What if performance wasn’t something you managed, but something you enabled? In this episode of the Achieve Workplace Culture Podcast, Wendy Loewen is joined by Daniel Anthony Doerksen and Chris Downey, authors of You Can Manage: A Practical Guide to Becoming the Manager Everybody Wants, to explore the fifth essential of effective management: Advancing the Work. Performance often carries negative baggage, but Dan and Chris challenge the traditional view. Instead of treating performance as something to evaluate once a year, they argue that great managers create the conditions where people can do their best work every day. Through conversations about motivation, systems thinking, strategy, and accountability, they offer a practical roadmap for helping teams achieve meaningful results. Read More

Great teams don’t happen by accident. They are built with intention. In this episode of the ACHIEVE Workplace Culture Podcast, Wendy Loewen is joined by Daniel Anthony Doerksen and Chris Downey, authors of You Can Manage: A Practical Guide to Becoming the Manager Everybody Wants, to explore what it takes to move a group of individuals into a high-performing team. From the classic stages of team development to practical tools for creating alignment, clarity, and community, this conversation unpacks why so many teams get stuck and what leaders can do to help them move forward. Whether you’re leading a new team or navigating change within an established one, you’ll walk away with practical strategies to help your team thrive. Read More

What does it really mean to invest in people as a manager? In this episode of The Manager’s Field Guide, Wendy Lowen sits down with Daniel Anthony Doerksen and Chris Downey, co-authors of You Can Manage: A Practical Guide to Becoming the Manager Everybody Wants, to explore the second essential of effective management: investing in people.   Many managers are promoted because they excel at the work itself. Yet success in management depends just as much on building strong relationships, creating trust, and helping people grow. Dan and Chris unpack why the “people stuff” is not a distraction from the work but a fundamental part of it.   Ready to make your workplace somewhere people actually want to be? … Read More