We’ve planned a half-day of learning, guidance, and inspiration—all virtual.

First, leadership development coach Muriel Wilkins will talk us through how to communicate effectively when you’re running on empty. Amy Bernstein will then ask business leaders about how they pushed forward policies and programs that made their companies better for women. Next, Amy Gallo will interview several researchers about the practical takeaways from their latest findings. We’ll end with an advice hour, where both Amys will answer your questions. Do you need guidance on leading a team, dealing with conflict, negotiating, or something else? Email your question ahead of time to womenatwork@hbr.org, and they’ll try to help.

Tickets are $60 for Harvard Business Review subscribers and $75 for everyone else. A ticket will also give you access to a replay of the event recording. Register here.

Interested in buying a bunch of tickets for your team, department, or entire company? Email hbrlive@hbr.org to learn about group discounts.

See you there!

Do you find it tough to make decisions? Do you get stuck coming up with options (or overwhelmed by too many of them)? Or maybe you worry about how people will take your decision and if they’ll disagree with it? Do you often grapple with guilt or regret after making a final call?

A dentist who directs a public health clinic wants to gain confidence in her ability to make sound decisions. Behavioral scientist Leslie John shares methods for not overthinking, preempting pushback, and making peace with a tough call.

Guest expert:

Leslie John is a behavioral scientist and professor at Harvard Business School.

Resources:

• “Making Great Decisions,” by Women at Work
• HBR Guide to Making Better Decisions, by Harvard Business Review
• “How to Make a High-Stakes Decision,” by Amy Gallo
• “How to Deliver Bad News to Your Employees,” by Amy Gallo
• “How to Make Great Decisions, Quickly,” by Martin G. Moore

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

What do you do when no one will give you actionable and useful feedback? That’s the situation our guest, an aerospace engineer, has been in for years. And while she’s managed to move up within her company, she feels like she’s missing out on information that would clarify her standing there and secure her future success.

Ella Bell, an expert on interpersonal communication and organizational behavior, shares creative ways to draw out people’s perceptions of your performance and potential. She also offers advice on how to make sense of the feedback you do receive. It can be especially tricky if you don’t agree with what someone says or if their comments don’t align with your priorities. We talk through both scenarios and give suggestions for how to respond.

Guest expert: 

Ella Bell is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

Resources:

• “We Deserve Better Than ‘Attagirl,’” from Women at Work
• “Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback,” by Jaewon Yoon et al.
• “The Right Way to Respond to Negative Feedback,” by Tasha Eurich
• “The Right Way to Process Feedback,” by Cameron Conaway
• “You Need Tough Feedback—Here’s How to Get It – HBR Video,” from Christine vs. Work

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

We’re in a project economy, where so much of our work is developing something new — a product, a service, an event. That means that many of us manage projects, even if “project manager” isn’t in our official job title. And we’re typically doing this work alongside others, on a deadline, often with multiple stakeholders involved, while objectives and circumstances continuously change. It’s not easy, and it’s no wonder that people get certified in project management: it’s a discipline that’s surprisingly deep, from planning to close-out.

A former clinical social worker who recently pivoted to project management has already experienced several of the most common challenges, including uncertainty, interpersonal conflict, and lack of responsiveness from the team. She and Amy B talk with an experienced project manager who shares tips for motivating and influencing others, communicating effectively, and solving problems.

Guest expert:

Tamara McLemore is a project manager who is certified by the Project Management Institute to train others in the discipline, and the founder of the Project Business Academy, through which she coaches people on what it takes to pass the Project Management Professional exam.

Resources:

• HBR Guide to Project Management, by Harvard Business Review
• Managing Projects, by Harvard Business Review
• “The Four Phases of Project Management,” by HBR Editors
• “Five Critical Roles in Project Management,” by HBR Editors
• “The Project Economy Has Arrived,” by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
• “Does Your Project Have a Purpose?” by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
• “Is Project Management the Right Career for You?” by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez and Yasmina Khelifi

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Everyone at work has their own priorities, concerns, and agendas, and knowing what those are allows us to navigate projects and meetings more deliberately and successfully. But how do you get the intel you need to achieve the results you want, especially if you’re the odd woman out in a male-dominated company and industry? What exactly does “political capital” mean? And how does one begin to change exclusionary and toxic politics so that they’re inclusive and healthy?

Organizational psychologist Madeleine Wyatt answers those questions and offers advice on how to become more politically savvy, in conversation with a transportation planner who’s determined to find a less tiring, more authentic approach to winning over clients and influencing others.

Guest expert:

Madeleine Wyatt is a professor at King’s Business School. Her research examines diversity at work and the role informal and political processes play in people’s rise into leadership.

Resources:

• “Office Politics Don’t Have to Be Toxic,” by Madeleine Wyatt and Elena Doldor
• “3 Simple Ways for Women to Rethink Office Politics and Wield More Influence at Work,” by Kathryn Heath
• “Navigating Office Politics When There Is No Office,” by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Dorie Clark
• HBR Guide to Office Politics, by Karen Dillon
• “Networking Doesn’t Have to Be a Drag,” by Women at Work

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Former co-hosts Sarah, Nicole, and Emily reunite with the Amys to discuss the insights and advice that most resonated with them from this season, from how they gained their team’s trust as a first-time manager to how they’re now thinking about retirement. They also talk about their related personal and professional experiences, and share how they’ve been doing since they left the show and HBR.

If you haven’t listened to Season 8 in full, this episode also serves as an overview so you can pick and choose what you want to go back and listen to. The episode ends with each of the hosts sharing what they want to see us covering in future seasons. If you have any ideas, please email us. We’d love to hear from you.

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

When you have an idea for a change that would make your workplace better for women, where do you begin? How can you push for a childcare stipend, a company-wide pay audit, a more comprehensive health care plan, or an ombuds office? If you instigate the change, do you have to be the face of it? What are the other roles you can play?

Two experts in systemic, organizational change explain the behind-the-scenes strategizing, relationship building, and risk management that should happen before approaching the people in charge, who will then need to support, fund, and build out the proposal. And because sustaining a grassroots initiative requires motivating a bunch of volunteers, they also share tried-and-true ways to keep everyone invested in the cause, aligned, and on track.

Guests:  

Lily Zheng is a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist and executive coach. Their latest book is DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right.

Ashley Lewis is the assistant director of the UAW’s women’s department and a national vice president for the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Resources:

• “To Avoid DEI Backlash, Focus on Changing Systems — Not People,” by Lily Zheng
• “Dig, Bridge, Collectively Act,” by Tina Opie and Beth A. Livingston
• “How Leaders Get in the Way of Organizational Change,” by Ron Carucci
• “Cultivating Everyday Courage,” by James R. Detert
• “How to Figure Out How Much Influence You Have at Work,” by Maxim Sytch

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

When your child is struggling—whether it’s with anxiety, anger management, or depression—focusing on anything other than how they’re doing can be difficult to nearly impossible. Yet so many parents are straining day after day to support their children while trying to keep up at work. And so many lack enough flexibility, understanding, and paid time off from their employer to take care of everything they need to do, from finding their children a therapist to taking them to appointments.

What can mothers, managers, and leaders do to make work more manageable? The executive director of the children’s mental health advocacy group On Our Sleeves shares ideas and advice.

Guest:

Marti Bledsoe Post is the executive director of the children’s mental health advocacy group On Our Sleeves and the author of Retrofit: The Playbook for Modern Moms.

Resources:

• “Ripple Effect: The Influence of Children’s Mental Health on The Great Resignation,” by On Our Sleeves
• “The Great Collide: How Supported Children Enable Successful Companies,” by On Our Sleeves
• Bloom: Child Mental Health and the Workplace, from On Our Sleeves
• Understanding Depression in Kids, from On Our Sleeves
• Anxiety in Kids, from On Our Sleeves
• “When Your Employee Discloses a Mental Health Condition,” by Amy Gallo
• “The Maternal Wall,” by Joan C. Williams

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Before you got engaged, or had a child, or moved across the country for your partner’s job, did you sit down and ask each other questions like, What makes for a good life? and How much work is too much? Yeah, neither did we. These are the sorts of conversations that researcher Jennifer Petriglieri says lay the foundation for couples, especially working parents, to have a mutually supportive relationship and satisfying, if demanding, careers.

A woman named Rebecca remembers talking with her husband in depth about their values and goals early on in their relationship. It was a conversation that felt abstract at the time…and never happened again. They now have two young kids, and Rebecca is stepping into a new leadership role. She feels like she’s not getting enough practical and emotional support from her spouse, and isn’t sure how to attain it. So, we asked Jennifer to share her expertise and advice.

We give Rebecca (and anyone in a similar situation) a framework for processing the career-family tension she’s feeling, as well as ideas for resolving it.

Guest:

Jennifer Petriglieri is an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and the author of Couples That Work: How Dual-Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work.

Resources:

• “How Dual-Career Couples Make It Work,” by Jennifer Petriglieri
• “Why Working Couples Need to Talk More About Power,” by Jennifer Petriglieri
• “Couples That Work,” by Women at Work
• “When We Make All (or Most of) the Money,” by Women at Work
• “How to Have a Relationship and a Career,” by HBR IdeaCast

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Have you ever hesitated to take on a particular role or get up in front of other people because you felt self-conscious about your weight? Or worried that others would see you as unprofessional or “not equipped” for leadership positions? Perhaps you’ve made offhand comments about a colleague’s eating habits?

Weight bias is everywhere, including at work, and yet it’s rarely discussed openly or made part of efforts to create equitable and inclusive workplaces. It should be, especially given what we know about the economic and emotional costs to women who are on the receiving end of this stigma.

Two women who have studied weight bias at work—and the misconceptions that underpin it—help us understand our role in creating a positive body culture.

Guests:  

Dr. Habibah Williams is a nurse practitioner at the University of Virginia.

Grace Lemmon is a management professor at DePaul University.

Resources:

• “A primer with purpose: Research implications of the objectification of weight in the workplace,” by Grace Lemmon et al.
• “Sizably Aware: Teaching Healthcare Staff to Lose Their Weight Bias,” a write-up of Dr. Habibah Williams’ work, by Christine Phelan Kueter
• “Unconscious Bias Training That Works,” by Francesca Gino and Katherine Coffman
• “How One Company Worked to Root Out Bias from Performance Reviews,” by Joan C. Williams et al.

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Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org