In this episode of Manager Lab we unpack the concept of "experience intelligence" through Bob Iger and Disney’s playbook, showing how intentional design of employee and customer experiences becomes a strategic advantage. You’ll learn why experiences should be treated like measurable strategy, how employee experience drives customer loyalty, and practical steps managers can apply immediately. Actionable tips include mapping journeys, leading with emotional awareness, elevating small moments, alig...
Feb 17, 2026•10 min•Ep. 119
In this episode of The Manager Lab we challenge the habit of promoting top individual contributors into management by default. Management is a responsibility, not a reward, and requires a different mindset: coaching, delegation, and developing others. We cover three executive takeaways—create parallel career tracks, prioritize motivation for people development, and redefine readiness—and offer practical tips for managers: shift identity to measure team success, hold regular development conversat...
Feb 12, 2026•9 min•Ep. 118
This episode of Manager Lab explains how to make 360-degree feedback effective by treating it as a development process rather than an evaluation, and why discussing results matters for real growth. Practical tips include separating feedback from performance reviews, providing context and reflection time, approaching results with curiosity, sharing your takeaways with the team, and focusing on one or two behavior changes to build trust and improve leadership.
Feb 10, 2026•9 min•Ep. 117
In this episode of Manager Lab, we explore how the most effective teams treat change not as a disruptive event but as a routine skill. Learn why frequent, structured change reduces fear and builds confidence. We outline three practical manager practices—make improvement part of the job, run small experiments instead of big announcements, and normalize reflection—so teams can adapt, learn, and grow resilient together.
Feb 05, 2026•8 min•Ep. 116
In this episode of Manager Lab we explore why senior leaders often struggle to describe their true impact and how making that impact visible boosts influence, credibility, and legacy. Based on the HBR article, you’ll learn three key questions to answer, simple tools—like writing a leadership impact statement and translating strategy into stories—and practical tips to help leaders and their teams communicate the value they create.
Feb 03, 2026•7 min•Ep. 115
Welcome to the Manager Lab, where we explore how leaders can unlock talent. This episode explains why training is not just a cost but a strategic investment that improves performance and increases retention. We cover the research-backed idea that training signals belief in employees and how managers are critical to turning training into applied behavior and lasting change. Listen for five practical actions managers can use immediately: set context, debrief, model learning, create practice space,...
Jan 29, 2026•6 min•Ep. 114
Welcome to the Manager Lab, where we explore how managers, not policies, shape the day-to-day systems that retain top talent. This episode breaks down an HBR insight: policies state intent, but systems—meeting rhythms, workload allocation, promotion signals—determine whether high performers stay. You’ll learn four practical actions managers can take now: audit the signals you send, make growth visible, protect top talent from burnout, and design the team experience on purpose. Retention happens ...
Jan 27, 2026•7 min•Ep. 113
In this episode of Manager Lab we flip a common leadership myth: the best leaders are also exceptional followers. Great followership means actively contributing, challenging constructively, and supporting decisions for the good of the organization. We define followership, explain why it improves trust and decision quality, outline core behaviors (situational leadership, loyal dissent, mission over ego), and offer five practical tips managers can use immediately to coach and model followership on...
Jan 22, 2026•8 min•Ep. 112
This episode explores what managers should do when a high-performing employee has nowhere to be promoted, drawing on the Harvard Business Review article by Rebecca Knight. Listeners will learn clear actions: have honest career conversations, redefine growth beyond titles through enriched work and broader scope, give visible and fair recognition or rewards, co-create a future development roadmap, and support long-term goals even if that leads elsewhere.
Jan 20, 2026•9 min•Ep. 111
In this episode of Manager Lab we explore whether leaders can be "too nice," why avoiding tough conversations undermines performance, and how unclear feedback erodes trust. The host unpacks the common causes—fear of being disliked, misunderstanding empathy, and conflict avoidance—and shows how niceness can unintentionally lower standards and breed resentment. The episode offers practical guidance: combine care with candor, normalize discomfort, set explicit expectations, and intervene early. Lis...
Jan 15, 2026•8 min•Ep. 110
Welcome to the Manager Lab episode on mentorship, inspired by Andy Lopata's HBR article "Weave Mentorship into the Fabric of Your Organization." This episode argues mentorship should be a daily leadership behavior, not just a formal HR program. Traditional mentorship programs often fall short because they are time-bound, top-down, and optional. When mentorship is embedded into everyday work—ongoing, peer-driven, informal, and everyone’s responsibility—it becomes how work gets done and how people...
Jan 13, 2026•8 min•Ep. 109
In this episode of the Manager Lab we explore Antonio Rodriguez’s Harvard Business Review idea of the Project-Driven Organization: why projects now create most organizational value and how traditional functional structures fall short. We cover three key takeaways—translate strategy into disciplined projects, treat project skills as leadership skills, and manage capacity realistically—and five practical actions managers can take today to make projects visible, clarify success, protect capacity, b...
Jan 08, 2026•7 min•Ep. 108
This episode of Manager Lab distills a Harvard Business Review article into four science-backed leadership practices: define your aspirational self, change systems rather than relying on willpower, prioritize a learning mindset over performance, and embrace discomfort to drive change. Practical takeaways help leaders increase impact, resilience, and fulfillment in the year ahead.
Jan 06, 2026•8 min•Ep. 107
In this episode of the Manager Lab, the host shares a personal New Year ritual inspired by Stephen Covey’s Four Categories—physical, mental, social-emotional, and spiritual—to reflect on the past year and set clear, intentional goals for 2026. Practical tips include reviewing last year’s goals, keeping 3–5 priorities per category, using tools like Evernote to track progress, performing quarterly check-ins, and discussing plans with a partner to build accountability and support.
Jan 02, 2026•8 min•Ep. 106
In this Manager Lab episode you’ll learn how a simple, structured team wrap-up week helps teams reflect on the year, recognize contributions, capture lessons, and set intentions so they finish with closure and begin the next year aligned and energized. Practical manager actions and a flexible five-day format are shared to turn reflection into learning, recognition into trust, and endings into momentum.
Dec 30, 2025•9 min•Ep. 105
In this episode of Manager Lab we draw leadership lessons from a record-setting NFL kicker to show that pressure is predictable and trainable. Learn why top performers view pressure as a signal and how preparation beats nerves. Practical takeaways for managers include building repeatable pre-performance routines, focusing on controllables, practicing under simulated pressure, and separating identity from outcomes to foster resilience and better team performance.
Dec 23, 2025•7 min•Ep. 104
In this episode of Manager Lab we summarize The Octopus Organization and explain why talent development must be a continuous, strategic investment. Learn practical tactics: embed learning into projects, use micro-learning, plan skills development, enable curiosity groups and skill swaps, and hold regular development conversations to turn managers into coaches and retain top talent.
Dec 18, 2025•6 min•Ep. 103
In this episode of Manager Lab we explore how to balance data with human judgment, based on The Octopus Organization. The host explains why overreliance on data can lead to false certainty and missed context, and shares practical ways to make data more useful. Key tips include seeking counter-narratives, analyzing granular distributions instead of averages, improving data literacy across roles, pairing metrics with human stories, and embedding analysts into business teams. These steps help turn ...
Dec 16, 2025•5 min•Ep. 102
In this Manager Lab episode we unpack the first part of The Octopus Organization and explore how to stop upholding poor leadership. The host explains why promoting bad leadership harms culture and productivity, and presents practical tactics leaders can use to change: speak last, build a shadow cabinet, connect through shared experience, create multiple feedback channels, stop one harmful behavior, develop self-awareness, and model empathy and vulnerability. This short episode offers actionable ...
Dec 11, 2025•7 min•Ep. 101
In this episode of Manager Lab we examine why employee trust is declining and why trust matters for engagement, alignment, speed, and retention. We unpack the three trust pillars—competence, benevolence, and integrity—and explain common causes of erosion like poor transparency, inconsistent actions, short-term decision-making, and fear at work. Finally, the episode gives six practical, immediate actions for managers: narrate decisions, close the say–do gap, share information early, increase acce...
Dec 09, 2025•8 min•Ep. 100
Welcome to the Manager Lab episode about celebrating wins: why leaders often skip recognition, how neglecting celebration harms motivation and well-being, and the science showing that pausing to acknowledge progress strengthens performance. Discover seven practical tips—celebrate small and specific, connect wins to purpose, spread credit, honor learning, and build celebration rituals—to boost momentum, clarity, and resilience for you and your team.
Dec 05, 2025•7 min•Ep. 99
This episode explains why psychological safety — the freedom to speak up, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear — is essential for reducing burnout and retaining staff, especially during crises. It reviews large-scale research showing that teams with established psychological safety fare better when resources are constrained. Listeners get four concrete actions managers can take: model uncertainty and invite input, run regular safe check-ins, reward interpersonal risk-taking with visibl...
Dec 02, 2025•12 min•Ep. 98
In this episode of the Manager Lab, the host leads a reflective pause on gratitude, exploring nine life categories that shape how we live and lead: health, relationships, work and purpose, growth, nature, daily comforts, freedom, moments of joy and stillness, and spirituality. The episode offers simple reflections and practical encouragement to reconnect with what matters, helping managers return to their roles with renewed perspective, presence, and purpose.
Nov 27, 2025•13 min•Ep. 97
In this episode of Manager Lab we review John Blakey's HBR article on measuring trust and argue that trust is a measurable strategic asset rooted in observable leader behaviors: ability, integrity, and benevolence. The episode outlines a four-step process for measuring trust and offers practical actions for managers—baseline surveys, defined governance and metrics, behavior-focused action plans, embedding trust in routines, and transparent follow-up—to move trust from rhetoric to operational rea...
Nov 20, 2025•11 min•Ep. 96
Transformation succeeds when talent is treated as a strategic pillar, not an afterthought. This episode breaks down how to identify the critical roles that drive change, build capabilities from within, and align talent systems—performance, rewards, and career paths—to reinforce the new operating model. Learn practical steps: map the 10–20% of mission-critical roles, reallocate top performers to those roles, invest in targeted internal development, and audit incentive systems to remove contradict...
Nov 18, 2025•8 min•Ep. 95
In this Manager Lab episode we unpack Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club: the parable that introduces the 20-20-20 victory hour, the four interior empires (mindset, heartset, healthset, soulset), and practical tactics for focus and recovery. Hosts share actionable tips — write a morning manifesto, prepare the night before, keep the first hour tech-free, use weekly self-checks, and follow a 66-day habit-installation plan — to help leaders build consistency, creativity, and energy.
Nov 13, 2025•13 min•Ep. 94
In this Manager Lab episode we unpack HBR research on what makes a great negotiator: disciplined preparation, fluent communication, trustworthy behavior, and principled value creation. We translate those findings into practical tips for managers — prepare structurally, listen and probe, honor commitments, and coach teams to prioritize win‑win outcomes — so you can improve negotiations both inside and outside your organization.
Nov 11, 2025•10 min•Ep. 93
In this episode of Manager Lab we unpack three lesser-known threat responses at work — the please/appease response, the attach or cry-for-help response, and the collapse (disengagement). Using insights from Ron Carucci’s HBR article, we explain how these behaviors signal low psychological safety and give managers practical steps: reward honesty, invite respectful dissent, offer steady but non-reactive support, clarify expectations, adjust workload, and normalize rest.
Nov 06, 2025•7 min•Ep. 92
Welcome to the Manager Lab, where we explore talent management through actionable insights. In this episode we review Ron Carucci’s Harvard Business Review article on the six defensive behaviors and focus on the first three: fight, flight, and freeze. Learn how to de-escalate aggressive behaviors with curiosity, invite withdrawn teammates into conversations without pressure, and make uncertainty safe for those who struggle to decide. Practical approaches help managers turn protective responses i...
Nov 04, 2025•4 min•Ep. 91
In this episode of the Manager Lab, host Greg Gillum explores a Harvard Business Review finding that middle managers report the lowest levels of psychological safety—hindering learning, innovation, and communication across organizations. We define psychological safety, explain why middle managers are uniquely squeezed between senior leadership and their teams, and share four quick takeaways about how safety differs from comfort, the bridge-or-bottleneck role of middle managers, the impact of lea...
Oct 30, 2025•6 min•Ep. 90
