Like a Boss with Michael Cohen

Every person on your team is driven by something different. 🧭 Some want a challenge. 🏔️ Some want recognition. 🏆 And some give everything they've got once they know someone has their back. 🛡️ Remember the movie "The Blind Side" 🏈🎬 when Michael Oher's coach finally understands him. Michael won't run through walls for a playbook. He'll do it for a coach who defends him. 💪 I learned the same les...

🗳️ Midterms are almost here. Is your workplace ready? My new Like A Boss Podcast 🎙️ just dropped, and it's for every leader who wants to get through the upcoming election season without the chaos and drama. 😅 Here are the three things you need to know: 1️⃣ Know the voting leave laws ⏰📋 Many states require time off to vote, and some require it to be paid . Check the rules where your people work...

🎬 Leaders and HR professionals, we need to talk about excuses. 👀 Whether your team works in the office 🏢 or from home 🏠, one thing hasn't changed: your people need to know how they're doing. 📈Good documentation ✍️ and real empathy 💛 are two of your best tools for strong employee relations and for staying out of litigation. ⚖️ So why do so many managers skip them? 🤔In today’s video, I break...

Millions of talented women are going through perimenopause and menopause right now , often in silence. 🤐 When workplaces don't respond, the cost is lost talent 📉, legal risk ⚖️, and a culture that leaves people out. 💔 At its core, this is a women's issue 💜. Building a culture that supports women, and keeping up with the ever-changing law, is everyone's responsibility. 🌍🤝 In my new Like A Bos...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this post is personal. But the message is for every one of us. 💗 My mother-in-law, Marsha, had understandable reasons for waiting: fear, a full life, the hope that it was nothing. 💭 But cancer didn't wait, and we lost her. I'm sharing her story because I don't want it to be yours. On the latest Like A Boss Podcast, I talk about why this matters 👇 🔍...

Preventing harassment at work isn't only HR's job. It's a leadership job. 💼 With everything happening in today's workplace, the way managers respond (or don't) can decide whether a situation gets fixed early or turns into a claim, a culture problem, or a headline. 📉 Every leader must follow the 5 Rs of harassment prevention: 👇 1️⃣ Refrain from inappropriate conduct 🙅🏾‍♀️ Your team takes its c...

@The University of Michigan💙💛 just made a bold move: all 2027 incoming freshmen of their School of Literature, Science and the Arts will take their first-semester classes pass/fail. Why? Because easing the pressure upfront helps people thrive long-term. 💡 That same principle applies to our workplace. Psychological safety isn't a buzzword — it's the foundation for how we show up, grow, and do ou...

Three tricky return-to-work scenarios HR, managers and counsel need to know. 🔥👇 1️⃣ FMLA runs out, but they need more time off. Don't just say "see ya" 🙅‍♀️. The ADA and FMLA act in conjunction with each other and the ADA might require additional leave as a reasonable accommodation 🛡️. FMLA ending ≠ conversation over ❌. Know where one law stops and the other kicks in ⚖️🔄. 2️⃣ You find out the...

Labor Day is behind us. The air is shifting. And so must our leadership. This season isn't just about pumpkin spice and back-to-school energy — it's a powerful moment of renewal . A reset. A chance to return to what actually moves the needle for your people. Here are 3 leadership fundamentals we're doubling down on this fall: 1️⃣ Human-Based Leadership Your people aren't resources. They're humans....

.Why keeping candidates in the dark is killing your employer brand. ☠️ We've all lived it. The interview ends, and then… nothing. Radio silence. 😶🔇No callback. No update. No respect. The recruiter ghosts. The hiring manager's promises evaporate. The organization disappears. You're confused, frustrated, and frankly — insulted. This is not a minor inconvenience. It's a brand-damaging, trust-destro...

For so many of us, this time of year represents a period of transition. A child starting kindergarten and taking the bus for the first time. 🎒 An employee taking on a new role and more challenging responsibilities. 💼 A caregiver’s renewed focus and crystallized sense of purpose.💡 For me, last year, it was sending my daughter, Maddie, off to her freshman year of college. 😢 I've spoken with so m...

As we approach the fall season, millions of Jewish employees will observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — two of the most sacred days in the Jewish calendar. ✡️ They are deeply meaningful religious observances that call for rest, reflection, prayer, and time with family. 🕍 Yet every year, critical meetings, deadlines, conferences, and team off-sites get scheduled right on top of them. It's rarely...

We know this moment all too well. 🙋‍♀️ A leader walks in to HR and says, “This employee has to go today.” The obvious question follows: “Where is the performance management documentation?” And then comes the silence. 😶 In this Like A Boss Podcast, I’m talking about why pre-termination documentation matters and why relying on the at-will employment doctrine is not a substitute for doing the work...

Ted Lasso ⚽ is back this week and I could not be more hype! 🥳 But as excited as I am to have Ted back on screen, with the iconic mustache and his sage leadership advice, I've actually been thinking 🧠 a lot lately about why this show resonated so deeply with so many of us — and I think the answer has less to do with Ted himself and more to do with the people around him.💡 Specifically: Coach Bea...

Last week, I shared a video 📽️ about the stereotypes we place on Millennials and Gen Z in the workplace. This week, I'm taking that conversation a step further and tackling implicit bias, more generally. The reality is that bias shows up everywhere 🌐 - in meetings, feedback, team dynamics, and who we choose to mentor. And if we're not actively working against it, we're passively reinforcing it. S...

This time of year 📅 always means one important thing for me — a brand new 18U travel softball season is about to begin. Tryouts. Different players. Redefined goals. A fresh start. It got me thinking about how the beginning of a new season mirrors 🪞 what effective leaders need to do in the workplace. Whether you're coaching teenagers or leading a team of professionals, a reset can be a VERY power...

I never expected a man who once described folding a fitted sheet as "impossible, like folding a — no, it's just impossible" to teach me anything about leadership. And yet, here we are. In this latest episode of the Like A Boss Podcast, I discuss critical leadership strategy derived from an unlikely source. David Rose from Schitt's Creek may not have an MBA 🎓, but over 6️⃣ seasons he demonstrated...

As Pride Month 🌈 draws to a close, let's talk about an "issue" that remains controversial: allowing transgender employees to use the restroom 🚾 that matches their gender identity. Yes, the current administration and several federal agencies may be pushing a different narrative, but the law—including Title VII as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County and numerous state ant...

Last week, I had the true honor of speaking at the SHRM Annual Conference. The event was held in Orlando, FL, home to Walt Disney World , the Happiest Place on Earth. 🏰 While being in Orlando always brings back incredibly fond memories😃, there is one experience which I'd like to forget. It was the vacation I cut short, leaving my family behind, because I "had to" work. ❌❌❌ Friends - taking ti...

This week I have the honor of speaking at the best HR Conference👑of the year - the SHRM Annual Conference, in Orlando, Florida🌞. Spending meaningful time with the most dedicated human resources professionals in the world not only is inspiring, but it provides a crucial reminder about the importance of leadership education. 👩‍🏫 I’ve said it before - I truly believe that education is the silver...

Pride Month🌈 is a time to celebrate—and to reflect on how we show up for the LGBTQ+ community in our workplaces. Today, through my Like A Boss Podcast, I want to share a story about transgender rights in practice and the massively positive impact it had on an organization's culture. 💕 Several years ago, a valued employee at a company I work with came out as transgender and began their transition...

When I was a kid, my "Uncle" Stevie (my dad's best friend) was my favorite person in the entire world.👑 He was the kindest and most thoughtful person I knew and Steve was the true embodiment of the word "mensch." A gay man without his own children, Uncle Stevie treated my brother and me as though we were his kids and we treasured every moment spent with Uncle Stevie. Tragically, as you will hear...

In a comedically poignant moment in the 1991 movie "What About Bob," Bill Murray painstakingly recites the list of all of his (real and perceived) ailments. While the scene is hyperbolic and laugh-out-loud funny, it provides a situation which organizations and leaders find themselves in all the time. Disclosures require action. Is your organization ready? Are you leaders prepared? Do we all unders...

My man Ted Lasso ⚽ is coming back in August! I recently saw the trailer 📽️ for Season 4 and I have been thinking about why that show resonated so deeply with so many people. Yes, it was funny.🤣 Yes, it was warm.💖 Yes, it gave us biscuits🍪, locker room speeches, and “Believe.” But underneath all of that, it also reminded us of something we do not say often enough: everyone struggles.😥 Not some...

As we continue through Mental Health Awareness Month (and always), leaders must support our employees' mental health journeys and continue to emphasize that their mental health matters! We also are approaching the beginning of summer.😎 Beach.🏖️ Mountains.🌄 Lakes.🌊 A lot of employees like to get away from the office or from work and enjoy as much of summer as they can. Some of those employees al...