Your 9AM

In today’s story, a person of color accepts an opportunity to join a different team with a new manager, but is pushed out after failing to embrace the team’s culture.  How important should “culture” be?  And what is the relationship between culture and performance? On the last episode of our first season, Anna and I talk about this experience with Teila Evans, a former ERG (Employee Resource Group) leader. For the full story, check out the newsletter.

In today’s story a company’s outreach team takes on gun violence in a neighboring poor, black community, ignoring warnings from an employee that the effort would be insensitive and careless.  Was there a better way for the company to make an impact?  And what would you have done if you were that employee? Featuring Karen Fleshman, founder of Racy Conversations. Check out the story in the newsletter here.

In today’s story a boss decides to renew a particularly difficult temporary employee’s contract, despite receiving an ultimatum from one of his full-time direct reports, who he asked for an opinion on multiple occasions. When would you make this type of demand?  And what if this weren’t a temporary employee?  Anna, Chris Doenlen, and I ask each other some thought-provoking questions in this podcast episode. For a copy of the full story, check out the newsletter.

In today's story, an attorney attempts to correct the boss's disregard for gender identity on multiple occasions, while representing clients for that exact problem.   How would you convince your manager to take pronouns more seriously?  And how long would you try? Featuring Rachel Ayers. For a copy of the full story, check out the newsletter.

In today’s story a woman that was previously overlooked for a promotion in a male-dominated department is finally offered the job, only to be met with hostility from the rest of the team.  Anna and I discuss this deceivingly simple story at length with Emily Grove, an employment attorney, on the podcast.   If you were that manager, would you seek help from senior management?  And what would you do with your rebellious team? For a copy of the full story, check out the newsletter.

Today’s story is about a difficult financial situation at work.  How do you keep employees engaged when money is tight?  And what can you do when your company's decisions impact your own finances. For a copy of the full story, and questions you should be asking yourself, check out the newsletter.

What do you do if your boss asks you to rate your peers for layoffs? And what would a better boss do? Check out the story in our newsletter.

What do you do if you’ve gone above and beyond your job responsibilities but your boss jumps ship and leaves your career in someone else’s hands?  Over and over.  Check out the story in our newsletter. Featuring Caitlin Hutcherson, Technical Program Manager at Optimizely.

In this week’s two-minute newsletter, we talk about how the "inclusive" practice of asking everyone to speak up in meetings can have unforeseen consequences.  Featuring Caitlin Hutcherson. Check out the story in our newsletter.

You might think the "old boys' club" is a thing of the past, but it hasn’t gone anywhere.  Featuring Teila Evans and Anna Cockell. Check out the story in our newsletter.

Here’s what's on the agenda today: a technical customer support engineer is held to a double standard by customers and her boss.  Featuring Susan Haynes and Anna Cockell.   Check out the story in our newsletter. 

Anna Cockell and Sara Cate Jones join me to discuss the first Your 9AM newsletter story about an engineering leader who walks by a meeting and notices an uncomfortable interaction involving two female team members and other leaders at the company.

Scenario: you're hired as the first VP at an ambitious startup with plans to help the world experiment with messaging. That's a big idea, but how do you set the company up for success? Travis Bryant, former sales SVP at Optimizely, discusses the importance of getting his hands dirty, and critically defining and championing the customer throughout the company.

Scenario: you've built sales teams at software companies before and join a trending startup to do just that, only to find out that everything is different. Russ Thau, VP of Revenue and Success at Envoy, discusses the importance of leading with an open mind, reinforcing values, and optimizing for the customer experience.

Scenario: you're head of product and your startup nails product market fit. What now? Adam Zimman, VP of Product and Platform at Launchdarkly, discusses his thoughts on partnerships, diversity, and leadership at a company that now serves over 200 billion feature flags daily.

Scenario: you're hired as the first finance person at a product-first startup that grows like wildfire. What's your first move? Bobby Pinero, Senior Director of Finance and Analytics at Intercom, discusses the lessons he learned as he helped intercom scale from 20 to 600+ employees.