First Thing Monday #4
This week: Lessons from Lizzo, making time to just…chat, and why you should call people by their names
Welcome to First Thing Monday #4. It’s our fourth week here on Substack and we’re so glad you’re here with us!
If you’re a new subscriber 👋 FTM is a weekly newsletter that includes a recap of the news Millennial and Gen Z leaders need to know to help make better decisions about their careers. Each issue also includes four tips for developing better relationships in your workplace. Weekly issues comes out on Monday mornings!
We’re preparing our first Mailbag edition that is just for our Substack subscribers, so if you have burning questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, drop me a line 📱 misterfantastiksubstack@gmail.com or leave us a comment below!
I’m Jon Cochran, a consumer goods executive with 15 years of experience leading sales, marketing, and product development teams and working with brands like J.Crew, Hilton, and Mattel. I want to provide resources to help you take control of your career and maximize your satisfaction in the workplace.
⏰ Things to read before your first meeting:
Lizzo’s dancers hit back at her claim they ‘fabricated’ workplace abuse lawsuit allegations: ‘It’s disheartening, disappointing and shocking!’ (Yahoo News): Regardless of where you stand on the Lizzo allegations, there’s a lesson here for new leaders: don’t invite your direct reports to the strip club. Start there. Further reading on why all this feels icky from Ben Barzilai.
Gen Z may finally figure out what the office is good for: Eavesdropping and snooping on coworkers to get ahead (Fortune): The workplace is one of the few places where you can experience both a heinous and then a hilarious conversation within minutes of each other.
9 maxims about Creative Leadership (LinkedIn): I know Thom Betteridge’s work for e-tailer SSense. The workplace philosophy he spills on LinkedIn is worth the follow.
AI enhances patient, clinician experience (Healio): Who isn’t obsessed with AI these days? But can it actually reduce our workload? Healthcare is an industry already giving AI a shot.
Millennials more likely to show support and guidance for their colleagues (BusinessLeader): Gen X colleagues have a bad rap for not showing support and guidance. Are Millennials bringing empathy to the office?
📖 Things to consider this week:
For yourself: You should think of leadership as something you work on and learn from everyday. The goal is to learn without being reckless with other people.
For your boss: Looking to network within your industry? Your boss can definitely help make introductions. I’m not talking about meeting people to find a new job (sorry insecure boss). It’s about meeting people on behalf of your business and making friends. And if a job offer comes of it in the future, then good on you!
For your direct report(s): Do they engage in regular one-on-one meetings with their direct reports? If so, ask your directs how they provide development feedback to their team, and what worked or didn’t work in the past.
For your co-workers: Don’t ignore time for shooting the shit. This could be an extended ping session or it could literally be at the water cooler. Either way, take advantage of any time you can slow down and have a conversation with a colleague.
⚡️ And one last thing…
One time I worked with three women named Kate/Katie and two clients also named Kate—all working on the same project. We did what we could with Kait, Kate, and Cait. But for some reason, when it came time for a fourth potential Kate to join the team, her new supervisor decided to ask her if she would go by a different name, as in “We have too many Kates here. What if we called you by your middle name?” It was Fourth Kate’s first job, and she was being asked to become someone different! After two or three years, Fourth Kate had enough and asked to go by her actual first name. The thing about it—we still had the same number of Kates on the team! Think of another solution first—first name, last initial is a common way to deal with too many anyones. As a manager, keep sight of your humanity. Asking someone to change their name at work is just plain weird!
See you next week!
Jon
I have to remind myself that the people I manage are people, and taking a few minutes longer in a conversation, and not rushing through it, can make a difference in how the other person feels. It also makes me feel more connected!
I can't believe anyone was asked to change their name in the office! That is so weird!