Forces at Work

I'm Doing My Manager's Job

Edgar is a product manager at a large tech company. For the last six months, he’s essentially been doing his manager's job, in addition to his own. They’ll be in meetings and the manager will say things to like, “Edgar, I'm so glad you're here because I'm not good at leading this.” The prospect of continuing to carry the team is daunting. How can Edgar change their situation? Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email ⁠⁠forcesatworkpod@gmail.com⁠⁠.  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Katharine Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9] is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone. ⁠⁠Jake Tuber⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37] is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny. For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to⁠⁠ ⁠⁠insidetracker.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy] and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.

The Britney Spears Effect

Lisa is CMO at a manufacturing company. She took over a small marketing department about 15 months ago, and was able to hire some new folks, but one of them turned out to be extremely toxic. Eventually he resigned, but after he left, he started a campaign to undermine her. He did weird things like people on her team, telling them to be careful with her. The whole experience drained her and her team is still recovering. How can she restore a more positive culture with her team, and not make the same mistake? Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email ⁠⁠forcesatworkpod@gmail.com⁠⁠.  ⁠⁠⁠Katharine Smith⁠⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9] is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone. ⁠Jake Tuber⁠⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37] is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny. For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to⁠ ⁠⁠insidetracker.com⁠⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy] and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.

I'm Three Months Into A Startup. Can I Quit Yet?

Brendan is the Director of Product Development at a tech company. He's only three months into the job... but he thinks he made a big mistake. He's been shut out of certain discussions as a result of asking really questions about the product. There's some remote chance the company succeeds, but he doesn't know if he wants to stick around to find out. How soon is too soon to leave a job without it looking like a black mark? Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email ⁠⁠forcesatworkpod@gmail.com⁠⁠.  ⁠⁠Katharine Smith⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9] is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone. Jake Tuber⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37] is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny. For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to ⁠⁠insidetracker.com⁠⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy] and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.

Swipe Right To Match With Your Next Hire

Charlene is the Chief Human Resources Officer at a professional services firm of about 400 employees. But she can't get anyone at her company to make a hiring decision. If she hears, "This person is just the right fit for us" one more time, she's going to tear her hair out. In this episode, Kate and Jake discuss the challenges of the "online dating effect" in hiring, the impact of overstreamlining processes on manager confidence, and the broader implications of organizational indecision and cultural dysfunction. Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email ⁠forcesatworkpod@gmail.com⁠ [forcesatworkpod@gmail.com].  ⁠Katharine Smith⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9] is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone. ⁠Jake Tuber⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37] is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny. For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to ⁠insidetracker.com⁠ [https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy] and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.

I'm On A Motherf'ing PIP?!

Sarah is a client relations manager at a small branding and marketing agency in Boston. About five months ago, she got a new boss who quickly started giving her negative feedback and sitting in on her meetings. Now, without warning, he put her on a vaguely worded performance improvement plan with an 8-week runway. Yikes! Kate and Jake discuss the challenges of unclear expectations in performance management, the implications of a short timeline in PIPs, and how leadership dynamics and vague feedback can set employees up for failure rather than improvement. Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email forcesatworkpod@gmail.com [forcesatworkpod@gmail.com].  Katharine Smith [https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9] is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone. Jake Tuber [https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37] is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny. For 25% off on Inside Tracker, go to insidetracker.com [https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy] and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.