224: Dealing with team members that bug us Artwork

Managing Made Simple

Managing Made Simple is a weekly leadership and management podcast for people managers, business owners, and founders who want to lead high-performing teams without falling back into the work themselves.

Each week, host Lia Garvin- 3x bestselling author and former team operations leader at Google, Apple, and Microsoft- breaks down the real, everyday challenges of leading teams, giving feedback, delegating, creating team accountability, high performing culture, retention, and more with performance with practical strategies you can implement immediately. Lia’s work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune.

With Lia, you get real talk and actionable leadership insights that make it easier to manage your team and get better results from your people.

If you’re asking leadership questions like:
• How do I get my team to take ownership and accountability for their work?
• Why do I have to repeat myself constantly as a manager?
• How do I know if I hired the wrong employee?
• How do I delegate effectively without things falling apart or micromanaging?
• How can managers tell if team members are overusing AI at work?
• What actually motivates employees today?
• How do I give feedback that actually moves the needle?
• How do I communicate vision, expectations, and strategy clearly?
• What are best practices for performance reviews, compensation, and growth conversations?

How do you lead a team through change, uncertainty, and rapid growth with confidence?

You’ll find the tools, frameworks, and leadership strategies you need to lead your team better, starting today.

Managing Made Simple:
✔ Corporate managers navigating continual change

✔ Founders & Business Owners scaling teams without burning people out
✔ Entrepreneurs balancing business strategy and people leadership
✔ Experienced leaders ready to modernize how they manage teams

New episodes drop every Tuesday, delivering leadership lessons, people management tools, and team-building strategies you can apply immediately.

Learn more at liagarvin.com

All Episodes

Managing Made Simple

224: Dealing with team members that bug us

March 10, 2026 • Lia Garvin • Episode 224

0:00 | 16:46

You know the feeling.
Their name pops up on your calendar and your stomach drops just a little.

They are not low performers. They are actually delivering.
But something about the dynamic makes leading them harder than it needs to be.

In this episode of Real Talk: Leading Small Teams, we break down three common archetypes that trigger leaders and how to handle each one without avoiding hard conversations.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why “Praise-Seeking Polly” may not actually feel recognized, even when you think you are praising them
What “Mindy the Mope” might be signaling about role fit and strengths alignment
Why “Defensive Dan” reacts to feedback and how to lower defensiveness without walking on eggshells
How to anchor feedback in shared expectations so high performers stay coachable

If you have someone on your team who makes you want to cancel your one-on-ones but is technically doing a good job, this episode will help you shift from frustration to strategy.

💻 Grab the Snippets template: liagarvin.com/snippets

Download my FREE guide to making hard conversations with your team easier at liagarvin.com/convo

Looking for support for yourself of your team? I've got you covered.
Explore manager training, leaders keynotes & offsites, and 1:1 advisory, or my 90-Day-COO program for business owners who want simple systems that actually work.

I transform teams from cost centers to profit centers with practical tools and research-backed strategies that make managing EASIER.

Get all the details at: www.liagarvin.com
Contact: liagarvin.com/contact
Email: hello@liagarvin.com

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lia.garvin
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Lia.Garvin