Women at Work

Latest Episodes:

Leaders to Learn From Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

In leading their teams and organizations through a crisis, women have repeatedly stepped up to the plate. How have they done it? By flexing the leadership capabilities that set them apart, such as taking initiative and communicating powerfully.

We asked our listeners to tell us about bosses whose management approach they admire and whose values and skills have had a positive impact on them personally. Here we’re celebrating and learning from four of these women: the managing partner at a law firm, the chief technology officer at a community college, the head of HR at an employee recognition company, and the CEO of a bank. Then, leadership coach Muriel Wilkins shares advice on how to take care of yourself while taking care of the people you manage.

Guest expert:

Muriel Wilkins is the co-founder of the executive coaching and leadership development firm Paravis Partners. She hosts the HBR Presents podcast Coaching Real Leaders.

Resources:

“Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills,” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman
“Research: Women Are Better Leaders During a Crisis,” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman
“Research: Women Took on Even More Invisible Work During the Pandemic,” by Marianne Cooper

What It Takes to Make a Major Change Oct 11, 2021

Show notes

It’s one thing to know you want to upgrade your work life. It’s another to take the steps necessary to establish a new routine and career outlook. There are three phases to any major life change, according to management research findings: separation, experimentation, and reintegration.

Making a change is possible, manageable, and worth the effort. As proof, two women who are well into the process reflect on the steps they took to come as far as they have, as well as the payoff they’ve seen in their lives.

Guests:

Shilpa Bhandarkar is the CEO of the tech venture arm of a law firm.

Bridget O’Brien is a marketing director within a large health system.

Resources:

“The 3 Phases of Making a Major Life Change,” by Herminia Ibarra
“How Dual-Career Couples Can Work Through the Coronavirus Crisis,” by Jennifer Petriglieri
“How Dual-Career Couples Make It Work,” by Jennifer Petriglieri

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Introducing Season 7 Oct 04, 2021

Show notes

So many of us are either at a turning point professionally or managing life on the threshold. We’re weighing whether or not it’s time to change jobs. Grappling with team members resigning one after another. Trying to settle in and succeed as a new hire. Finding our way as a freelancer.

This next season is about making the most of these transitional and initial stages, leading positive change, and forging ahead in our careers.

Email the show team: womenatwork@hbr.org

The Essentials: Negotiating Strategically May 24, 2021

Show notes

How can we get better at negotiating? We hear from a butter maker and entrepreneur about a sensitive deal she recently navigated and then use that experience to draw out the principles and practices essential to any negotiation. Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a professor who studies and teaches negotiations, gives advice on achieving our objectives in a deal, no matter the context.

The Essentials: Being Productive May 17, 2021

Show notes

Why is it that we often wake up with big plans — and seemingly enough energy to complete the tasks on our to-do list — and go to bed lamenting all the unfinished work?

A social worker joins Emily to pose questions about productivity to Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist. Alice shares the planning, creativity, and decision making that her success and satisfaction hinges on — and how she manages to ignore everything else. She highlights mental mistakes that prevent people from accomplishing their most meaningful work, and she gives guidance for overcoming them.

Guests:

Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist, is the author of two books on mental health, The Anxiety Toolkit and The Healthy Mind Toolkit. She’s writing her third book about productivity.

Kate Troutman is a social worker.

Resources:

“5 Mental Mistakes That Kill Your Productivity,” by Alice Boyes
“Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Productivity,” by Alice Boyes
Getting Work Done, by Harvard Business Review
HBR Guide to Being More Productive, by Harvard Business Review
HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done, by Harvard Business Review
Getting It All Done, by Harvard Business Review

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

The Essentials: Dealing with Stress May 10, 2021

Show notes

Stress affects everyone, but we all express and experience it differently. Hearing how a nurse practitioner responds to the various stressors of her job reveals how stress works at a fundamental level. Workplace well-being researcher Mandy O’Neill says that we’re more likely to feel stressed when there is an imbalance between the threat we’re facing and the resources we have to prevent damage or danger. When the current threat feels greater than our available resources, we become — understandably — mentally and emotionally strained.

The two of them join Amy B to discuss the constant challenge of managing stress, as well as actions that help control tension and anxiety — or, even better, the stressors themselves.

Guests:

Sarah Rose Lamport is a nurse practitioner.

Olivia (Mandy) O’Neill is an associate professor of management in the George Mason University School of Business and a senior scientist at the university’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.

Resources:

HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work, by Harvard Business Review
“To Lead Better Under Stress, Understand Your Three Selves,” by Tony Schwartz et al.
“5 Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed,” by Alice Boyes
“Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress,” by Emma Seppälä et al.
“Managing Burnout,” by Women at Work

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

The Essentials: Giving Feedback May 03, 2021

Show notes

This is the first episode in a new series called The Essentials, where we invite women from essential sectors (think health care and education) to join us in interviewing experts on essential career topics (think negotiating and managing stress).
In this episode, we tackle giving feedback — something we know is important to being a good manager, somebody people look up to and not just report to. But very few of us actually like to do it. So how can we get better at this critical skill? How can we deliver feedback in a way that motivates a team member rather than demoralizes them? Which pieces of feedback do we prioritize? And how do you make room in your already busy schedule to have these difficult conversations?

Amy G is joined by a school principal from Southern California to interview Therese Huston, a social scientist and feedback expert. They talk about three different types of feedback conversations, how to make time to share feedback with team members, and tips for giving feedback remotely.

Guests:

Jessica Gomez is an elementary school principal in Southern California.

Therese Huston is the author of Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower and the founding director of Seattle University’s Center for Faculty Development.

Resources:

“We Deserve Better Than ‘Attagirl’” by Women at Work
“Research: Men Get More Actionable Feedback Than Women,” by Elena Doldor, et al
“Giving Critical Feedback Is Even Harder Remotely,” by Therese Huston
“Everything You Need to Know About Giving Negative Feedback,” by Sarah Green Carmichael
HBR Guide to Delivering Effective Feedback, by Harvard Business Review

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Family Management: Looking to a Post-Pandemic Future Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

As more and more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, how do you lead your family through this safer but not coronavirus-free new world? Two parents in Israel — a child psychologist and an infectious disease doctor — describe the approach they’ve been taking with their three kids. Because when only one child is old enough to receive the vaccine, making your way out of lockdown is even more of a process.

Guests:

Orit Yafeh is a clinical child psychologist.

Ran Nir-Paz is an infectious disease physician.

Resources:

“What Will Work-Life Balance Look Like After the Pandemic?” by Bobbi Thomason and Heather Williams
“A Way Forward for Working Parents,” by Daisy Dowling
“Leading into the Post-Covid Recovery,” by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg
“How to Prepare Yourself for a Return to the Office,” by Ron Carucci
“Resilience Is About How You Recharge, Not How You Endure,” by Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan

Give feedback on the series: hbr.org/podcastsurvey

Email us: familymanagement@hbr.org

Family Management: On the Cusp of Parenthood Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

We get inside the head of a woman whose due date is just days away. She shares with Erica her worries, hopes, and questions about how having a baby will change her career. Erica offers practical advice for managing a new identity and new work-family demands.

Guest:

Elainy Mata is a multimedia producer at HBR.

Resources:

“A Working Parent’s Survival Guide,” by Daisy Dowling
“New Mothers, Let’s Talk About Your Professional Identity Crisis,” by Janna Koretz
“How to Return to Work After Taking Parental Leave,” by Rebecca Knight
“Managing Parental Leave (Yours or Someone Else’s),” by Women at Work
“The Upside of Working Motherhood,” by Women at Work
“What Managers Should Know About Postpartum Depression,” by Julia Beck

Family Management: Everyday Joys Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

Before Kevin had kids, he believed they’d bring him pure joy. So after the birth of his first child, he was blindsided by how little joy he actually felt. The big emotions, which people had gushed to him about, never arrived. Instead, he felt exhausted, overwhelmed, and confused. But, over time, he’s learned that joy — at work and at home — is bite-sized and to be savored.

Kevin reflects on the presence of joy in his life and what keeps him from feeling it. Then, leadership development coach Amy Jen Su gives advice for how to get into a state of mind where appreciating the everyday joys of working parenthood comes more easily.

Guest:

Amy Jen Su is the co-founder of the executive coaching and leadership development firm Paravis Partners and the author of The Leader You Want to Be.

Resources: