My Crazy Office

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine ask a provocative question – Is your boss not letting you make decisions? They start with a question from someone who has been at the same job for three years and still has to run every decision by the boss. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage a boss who has trouble relinquishing control and thinks every decision should be run by them.

On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine consider an important question: Are you putting your job before yourself? They start with a question from someone who likes their job but keeps getting sick because of trying to tackle an overwhelming workload. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to identify whether you are putting your job before your own well being and what you can do about it.

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine address a common dilemma: Getting promoted but not letting go of your old job. They start with a question from someone who recently got promoted to a more executive position but finds it hard to stop doing their former job because it’s familiar and comfortable. Kathi and Katherine discuss why it can be hard to let go and how to move on – even if it’s uncomfortable.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a common problem that many people grapple with at work: Is your boss too busy to meet with you? They start with a question from someone who’s recently started an exciting new position at a growing company but can’t get the boss to meet and lay out the expectations of the job. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to tackle this frustrating situation before it causes you too much distress.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a frustrating situation for any manager – what do you do when you have an employee who always thinks they know better than you? They start with a question from someone whose direct report constantly tells her what he would do if he were in her position. Kathi and Katherine examine how to manage a know-it-all employee and still get the best out of them.

In This My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss an extremely important issue for anyone who feels exhausted from working too hard and caring too much about work – Burnout. They start with a question from someone who got promoted because of his high standards and strong work ethic, but finds himself working seven days a week, exhausted, and unable to let up. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage Burnout so that it doesn’t cost you your health.

Women are the masters of nonverbal communication. One way that they can be passively mean to each other is by sending an unfriendly nonverbal message. In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore the topic of nonverbal messages and how to manage them at work. They start with a question from a young professional who is noticing that one of her female co-workers rolls her eyes every time this individual speaks. Kathi and Katherine consider what one can do to address an eye-rolling colleague, and how to manage nonverbal messages from other women.

In this My Crazy Office episode, Kathi and Katherine pose a question: Are you protecting the wrong person at work? They start with a question from a manager who’s been protecting a skilled-but-difficult employee. This person’s behavior offends other employees so much that HR recently intervened, insisting the manager confront the employee. Kathi and Katherine discuss why it can be tempting to protect certain people at work and how to resist doing it. When is being protective helpful to an employee and when is just enabling poor behavior? Listen here.

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss how to get promoted by being better at managing up and managing down.They start with a question from someone who wants to move to a higher-level position but has been told that they need to be less enabling of staff and more visible to upper management. In other words, this person’s promotion is tied to more managing up and less micro-managing down.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a crucial skill for anyone who wants to move their career forward: Networking. They start with a question from someone who knows that networking would help them find a new job but avoids doing it. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage your own resistance to networking and take steps to build your network anyway. Hate networking? Listen here.

Interviewing for a new job can be very intimidating; especially if you haven’t had much practice. In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Kathrine discuss a crucial skill for anyone seeking employment: How to prepare for job interviews. They start with a question from someone who has been at the same job for three years, knows it’s time to move, but fears the job interview process. Kathi and Katherine outline what you can do to prepare for a job interview, and how you can learn to interview with confidence.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore a sensitive topic: How do you fire someone who is a friend? They start with a question from someone who finds themselves in the awkward position of having to fire a good friend due to that person’s poor performance. Kathi and Katherine discuss the challenges of this kind of situation and how to prepare for the fallout.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore a classic workplace topic – Imposter Syndrome. They start with a question from someone who is about to get promoted and fears that everyone will discover she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Kathi and Katherine discuss what imposter syndrome is, and how to manage it so that it doesn’t slow you down.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore what happens when your friend becomes your boss. They start with a question from someone whose colleague recently got promoted to be her boss. While the two of them were friendly as coworkers, her newly promoted boss is suddenly behaving differently. Join Kathi and Katherine as they discuss how friendships can change at work, and how to navigate those changes.

Today’s My Crazy Office podcast begins with a question: Is your fear holding you back from opportunity at work? Kathi and Katherine start with a question from someone whose employer has offered them a new position that would lead to professional and personal growth, but this person’s fear is holding them back from saying, “yes.” Kathi and Katherine discuss how to identify your fears when opportunity knocks and offer steps you can take to manage them.

Today’s topic on My Crazy Office is a tough one: What do you do if your boss humiliates you in public? Kathi and Katherine start with a question from someone whose new boss yelled at them on a zoom meeting in front of other staff members. They discuss what you can do if your boss humiliates you in public and whether its grounds for leaving.

On this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss the challenge of firing an employee who seems to be popular with the staff. They start with a question from someone who has discovered that a popular employee has been cheating on time sheets and disseminating confidential information to unauthorized people. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage these unruly employees despite your fears about letting them go.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a tough topic for many managers: How to handle conflict between employees at work. They start with a question from a manager who has two very valuable employees who are constantly arguing with each other. Kathi and Katherine explore how to manage your staff when they can not get along.

It can be challenging to work for someone who seems less intelligent than you but has more power. On today’s My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine ask a provocative question: Are you smarter than your boss? If so, what can you do about it? They start with a question from someone whose boss is unable to make decisions, has a very low E.Q., takes credit for other people’s work, and constantly says things that his staff have to apologize for. K & K discuss how to manage this kind of professionally frustrating and politically delicate situation.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage a bad manager. They start with a question from someone who works for a manager who doesn’t understand their work, won’t give advice, and doesn’t seem interested in supporting the employee. Kathi and Katherine explore ways to manage your boss, especially if they aren’t good at managing you.

On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss the forgotten art of networking. They start with a question from someone who knows it’s time to change jobs but doesn’t know how to network. Kathi and Katherine discuss the value of networking, and offer simple steps you can take to start building your professional network again.

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine examine what might be happening if you are tired all the time at work. They start with a question from someone who is exhausted from managing a customer support department but also tends to jump in and do other people’s jobs. Kathi and Katherine consider how fatigue may be a sign that you are doing too much. They discuss the value of letting go and letting other people do their jobs.

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine talk about job hunting in uncertain times. They start by posing a general question that they’ve been hearing from several My Crazy Office podcast listeners: My industry is changing and there seem to be fewer jobs. What do I do? Kathi and Katherine discuss what you need to consider and what steps you need to take to find a job in uncertain times.

With all the changes happening technologically, politically, and economically these days, self care is the easiest thing to drop and the most important thing to increase. In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine address a topic that many people are contending with: How do you practice self-care in a world of uncertainty? They start with a question from someone who is experiencing a great deal of uncertainty at work due to changes caused by AI. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to take care of yourself when it’s not clear where things are headed.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a common workplace dilemma: What happens if you don’t like your new boss? They start with a question from someone whose former boss retired, and the new boss is a completely different kind of manager. We’ll consider what you can do when management changes in a way that you don’t like.

On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a difficult situation for any manager: What do you do if you need an employee more than they need you? They start with a question from a manager whose key employee is skilled but produces mediocre work and seems unmotivated to improve. Kath and Katherine consider what you can do to motivate an employee who doesn’t really care about the job.

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a management challenge that many people face: Being afraid to give negative feedback. They start with a question from someone who oversees three managers but is afraid to give any of them important feedback concerning their weak areas. Kathi and Katherine talk about how to overcome whatever fears prevent you from performing this essential management task.

On this episode of My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine address a very important question for people who want to leave their current jobs: What can you do if you’re too busy to look for a new job? We start with a question from someone who knows it’s time to leave their current job but feels overwhelmed with a heavy workload and doesn’t have time to take job seeking actions. Are you too busy to look for a new job? Listen here.

On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine investigate what you can do if a coworker starts to bully you. They start with a question from someone who discovers that a colleague who she thought was a friend begins to act differently in a group setting. Kathi and Katherine discuss how to detect a closet bully and how to handle their inappropriate behavior at work.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine address a hot topic: Do you secretly suspect that your boss may be keeping you down because he or she needs you? They start with a question from someone who has been working as an assistant to a top designer for two years with the promise of a promotion that never comes. Kathi and Katherine talk about why certain bosses find fault with their most capable employees so that they can keep these individuals working on their behalf.

Low performing employees are very stressful to manage. On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a particular management headache — the slug. It’s the kind of employee who only does the bare minimum at work. We’ll start with a question from someone who currently supervises a very sluggish employee and wonders how to get this person to produce more.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a topic that many people don’t like to think about but it that can have a huge impact on your career – networking. Specifically, Kathi and Katherine examine networking for introverts. They start with a question from someone who wants to change jobs, suspects that networking could help with that process but hates the thought of doing it. Do you hate networking? Listen to this podcast.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a provocative question: Is your employer trying to break up with you? They start with a question from someone who was promised growth and opportunity at the start of her job but recently received a demotion and a pay cut. Kathi and Katherine examine the signs and symptoms when an employer may be trying to break up with you but doesn’t have the nerve to say it.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine consider a challenging situation for any boss: What do you do if your top performer might leave? They start with a question from a manager who discovers that their best employee was almost poached by a competing organization. Kathi and Katherine discuss what you can do if you fear that your top performing employee is heading out the door.

On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine examine a tricky topic: If your boss gets fired, should you apply for their job? They start with a question from someone whose boss was recently terminated, and the folks in upper management are encouraging her to apply for her boss’s position. We’ll discuss what to look out for in these situations so that you can make the right decision.

On this My Crazy Office podcast Kathi and Katherine address a topic that some people consider “soft” but actually affects staff morale, productivity and retention — showing appreciation. They start with a question from a manager who recently learned that their staff do not feel appreciated. Kathi and Katherine discuss different ways to demonstrate appreciation and why it can be critical to your success.

Do you feel frozen in your career? That’s what Kathi and Katherine talk about on this My Crazy Office podcast. They start with a question from someone who has been in a job for several years, knows it’s time to move on, but sees that the economic climate is not good for finding a decent next job. Kathi and Katherine discuss what you can do if you feel frozen and still want to build your career.

It seems like many people are grappling with uncertainty these days. In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine talk about dealing with uncertainty at work. They start with a question from someone who works at a company at risk of losing some of its funding. This individual is having trouble focusing and being productive because the future looks so unclear. We’ll discuss how you can manage your stress during uncertain times.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine talk about waiting too long to fire an employee. They start with a question from someone whose recent hire has become a real problem. This person is always late, disorganized and unable to perform the job well. Yet the manager can’t seem to fire them. Kathi and Katherine discuss what makes it hard to fire an employee and what you can do to speed up the process.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine want to hear from YOU. Political events don’t always affect business, but with this new administration, many federal agencies and the companies that deal with them are in flux. Loss of funding, elimination of jobs, banning of DEI, potential tariffs on imported goods, and plans for mass deportation all combine to create an air of turbulence and uncertainty that affects many of our clients and could impact you. What does your Crazy Office look like now? Do you need help handling stress? Are you in danger of losing your job? Is the uncertainty of these times making it difficult to plan ahead? Do you feel frozen professionally? Please listen to this podcast, and if you have questions for Kathi and Katherine, send them to [email protected]

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine talk about how to turn a bad job into a “B” job. They start with a question from someone who hates their job and feels an urgency to quit but realizes that it will take time to prepare for the thing they really want to do. Kathi and Katherine discuss how this person (and you) can create a plan so that a bad job can become a “B” job that allows you to move forward.

It can be scary to confront staff if you fear that they may get angry and quit. In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss the importance of holding your staff accountable for their behavior. They start with a question from someone who manages many frontline staff but never confronts any of them because of the fear that they will quit. Now this lack of holding staff accountable is getting the manager in trouble.

In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine examine a serious problem – what do you do if you are passed over for a promotion more than once? They start with a question from someone who’s a top performer at their job but keeps getting passed over for promotions to upper management. Kathi and Katherine offer tactics for breaking out of this cycle, and moving your career forward.

Resentment is a tricky emotion. It can consume you, making it difficult to do (or enjoy) your job. In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss this hot topic. They ask the question, “Do you resent your boss?” If so, how do you manage that resentment? Kathi and Katherine start with a question from an individual who works for a horrible manager, but wants to know how to get beyond the anger that comes up towards this person.

In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine explore an important question for anyone in management: How much should you invest in a bad hire? They start with a question from a manager who hired a very likeable person who lacks the skills needed for the job. This manager has invested time and money trying to upgrade the new hire’s skills, but it’s not working. Do you wonder how much to invest in someone who isn’t able to do the job? Listen here.

It’s really hard to manage effectively if you are afraid of upsetting your staff. On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss this challenge for some managers. They start with a question from someone who is new to management but realizes she must give certain members of her staff some tough feedback. This manager is afraid that honest feedback will result in people getting mad at her.