All too frequently, people who are good at making a thing get promoted to be the supervisors of the people making the thing — without any training as to how to lead. So how do you become a good boss? Do you pick up leadership skills on the job, or is special coaching required? We find out this week.
First, we’ll get a sense of what makes a good boss, with the author of Lifehacker’s brand-new career advice column, “Human Resource”: Rob Walker. Then, executive coach Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler tells us how she helps bosses be the best they can be. And finally, the creator of Ruby on Rails and co-founder of Basecamp, David Heinemeier Hansson, tell us how to make a workplace that isn’t crazy in five steps.
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In This Episode
Self-help: Rob Walker (1:44 – 18:13)
Self-help is a new segment in which we pose pressing questions to the experts on the Lifehacker team. This week, we’re asking Rob Walker, the author of Lifehacker’s brand new forthcoming career advice column, Human Resource, what makes a good boss.
The Interview: Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler (19:13 – 37:18)
Jen Goldman-Wetzler doesn’t work with the kind of problematic bosses that Rob Walker hears about. Instead, she helps make good bosses great. In this segment, we find out from her how to be the great leaders we always knew we were meant to be.
Jen recommends the following books for all the rest of you who aren’t satisfied with being merely “good”:
- Getting to Yes: Negotiation Agreement Without Giving In
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
- The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias
How to Create a Calm Workplace Without the Crazy in Five Steps: David Heinemeier Hansson (37:26 – 41:52)
David Heinemeier Hansson tells us why we need fewer meetings and more uninterrupted time; why we shouldn’t celebrate workaholics; and why we should aim for “good enough”.
Upgrades of the Week
We return with Jen Goldman-Wetzler to discuss our upgrades of the week. This week: Using Instagram like Pinterest; a shoe so ugly it has to be life-changing; and the benefits of a nightly review.
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