You've got the promotion and you go out to celebrate with your team, who are also your friends.  But on Monday you'll be managing them.  How does it change what happens when you're out socialising?  Are you still 'one of the gang' or should you step aside now? How do they see you - and how do you see yourself?  

And if you're responsible for organising social events for work it can be fraught with difficulty.  How do you please everyone?  Can people opt in or out without feeling judged or excluded? How much are people obliged to attend, spending their own time and money on something work-related but outside work hours? We give tried and tested advice so you don't need to suffer the hangovers of getting it seriously wrong.

Find out more about how to handle the responsibility of helping employees have a good time, hopefully without next-day regrets at www.theaccidentalmanager.com. That's where you'll find the 5-minute noodles which help you to manage yourself and others to have the best day at work you can possibly have.

FINAL NOTE: This is the last of our podcasts - 2 series over 2 years of sharing, confessing and celebrating our accidental successes, failures, odd and crazy experiences.  Thank you so much for being part of our journey!    Kate & Max 

You need to get your team to 'make the boat go faster'*… so you create a route map to help them see where they're going (and agree that they're on board) and how you're all going to get there. BUT SUDDENLY … a police boat draws alongside and stops you - you've got to change course immediately - how do you keep the crew motivated?  What if your route map has so many details nobody's is focused on the end destination?  Or there's too little information?  Or everyone's focused on a different part of the map and going off in different directions?  When the journey's over, do you ever TRULY look back at the route map and reflect on what was learned along the way - or are you too excited about the end-of-project party (!) and what's coming up next to do the 'retroflection'?

 Find out more about how to spend the right amount of attention on the past, present and future when engaging the people around you at www.theaccidentalmanager.com. That's where you'll find the 5-minute noodles which help you to manage yourself and others to have the best day at work you can possibly have.

*The book we reference in this episode is Will It Make The Boat Go Faster by Olympic gold medal winner Ben Hunt-Davis and executive coach Harriet Beveridge.

Join the chat at noodle.space and follow us for daily snippets to boost your day on Instagram @noodle_space.

Have you ever worked with people who you rate but others find them a bit, well - difficult?!  Kate & Max remember managers they know who have struggled when taking on underperformers. If their view comes out of the blue, they might be considered to be bullying, downright mean or just plain wrong.  So how do you share what needs to be said with courageous kindness so that everyone ends up hearing and able to act on the feedback?  How do you decide as a manager if the gap between what's happening and your expectation is down to personality difference?  Is it actually kinder to say something, or nothing?

Find out more about the qualities and environment involved in showing true courageous kindness at www.theaccidentalmanager.com. That's where you'll find the 5-minute noodles Johari Window, Appreciative Enquiry and Framing - all of which help you to prepare for and consider feedback that's difficult to share or hear.

Join the chat at noodle.space and follow us for daily snippets to boost your day on Instagram @noodle_space.