Up next in our series, we get to know Lara Hogan—author of our latest book, Resilient Management. She shares insights into how she deals with self-doubt, her must-have tech tool, and how she kicks off each day. 

ABA: What’s the first thing you do every morning to start your day on the right foot?

Lara Hogan: I am very lucky to have a partner who makes me a delicious cup of coffee, complete with frothy milk, each morning. He refers to it as “frothy coffee,” which makes me giggle, and absolutely starts the day off on a delightful tone.

ABA: Is there anyone you’re following the work of right now, who you’d recommend others pay attention to?

LH: Absolutely! Marco Rogers continually blows my mind with his Twitter threads on management (and many other topics). Alex Qin is doing incredible work teaching formerly incarcerated and justice-involved people digital literacy and coding.

ABA: In moments of self-doubt, how do you recharge and rally to keep going?

LH: Powerlifting has been helping me immensely. It’s less of a rally for me, but more of a reset; powerlifting helps take my mind off of whatever it is that’s dragging me down and forces me to focus on physically lifting something that’s heavy instead. When I’m done with a workout, I feel so much stronger, and usually it’s completely cleared my mind, too.

ABA: Is there a fear or professional challenge that keeps you up at night? What is it?

LH: Yes—scaling myself! It’s a good problem to have, technically, but since starting my manager coaching and training business Wherewithall, I’ve found that there are lots of organizations who could use more help supporting their managers. This year and next year, I need to figure out how to scale everything up!

ABA: What characteristic do you most admire in other driven/creative people?

LH: The characteristic I most admire in creative people is their ability to improvise. If there’s an emergency, I can improve with the best of 'em, but otherwise… I’m a terrible improviser! I’m tremendously in awe of folks who can think of their feet, especially those who can crack jokes and keep the mood light while doing it.

ABA: What tool, object, or ritual could you not live without to get you through a week?

LH: The Bear notes app. I use it to keep track of everything in my life, and it syncs beautifully between my desktop and my phone. I can keep a running list of notes intermixed with checklists and highlights. It’s gold.

ABA: Is there a piece of professional or life advice you’ve gotten that has always stuck with you? What is it?

LH: “Get curious.” I first learned about the art of asking authentically curious open questions from Paloma Medina (to whom I dedicated Resilient Management!) when I worked with her at Etsy. “Get curious” has become my default mantra to work through most challenges, and has served me in even the stickiest of situations. Open questions can be a powerful tool in every person’s toolbox, and I’m constantly finding new places to use them!

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Have you ordered Lara’s new book, Resilient Management, yet? Finding your bearings as a manager and face your fears so you can express yourself clearly and confidently: add Demystifying Public Speaking to your order and save 10% (15% when you buy paperbacks & ebooks)!