Lead the Person First: What Great Managers Get Wrong
from The People Mentor Podcast
Most managers prepare what they're going to say before a difficult conversation. Nina Ketel says that's exactly where it goes wrong. Lead with curiosity, not conclusions. And it changes everything. Nina Ketel spent over 13 years leading teams in local authority before moving into coaching. She now helps people rebuild their confidence after some of life's harder chapters — redundancy, divorce, illness, returning to work after raising a family. But what makes this conversation so good is that Nina brings both sides of the table. She knows what it feels like to sit in the manager's chair without a rulebook. And she knows what it feels like to walk back into a workplace having lost yourself along the way. We talk about what great managers actually do differently, why people don't lose their ability when their confidence takes a knock (they just lose sight of it), and the single biggest mistake managers make when they're trying to have a difficult conversation — preparing what to say instead of what to ask. Nina also shares the story behind her memoir, The £30,000 Lesson, and the What's Next programme she's running at a Women's Centre in Stockport, supporting women rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse. It's a conversation full of real insight, real experience, and the kind of practical wisdom you can take straight into work with you.
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