Introducing The Better Workplace Podcast with Dr. Paul Gerhardt
Updated: Nov 6
By Paul Gerhardt, PhD, management professor, leadership author, and host of The Better Workplace.
A useful leadership lesson should help you do something differently when you return to work.
That is the purpose of The Better Workplace, my podcast about leadership, communication, organizational culture, career growth, and productivity. I am Paul Gerhardt, PhD, a management professor, leadership author, and workplace improvement educator. My mission is helping people build better workplaces.
What you can expect from the podcast
Each topic begins with a workplace question: How do we recognize a contribution fairly? Why might a capable employee stop speaking up? What happens when a manager's quick fix creates more work elsewhere?
The aim is to connect ideas with decisions people actually face. You can listen as a manager, supervisor, emerging leader, educator, or employee interested in improving the way work gets done.
Use the episodes as prompts for reflection and discussion. Workplace situations differ, so an idea deserves thoughtful application rather than automatic adoption.
Start with the question that matters to you
Leading through changing technology
Episode 1: The AI Revolution Has a Leadership Problem explores the human side of leadership as technology changes work. Consider which decisions still require clear expectations, sound judgment, and a conversation with the people affected.
Recognizing the people doing the work
Episode 2: Give Credit to the People Doing the Work invites you to examine how contributions are acknowledged. Before your next meeting, identify one specific action that helped the team and explain why it mattered.
Making it easier to speak honestly
Episode 3: Why Good Employees Stop Speaking Up focuses on employee voice. Reflect on your response the last time someone questioned a plan. What would that person expect if they raised another concern?
Turn listening into a small leadership practice
Choose one episode and one situation where its lesson could be useful. Then write down three things:
The behavior you will try.
The situation where you will use it.
The date when you will reflect on what happened.
For example, after listening to the recognition episode, you might acknowledge a colleague's specific contribution at the next team meeting. Later, consider whether your recognition was accurate, clear, and appropriate to the person.
You can also use the free leadership resources to choose a practice for the coming week.
Bring a lesson to your team
Invite people to discuss the idea rather than evaluate a colleague. Ask, “Where could this be useful in our work?” and “What would we need to understand before trying it?”
Leave with one manageable action and a plan to revisit it. An episode can open a conversation; follow-through gives that conversation practical value.
Find your next episode
Browse The Better Workplace podcast library for more leadership lessons. If your next challenge is an employee check-in, begin with How to Run Better One-on-One Meetings.
Paul Gerhardt, PhD, teaches management and leadership with a practical commitment to helping people build better workplaces. The examples and exercises in this article are teaching illustrations, unless identified as research findings.
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