Forces at Work is the podcast that tackles your toughest workplace challenges and delivers practical advice to help you work smarter. Hosted by organizational psychologists (and longtime friends) Jake Tuber and Katharine Smith, each episode dives into topics like sham performance improvement plans, cringe-worthy hiring practices, awkward performance reviews, and more. Get ready to learn, gain fresh insights, and rethink the way you approach work.
Edgar is a product manager at a large tech company. For the last six months, he’s essentially been doing his manager's job, in addition to his own.
They’ll be in meetings and the manager will say things to like, “Edgar, I'm so glad you're here because I'm not good at leading this.” The prospect of continuing to carry the team is daunting. How can Edgar change their situation?
Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email forcesatworkpod@gmail.com.
Katharine Smith (https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9) is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone.
Jake Tuber (https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37) is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny.
For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to insidetracker.com (https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy) and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.
21 Jan 2025
The Britney Spears Effect
Lisa is CMO at a manufacturing company. She took over a small marketing department about 15 months ago, and was able to hire some new folks, but one of them turned out to be extremely toxic. Eventually he resigned, but after he left, he started a campaign to undermine her. He did weird things like people on her team, telling them to be careful with her. The whole experience drained her and her team is still recovering. How can she restore a more positive culture with her team, and not make the same mistake?
Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email forcesatworkpod@gmail.com.
Katharine Smith (https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9) is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone.
Jake Tuber (https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37) is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny.
For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to insidetracker.com (https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy) and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.
14 Jan 2025
I'm Three Months Into A Startup. Can I Quit Yet?
Brendan, a tech startup director, seeks guidance from organizational psychologists Katharine Smith and Jake Tuber on whether it's too soon to leave his job after feeling shut out of discussions and questioning company decisions.
9 Jan 2025
Swipe Right To Match With Your Next Hire
Charlene is the Chief Human Resources Officer at a professional services firm of about 400 employees. But she can't get anyone at her company to make a hiring decision. If she hears, "This person is just the right fit for us" one more time, she's going to tear her hair out. In this episode, Kate and Jake discuss the challenges of the "online dating effect" in hiring, the impact of overstreamlining processes on manager confidence, and the broader implications of organizational indecision and cultural dysfunction.
Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email forcesatworkpod@gmail.com (mailto:forcesatworkpod@gmail.com).
Katharine Smith (https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9) is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone.
Jake Tuber (https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37) is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny.
For 25% off Inside Tracker, go to insidetracker.com (https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy) and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.
7 Jan 2025
I'm On A Motherf'ing PIP?!
Sarah is a client relations manager at a small branding and marketing agency in Boston. About five months ago, she got a new boss who quickly started giving her negative feedback and sitting in on her meetings. Now, without warning, he put her on a vaguely worded performance improvement plan with an 8-week runway. Yikes! Kate and Jake discuss the challenges of unclear expectations in performance management, the implications of a short timeline in PIPs, and how leadership dynamics and vague feedback can set employees up for failure rather than improvement.
Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email forcesatworkpod@gmail.com (mailto:forcesatworkpod@gmail.com).
Katharine Smith (https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9) is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone.
Jake Tuber (https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37) is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny.
For 25% off on Inside Tracker, go to insidetracker.com (https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy) and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.
7 Jan 2025
My Performance Review Was Fashion Advice
Raven is a 36-year-old director of sales operations at a relatively small tech company. She recently got feedback from her CEO in a performance review that she’s crushing it at her job, but that one area of improvement would be to stop wearing t-shirts. This is at a relatively lax company where men in the C-suite dress casually… and frequently rock t-shirts themselves. Kate and Jake discuss the challenges of informal HR at startups, how performance reviews can focus on actual job performance, and the larger leadership dynamics at play when it comes to feedback and organizational culture.
Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email forcesatworkpod@gmail.com (mailto:forcesatworkpod@gmail.com).
Katharine Smith (https://tinyurl.com/mpnx3xk9) is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone.
Jake Tuber (https://tinyurl.com/4ak8yh37) is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny.
For 25% off on Inside Tracker, go to insidetracker.com (https://tinyurl.com/vk5zcmpy) and use the code forcesatwork at checkout.
17 Apr 2024
Introducing: Forces at Work
Forces at Work is a new podcast.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 11 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
8
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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