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Managing Made Simple · August 25 · 17 min

How to be a great Player-Coach manager

Player coach management breaks down the same way every time: the player work wins and the coaching slides. If you lead a team and carry your own deliverables, you already know how the week goes. The player work has deadlines and escalations. Coaching has none of that on a Tuesday, so the one on ones come off the calendar first, starting with the people who seem fine. In this episode, Lia breaks down what that costs you and your team, and the three moves that get you back into the coach half of the job this week. In this episode you will learn: Why the player half of the job always wins when you're spread thin The high performers most at risk while you're heads down on your own deliverables How to make one on ones survivable at 15 to 30 minutes every other week Why status updates don't belong in your one on one, and where to put them instead The one question to ask about every piece of work that lands on your plate What it means when the answer to that question is no, every single time Resources mentioned: Weekly team check-in tool: liagarvin.com/snippets Advisory and manager training: liagarvin.com/contact 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 -- © 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

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show notes

Player coach management breaks down the same way every time: the player work wins and the coaching slides. If you lead a team and carry your own deliverables, you already know how the week goes. The player work has deadlines and escalations. Coaching has none of that on a Tuesday, so the one on ones come off the calendar first, starting with the people who seem fine. In this episode, Lia breaks down what that costs you and your team, and the three moves that get you back into the coach half of the job this week.

In this episode you will learn:

  • Why the player half of the job always wins when you're spread thin
  • The high performers most at risk while you're heads down on your own deliverables
  • How to make one on ones survivable at 15 to 30 minutes every other week
  • Why status updates don't belong in your one on one, and where to put them instead
  • The one question to ask about every piece of work that lands on your plate
  • What it means when the answer to that question is no, every single time

Resources mentioned:

  • Weekly team check-in tool: liagarvin.com/snippets
  • Advisory and manager training: liagarvin.com/contact

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

--

© 2026 Lia Garvin / Managing Made Simple

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