conversations that actually land https://leaderlabs.io/blog/performance-review-conversations https://leaderlabs.io/blog/performance-review-conversations How to run a review that changes something: no surprises, a rating said out loud early, and evidence the person can act on. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT What to do when someone gets defensive https://leaderlabs.io/blog/someone-gets-defensive https://leaderlabs.io/blog/someone-gets-defensive Defensiveness is a signal, not an obstacle. How to tell which kind you are facing and what to say to each one. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to have an underperformance conversation https://leaderlabs.io/blog/underperformance-conversation https://leaderlabs.io/blog/underperformance-conversation A clear structure for telling someone their work is not good enough, without ambushing them and without softening it into nothing. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why rehearsing a conversation works https://leaderlabs.io/blog/why-rehearsing-works https://leaderlabs.io/blog/why-rehearsing-works What actually changes when you say the words out loud beforehand, and why thinking it through in your head does not do the same job. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to tell someone they are not getting promoted https://leaderlabs.io/blog/not-getting-promoted https://leaderlabs.io/blog/not-getting-promoted A direct, humane script for the promotion conversation, plus what to say when they push back. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT