Women at Work

This episode marks the end of a show that’s meant so much to us. Amy Bernstein and Amy Gallo say goodbye, answer two last Ask the Amys questions, and reminisce with founding producer Amanda Kersey. HBR’s Maureen Hoch, who came up with the original idea for the podcast, joins to share how it all began.

What if your boss turns against you the minute you ask for a promotion? Or you struggle with strategic thinking and keep getting feedback that you’re “too in the weeds”? Or the person dragging down your team is doing just enough to stay out of trouble? The Amys give advice for dealing with sabotage, shifting how you're seen, and setting expectations with difficult colleagues.

Many of us have internal beliefs—I need it done now, I know I’m right, I need to be involved—that feel like truth but actually hold us back as leaders. Executive coach Muriel Wilkins calls these counterproductive beliefs “hidden blockers,” and she talks the Amys through the process of identifying theirs and then reframing them. They also look at how blockers show up in team and organizational behavior, like when lack of trust results in too many meetings, and discuss how leaders can shift culture by first examining and adjusting their own assumptions.

Have you ever realized, mid-project, that you and your boss weren’t aligned on what success looked like or how to get there? Executive coach Melody Wilding explains why getting clear on goals and understanding each other’s working styles is essential, even when you’re already in a leadership role. They share advice on how to start these conversations in a way that feels natural and constructive, break down common style mismatches, and offer guidance for adapting without losing your authenticity.

When our colleague Kevin Evers wrote There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, we knew we had to talk about it. For so many women, she’s a role model—personally and professionally. Four HBR Swifties who read the book highlight how her instincts and decisions offer lessons in leadership, strategy, and staying power.

Self-disclosure at work can build trust and connection, but it also comes with risks. In one of our earliest episodes, the late Columbia professor Katherine Phillips explained how sharing personal experiences helps diverse teams connect. We revisit that 2018 conversation and talk with her longtime collaborators, Tracy Dumas and Nancy Rothbard, who explain how expectations around self-disclosure have shifted, especially with the rise of remote work, social media, and political polarization. Plus, the Amys reflect on what they’ve learned about when, why, and how to open up at work.

Young women are entering the workforce full of potential but without some of the interpersonal skills they need to succeed and advance. That’s not just their problem; it’s ours too. In this live conversation from SXSW EDU, Amy Gallo talks with Neda Norouzi, an architecture professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Aimee Laun, director of the Career Connections Center at Texas Woman’s University, about the gap between what colleges teach and what workplaces expect—and the critical role mentors, managers, professors, and parents can play in bridging it.

Imagine having a direct report who sobs every time you give them feedback. Or leading a team of people who’ve told your boss they don’t trust you. Or managing people for the first time—43 of them—with no training or guidance. The Amys offer advice for getting through these real situations from listeners–not just advice, but actual language for asserting your needs, earning trust, setting boundaries, and holding your ground even when emotions run high.

Purposeful questions do more than clarify details—they reveal how you think and demonstrate leadership potential. Amy Gallo talks with a program manager looking to strengthen her executive presence and question-asking skills. Harvard Business School professor Alison Wood Brooks joins them to offer research-backed guidance on eliciting useful responses, building credibility through questions, and adapting to different conversational settings.

What do you do when a formerly supportive boss turns against you? Amy G advises a project manager who still believes in her team, just not the person leading it. Learn tactics for managing up, protecting your reputation, and preserving your sanity.

After 10 seasons, Women at Work is changing things up for the better. We’re shifting to a new, year-round schedule, releasing a new episode every other Monday, starting March 10. That means more episodes that inspire reflection and growth, more practical advice, and more insights and stories that make you feel seen and supported in your career.

What could you achieve if you asked for what you truly want at work? Amy Gallo and four listeners embraced Alison Fragale’s “nos challenge,” requesting everything from clearer communication and help with a project to leadership opportunities and job title changes. As they pursued 10 rejections each, they noticed surprising patterns in how people respond, overcame fears of rejection, and made progress on personal and professional goals. Their experiences offer practical insights into how to ask assertively and gain status—even when the answer is no.

When you realize the line of work you’ve been in for years doesn’t interest you anymore or is in decline or won’t ever pay well enough, what’s your next move? Amy B speaks with executive coach Nina Bowman about the process of making a bold mid-career leap: how to identify a new path, build connections to land interviews, and tell the story of how you’ll succeed in a completely different role. Then, two listeners who made bold leaps themselves—one from academia to tech, the other from government to consulting—share their experiences and insights.

A past guest recounts how she burned out, quit her job, intended to get a new job after taking a breather, and then didn’t for over a year. That’s because someone in her family kept getting sick or hurt, she had to move twice, and all of the logistical and emotional responsibilities fell to her (because who else was going to take them on?!) Sociologist Jessica Calarco helps her make sense of that exhausting year of unpaid work and the forces that put her and other women in this sort of position.

Do you expect to have more time for yourself and for your career as your kids become teens and young adults? Amy G did. If you too are getting “urgent” texts from your teenager at all hours, feeling judged by other parents about your level of involvement, and trying to figure out how to set the right amount of boundaries, she and Danna Greenberg hear you and have advice.

There’s something about hearing how other women are making the most of LLMs that can turn even the most GenAI-avoidant among us GenAI-curious. At least that’s what happened to the Amys when they heard from several power users who’ve broadened their thinking, deepened their agency at work, and saved themselves time and stress. Maybe in listening to them you’ll be inspired too.

Worrying is a fact of life; it comes and goes, usually. A clinical psychologist explains how to better manage anxiety at work, whether you have an anxiety disorder, suspect you might, or want to support a colleague who does.

When you’re interacting with people at work, how often do you find yourself deflecting praise, downplaying your accomplishments, or responding “busy!” when someone asks how you’re doing? Why are those such common habits, especially if they so often leave us feeling fake? Alison Fragale, a professor of organizational behavior, offers an alternative: bring genuine strength and friendliness to everyday interactions because that combination gets women the success we deserve.

Political scientist Farida Jalalzai and organizational psychologist Laura Morgan Roberts unpack the symbolic and practical effects of having a woman in a top leadership position. They explore how Kamala Harris’s potential presidency could challenge and shift our notions of leadership and change the way that women understand what’s possible for themselves. They also dive into the realities Harris might face if elected—like juggling high expectations and navigating the complexities of representation.

How are women using GenAI to transform their work? What can we learn from the listeners who identify as “AI power users” about how to boost our productivity, creativity, and confidence? Why is working while parenting a teenager so much harder than Amy Gallo expected, and how can she and other moms navigate this emotionally demanding phase of motherhood? If you’re mid-career and thinking about switching industries, what should you know before making the leap? These questions are at the heart of some of the conversations the Amys are having this season. As always, they’ll bring you expertise, stories, and advice.

How do you know how diverse your company’s workforce is, how equitable its processes are, and how included people feel if nobody is using any metrics? DEI strategist Lily Zheng explains the power of data to track a company’s progress, fix unfairness, and hold people to their promises. They have advice for measuring and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion even when you don’t have a budget or you’re starting from scratch.

Is mid-level management a stone you’re ready to step off of? Making that move is difficult but doable, and Amy B and her three guests will direct, inspire, and reassure you. An executive coach validates the challenges of scoring a position that’s scarce. Then, two COOs whose careers stagnated in mid-level management before accelerating again, recount the conversations, decisions, and networking that jump-started them.

As a mid-level manager, when you spot an opportunity for the business to adopt a new technology, enter a different market, or improve a process, how should you approach the people above you so that they listen to your idea and act on it? Executives have a reputation for dismissing suggestions that aren’t theirs. Amy B and her two guests, Sue Ashford and Ellen Bailey, suggest ways to frame the issue, involve others, and manage emotions so that your idea comes to fruition.

Strategist Andrea Belk Olson spells out how to make the most of the latest corporate master plan that’s now your job to put into action. She suggests important questions to ask yourself before hitting the ground running, ways to handle resistance from team members, what to do when the plan isn’t working well, and points to include in progress updates.

What’s the happy middle between micromanaging and being too hands off? Amy B and three other experienced mid-level managers describe how they think about when to intervene and when not to so that they are empowering their teams and freeing up their own minds to do more of their most strategic work.

Register for a lively four hours with the Amys, their guest experts, and fellow fans of the show. Dorie Clark will talk about working with the ambition you’ve got right now; Ruchi Sinha building teams’ trust in you as a leader and in one another; and Lily Zheng, on where we are now with DEI and where they’d like to see organizations go from here. We’ll end with an advice hour, where Amy B and Amy G answer audience questions about leading a team, dealing with conflict, negotiating, or whatever else comes through the chat.

If you’re in a leadership role, or any role where you are outspoken and visible, chances are that at some point people are going to criticize you, sometimes fiercely, sometimes publicly. Are you ready for that? Two women who’ve felt the heat because of decisions they’ve made or arguments they’ve put forward—or simply because of who they are—reflect on the ways they’ve steeled themselves and dealt with the fallout. Listening to them recount how they responded to fierce criticism will hopefully help you think about how you might respond, both when you see it coming and when you don’t.

We all need to set boundaries, even in the most structured jobs, because work has its way of encroaching on the rest of our life. Ashley, a senior analyst for the federal government, recently shifted to a schedule that helps her do her most important work and have some alone time before her family gets home. Now she’s trying to figure out how to further minimize interruptions, deal with slow and busy stretches, and get out of unproductive meetings. Amy G and executive coach Melody Wilding talk through adjustments Ashley can make and things she can say to achieve those goals. They also offer strategies for how to communicate your new limits with colleagues and how to hold the line when your boundaries inevitably get tested.

Trust smooths the way for collaboration, conflict resolution, and influencing. But how do you build this asset? And how do you repair it when you’ve missed a series of important deadlines or otherwise messed up? Organizational psychologist Ruchi Sinha talks with a listener who’s struggling to restore skeptics’ confidence in her and her team. Ruchi shares the three elements of trust and how to convey each one. She also offers advice on what to do if you’ve failed to acknowledge a broken promise and how to communicate practically when confidentiality prevents you from being totally transparent.

Executive presence is a mix of gravitas, communication skills, and appearance. But what does that look and sound like in practice? To help a fully remote insurance underwriter think through ways she can act like a leader, we bring in a role model of hers and an expert in strategic communication.

Is there any way to know for sure whether something that someone did—or neglected to do—is rooted in sexism? When is confronting that person worth it? And if you’ll never know what drove their actions, how do you make peace with the uncertainty? Amy G talks through these questions with two professors who study perceptions and gender stereotypes.

It’s a question that so many of us are grappling with. Should I quit corporate life and pursue my passion project? Today in this episode from our colleagues at New Here—HBR's podcast for young professionals—we’ll help you think through the possibilities and trade-offs, as we learn from one woman’s experiences leaving corporate life to build her own business. You’ll learn which of her fears were warranted, how she battled loneliness, managed her money, and whether or not she is actually happier working for herself.

Eight women who’ve been on boards share how they landed a seat, gained confidence in the role, and found unexpected personal and professional benefits in the work. We hope their perspectives and advice will encourage you to consider trying it yourself some day. Ellen Zane, who runs a Harvard workshop for women interested in board work, gives further insight based on her deep experience as a director for nonprofits and private and public companies.

What if one of your first assignments at a new job was to fire people? What should you do if the person leading a project you’re on isn’t giving clear direction, demands that you work nights and weekends, bristles at your feedback—and leadership tells you to fall in line? These are two of the five situations that Amy B and Amy G talk through in this episode. They offer advice to the women who wrote in with their questions, with the hope that it will help them and anyone who’s been in a similar situation, or might be one unfortunate day.

Liz Fosslien believes “the future of work is emotional.” The Amys revisit our 2020 conversation with her and fellow organizational consultant Mollie West Duffy about the good that can come from being vulnerable with colleagues, and Fosslien returns to reassess where the line between vulnerability and oversharing is today.

If you plan to get married, do you see yourself keeping or changing your last name? How much, if at all, does your career factor into that decision? Our associate producer, who’s engaged, spoke with three recently married women about the professional considerations that factored into their decisions. Hannah and the Amys then join former co-host Nicole Torres to discuss how their names are connected to their personal brands.

Two women who have ADHD—one’s a psychologist and the other a life coach—describe what the disorder is and how it messes with the brain’s executive functions, like inhibition and emotional regulation. They give advice for managing the symptoms, asking for help at work, and what to do if what we’re talking about sounds an awful lot like your life.

Meredith Koch and Nicole Bettè are engineers who’ve bonded over conversations about their apparent and non-apparent disabilities. They recount how at different moments in their careers they’ve gotten the understanding and assistive technology necessary to do their jobs—and when they haven’t, all with the hope that you’ll be able to better advocate for yourself and your colleagues.

The Amys and their former co-host Sarah Green Carmichael revisit times they majorly messed up, in hopes that you’ll feel better about your experiences with failure. We’re not talking about honest mistakes with simple solutions; we’re talking about larger problems that were difficult and costly to correct. They share what happened, how they recovered, and what they learned.

In this ninth season of the show, these are some of the big questions they’ll explore: How do you recover from a failure? What’s it really like to serve on a board? Do our careers influence the decision to keep or change our last name? How does going through a divorce affect us at work? If we have a disability, how can we get the understanding and assistive technology we need to do our job? Amy G and Amy B will talk with women who’ve been there, bringing in advice, stories, and expertise.

When you see potential for your company to improve in some way—whether it’s to overhaul an outdated policy, round out benefits, or to make jobs more workable, how can you instigate change? Three women who saw that potential and carried it through describe what they did at their companies, the results so far, and how you can follow their lead.

Leadership development coach Muriel Wilkins talks us through communication techniques that meet you where you’re at mentally and emotionally so that you can rise to the moment (even when you’re worried you can’t).

Who are you now, who do you want to be, and how can you stretch without taking on too much? Jen Dary regularly coaches first-time managers on these questions. She shares advice for finding yourself anew at work, dealing with disillusionment, and setting priorities and boundaries. Then, a former guest who’s one year into leading a major project tells us about her aha moments. Finally, Kelsey answers the question of whether or not she’s ready to try management again.

When you manage people, they ask you for things: to extend a deadline, to make an exception, to give them a raise or more resources. Maybe they don’t even have to ask; you notice the need and start thinking about how to meet it. Negotiations professor Martha Jeong explains the mindset, framing, timing, and tone that’ll position you to get the most mutually beneficial solution.

People management consists of a fair amount of mediation and diplomacy, and you can’t expect to get the hang of it right away. You’re in the middle of a lot now, and holding tension and resolving disagreements takes planning, practice, and restraint. Amy G teaches us about different types of conflict, natural tendencies, and options for responding.

If you’re a woman who’s a new manager, people will probably push back on your authority. As difficult as defiance is to face—especially when you’re settling in yourself—we have ideas for making it clear that you’re in charge. McKinsey’s Lareina Yee recounts the actions that senior leaders took that affirmed her position. Kelsey reflects on the disrespect she felt as a first-time manager, as well as her discomfort with power, and Amy B helps her make sense of those experiences and feelings. If you manage a woman who’s a new manager, this episode is for you too!

We’ve planned a half-day of learning, guidance, and inspiration—all virtual. Here’s the session lineup, hour by hour: 1) Communicating effectively when you’re running on empty, 2) Lessons from women making work better for women, 3) The latest gender research and what it means for you, and 4) Ask the Amys. Register here.

A dentist joins Amy Gallo to ask a behavioral scientist about the fundamentals of sound decision making: when to use a process, how to handle resistance to a call you’ve made, and making peace with a tough call.

We need actionable, useful feedback to grow and advance professionally. But our guest, an aerospace engineer, hasn’t received any of that for years, and she feels like she’s missing out on information that would clarify her standing at her company and secure her future success there. We bring in Ella Bell, an expert on interpersonal communication and organizational behavior, to offer advice, including suggestions on how to respond to, make sense of, and act on feedback you receive.

What’s a project charter? Why does this one person keep trying to derail our progress? Are our planning meetings effective? How do I actually get people to follow through? Figuring out how to successfully manage a project can make any professional’s head spin. One woman, new to this type of work, shares the challenges she’s already facing, including uncertainty, interpersonal conflict, and lack of responsiveness from the team. And an experienced project manager shares tips for motivating and influencing others, communicating effectively, and solving problems.