Dear HBR:

Unwanted Roles


Listen Later

Is your job turning into something you don’t want? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of Francesca Gino, a professor at Harvard Business School. They talk through what to do when your boss gives you duties you dislike, your company is grooming you for roles you can’t see yourself in, or you’ve been offered a different job than the one you applied for.

From Alison and Dan’s reading list:

HBR: How to Say No to Taking on More Work by Rebecca Knight — “Sometimes you have too much on your plate or you’re just not interested in taking on a project you’ve been asked to work on. You might not have a choice in the matter, but if you do, how do you turn down the opportunity in a way that won’t offend the person offering? How can you avoid being labeled ‘not a team player’ or ‘difficult to work with’?”

HBR: How to Tell Your Boss You Don’t Want a Promotion by Patricia Thompson — “As an executive coach, I’ve worked with many talented individuals who had the potential to be promoted, but were uninterested in taking on more. Sharing this desire with their bosses often felt threatening, particularly because they were seen as talented, and often, as possible successors. Striking the balance between advocating for their own wishes without seeming ungrateful or unambitious was a challenge.”

HBR: Managing Yourself: Turn the Job You Have into the Job You Want by Amy Wrzesniewski, Justin M. Berg, and Jane E. Dutton— “Job crafting is a simple visual framework that can help you make meaningful and lasting changes in your job—in good economies and bad. But it all has to start with taking a step back from the daily grind and realizing that you actually have the ability to reconfigure the elements of your work.”

HBR: The Surprising Power of Questions by Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie John — “Questioning is a uniquely powerful tool for unlocking value in organizations: It spurs learning and the exchange of ideas, it fuels innovation and performance improvement, it builds rapport and trust among team members.”

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Dear HBR:By Harvard Business Review

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

742 ratings


More shows like Dear HBR:

View all
The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

381 Listeners

Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

Coaching for Leaders

1,450 Listeners

HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

172 Listeners

Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

Cold Call

193 Listeners

Women at Work by Harvard Business Review

Women at Work

1,379 Listeners

HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

HBS Managing the Future of Work

106 Listeners

No Bullsh!t Leadership by Martin G Moore

No Bullsh!t Leadership

124 Listeners

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

794 Listeners

A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

A Bit of Optimism

2,174 Listeners

How to Be a Better Human by TED

How to Be a Better Human

1,402 Listeners

Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

Coaching Real Leaders

668 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

20,819 Listeners

HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Strategy

79 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

164 Listeners

New Here by Harvard Business Review

New Here

82 Listeners

The Jefferson Fisher Podcast by Civility Media

The Jefferson Fisher Podcast

8,429 Listeners