The Manager Lab

When teams are overloaded, managers often become the bottleneck by absorbing work or pushing staff harder. This episode summarizes Melody Wilding’s Harvard Business Review advice and tells the story of a leader who...

Host Greg Gillum explores Michelle Geelan’s new book Resilient Optimism and explains how optimism is a behavior, not a feeling. The episode breaks down five practical manager moves—recalibrate mindset, transform stress...

This episode explains how to handle a team member who underperforms but is protected by relationships, legacy, or embedded knowledge — creating an accountability gap where you own outcomes but not the leverage to change...

Somewhere on your team, someone may be using AI to surface concerns they don't feel safe raising directly — a phenomenon called "safety by proxy." This episode explains how that behavior is a signal about your culture...

This episode explains how managers should use progressive discipline as a tool for correction, not just a checklist toward firing. It walks through the four steps—verbal coaching, written warning, final...

New research tracking 200 employees at a tech company shows AI often increases workload rather than freeing time. Workers moved faster and took on more tasks, leading to longer hours, blurred boundaries, and more...

This episode summarizes Harvard Business Review research identifying three behaviors that make leaders inspirational: the Visionary (connect work to a meaningful future), the Exemplar (model calm, competent behavior...

This episode explains why charismatic candidates can still become toxic leaders and shares a practical six-step hiring process to expose unsafe leadership before you hire. Learn how to define observable leadership...

This episode breaks down Pamela Meyer’s HBR piece "Five Ways to Wield Influence When You Lack Authority," showing how managers can get results from people who don’t report to them. Listen for five practical moves you...

This episode argues that many so-called "AI layoffs" are actually cost-cutting rebranded as innovation and that true AI transformation requires redesigning work, not merely cutting roles. It lays out a practical...

This episode revisits a 2020 Harvard Business Review article that argues Organizational Intelligence (OQ) — the ability to move a system of people, incentives, habits, and politics — is the critical leadership skill...

This episode explains that strategy wasn’t simple because ideas were scarce, but because human bandwidth is limited—AI can generate and stress‑test thousands of options and keep market views live. It advises managers to...

New research shows remote job postings require about 25% more skills, experience, and credentials than equivalent in‑person roles, making it much harder for early‑career candidates to break in. Researchers analyzed 50+...

Gallup's research shows AI adoption is rising: more employees are using AI personally than organizations have formally integrated it. The biggest productivity gains come when people use AI in multiple, specialized ways...

New research highlighted in Harvard Business Review argues that workers who change organizations frequently often become faster at adapting and reaching peak performance in new environments. This episode explains why...