Performance evaluations: are they a proverbial party or just the most inefficient pyramid scheme? This week, Erin & Nicole riff on everything from performance evaluations to showing true gratitude to how to handle the pressures of the holiday season (including insane corporate deadlines like shooting a Christmas video by 10am on a Monday.) This episode is a rollercoaster of hysterics, deep thinking, and meows. Listen in if you want all the feels. In this week's b Cause podcast, Erin Hatzikostas and Nicole Licata Grant first start by talking about workplace performance evaluations. Will Nicole follow Erin's advice and Tweet her way through this year's evaluation? Erin asks Nicole about her Holiday (meow) plans and mentions her friends quarantine rules for the kids - if you think it would be hard to keep a teenager in their room for two weeks, wait until you hear Nicole's idea of quarantine.  Nicole talks about her day off, spending it (meow) taking a voluntary Covid test. But, as only would happen to Nicole, it ended up involving a dance-show from the staff at the testing center. They also talk about the upcoming holiday season, and the often-unnecessary stress, work and pressure that women tend to largely place on themselves. They suggest this year is a good year to lower those expectations and give yourself, and others, the grace of doing things a little simpler and with a little less stress. What are some traditions you have that maybe won't be the best idea this year? And what, this year especially, could we do differently to reach out to everyone and keep up the holiday spirit (meow) even if this year it all feels a bit different. Erin and Nicole tell us what they are grateful for this year, which leads into a discussion about the journey they've both taken into podcasting. How they approached it, where it's going, and why it's working.  They discuss authenticity, how it can be manipulated in the corporate space, and how to keep things truly authentic. You have to model it, not parade it. You don't talk about it, you demonstrate it.  Nicole ends the episode with a hilarious story about her being summoned to help with the Christmas video at work. That comes as a script in Spanish. And needs to be filmed in front of a green energy site. And it's raining. And it's Covid. And it's needed by Monday 10am. Tis the season! To preorder Erin's book You Do You(ish):   Follow Nicole on LinkedIn:   Follow Erin on LinkedIn:   If you like jammin' with us on the podcast, b sure to join us for more fun and inspiration! Here are some options... Check out the b BRILLIANT career coaching program @   b Cause Podcast Facebook group @   We even share more crazy stuff here (you probably thought that was impossible). Take our simple, fun and insightful "What Kind of Dog Are You At Work?" by going to   We have so much fun stuff going on...we wouldn't want you to miss out - join the authenticity movement and our community by adding your email just about anywhere @   Check out our blog for more of our no-BS career advice @   We have fun and inspiring t-shirts @ DISCLAIMER: This episode is not explicit, though contains mild swearing that may be unsustainable for younger audiences.  Tweetable Comments:  "Gratitude is the attitude." "Twitter: the mental meanderings of Nicole's brain." "This is the most inefficient pyramid scheme I've ever seen." "The smell of death in this car is likely related to food...maybe beer." "Dunkin Donuts is a ubiquitous experience here." "You don't have to do anything. Don't 'should' on yourself this holiday." "The holidays are exhausting. Just doing all the things we think we're supposed to do." "The ground has been shifting a lot this year." "Be a little gracious, show a little gratitude, by maybe bating somebody's hook." "Authenticity has given us the opportunity to control both the circumstances and the outcomes of our decisions." "The lends I use for authenticity if: if I were on the other side, what would I want?" "With authenticity, you don't talk about it, you demonstrate it." "If I say this, I will probably start World War III." "The Christmas video is either being filmed at a dump in Bridgeport or in the Mailroom."