Every manager worries at some point that their best employees are eyeing the door. What can you do to convince your team members to stay? How do you assess whether they’re engaged? What actions can you take and conversations can you have to head off thoughts of leaving? And when a valuable employee says they have another job offer, will countering really keep them around?

Two managers share their approaches to retention and some lessons they’ve learned. One leads a team dedicated to retaining employees thinking about quitting, and the other has pushed herself to understand what motivates her direct reports. We discuss tactics you can use to help the people you manage feel valued and like they have a future at your organization.

Guests:

Rachel Spivey leads Google’s Stay & Thrive team.

Kate Tyler is a manager at Shell.

Resources:

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Thinking about starting a small business? Or looking to expand a business you’ve already launched? Entrepreneurs Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson were blindsided by the cash-flow problems and other systemic issues they ran into when trying to scale a new but popular product. They don’t want you to be.

Stacey and Lara share hard-won lessons from starting and running three companies together: first a consultancy, then a manufacturer, and finally a fintech. They reflect on what made their long-term partnership work well and how they manage self-doubt and guilt. They also share tips for networking, hiring and retaining employees, learning the ins and outs of finance, and developing an exit strategy.

Guest experts:

Stacey Abrams is an entrepreneur, politician, and author. She co-wrote Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back.

Lara Hodgson is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Now, as well as the co-author of Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back.

Resources:

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Just like 2020, this past year didn’t turn out like we expected. And, yet, we got through it. In this episode, we reconnect with three women who were on our show during the height of the pandemic to find out what they’ve been up to and how they’re making sense of the big shifts in society, our workplaces, and our lives. The questions they’re asking themselves are important ones: Is the path I’m on the right one? What does a “healthy and happy me at work” look like?

We discuss the value of self-reflection, why we’ve generally been putting it off, and the introspection that the death of a family member brings about. The Amys reflect on two recent losses, how they managed grief and work, and the lessons they took away from those experiences.

Resources:

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Why do some freelancers feel depleted and discouraged at the end of their workdays while others feel happy and hopeful? Having a successful career in the gig economy, no matter your profession, requires a certain set of psychological and social skills.

Two researchers break down six common existential and interpersonal challenges that freelancers confront in their day-to-day work lives. They share routines and practices that help independent workers keep themselves motivated, productive, and developing professionally.

Guest experts:

Brianna Caza is a management professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

Erin Reid is a management professor at McMaster University.

Resources:

Participate in Erin and Brianna’s research study.

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Which feelings (and shoes) are work-appropriate these days? What happens now with the transparency and informality that, for many professionals working from home, became more normal and acceptable? How do return-to-office mandates compromise the authenticity of employees who prefer to stay remote?

Tina Opie, an expert on authenticity, joins us to share impressions of how notions of professional behavior and dress have changed. She also gives advice for expressing yourself as expectations of professionalism shift.

Guest expert:  

Tina Opie is a DEI consultant, visiting scholar at Harvard Business School, and management professor at Babson College.

Resources:

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Once you’ve committed to a leadership role — formally and officially or simply in your mind and heart — getting everyone else at work to buy in requires relationship management. How do you successfully shift the role you’re playing on your team? What sorts of conversations help clear the way? Which steps shouldn’t you skip? Is this transformation harder to make over Zoom?

To address these questions, we revisit a 2019 interview with two leadership development experts — essential listening for any woman who’s ready to step up — and share an update on how their advice applies in the context of remote and hybrid work.

Guest experts:

Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins are the founders of the executive coaching and leadership development firm Paravis Partners. They co-wrote the book Own the Room, and Amy is the author of The Leader You Want to Be. Muriel hosts the HBR Presents podcast Coaching Real Leaders.

Resources:

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How are women who started a job remotely during the pandemic faring? Have they been receiving the support and making the connections necessary to succeed in their role? What lessons can they pass on to other women who are about to join an entirely remote or hybrid organization?

We highlight findings from our survey of new hires. Then, Emily speaks with management professor Beth Schinoff and HR executive Amelia Ransom about their own experiences starting new jobs — the challenges they faced and how they worked to overcome them. They also share advice on how to approach onboarding, whether you’re starting a new position yourself or supporting a new member of your team.

Guest experts:

Beth Schinoff is a management professor at Boston College.

Resources:

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We all go through periods at work when we think, I am done with this job and ready to move on. But are you really ready to leave your team and your company? You owe it to your career and your future self to make that decision carefully.

Amy G talks through essential questions to consider. And if you decide that bowing out is indeed the right move, she gives advice for doing that conscientiously, including how much notice to give.

Then we hear from a listener in New Zealand who recently gave her notice at her public sector job about how she handled her guilt and fear over leaving.

Resources:

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If you’ve invested in someone you manage, it’s natural to feel hurt when that person tells you they’re leaving. Yet the classic management advice is: Don’t take it personally. Be professional. Acknowledging your feelings and working through them — for yourself and with your team — is actually part of being an emotionally intelligent, compassionate leader.

Five managers, including Amy B, share their experiences of losing team members and how they’ve learned to cope with the shock, sadness, and stress.

Guests: 

Nicole Smith is HBR’s editorial audience director.

Maureen Hoch is the editor of HBR.org and the supervising editor of Women at Work.

Resources:

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