Your Working Life

Do you cringe at your own "ums," "uhs," or when you drop a slang word drop at work? Valerie Fridland , a linguist with two decades of research and author of Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English , joins Caroline to make the case that the speech habits we love to criticize are actually powerful social tools. Valerie explains why filled pauses help both speakers and listeners, h...

Are you constantly tempted by the next new phone, app, or trend, and wondering why it never delivers the satisfaction it promises? Eric Athas, an editor at The New York Times and author of Saying No to New: Why New Things Are Stealing Your Time, Money, and Happiness—And How to Take Back Your Life , joins Caroline to explore why we're wired to chase newness and what it costs us. Drawing on brain sc...

Andrea Gash , a speaker, trainer, and career coach, joins Caroline to talk about how to move through grief and loss in both our personal and professional lives. Andrea explains why moving through loss, overwhelm, or an unexpected pivot isn't about bouncing back, but about rebuilding piece by piece. She shares her Momentum Method, a step-by-step framework for discovering who you are now and buildin...

How to Harness AI-Human Collaboration with Paula Goldman Paula Goldman , the first-ever chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce, joins Caroline to talk about her new book, [ Manage the Machine: How to Harness Human-AI Collaboration at Work ]( https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/paula-goldman/manage-the-machine/9781541608207/#:~:text=Manage the Machine is a,to corporate strategy to...

Natalia Emanuel and Emma Harrington are Harvard-trained economists and leading researchers on remote and in-person work, whose data-driven studies have tracked millions of work hours across Fortune 500 companies, startups, and call centers. In their new book In Person , they bring hard evidence to the contentious return-to-office debate, revealing that while remote work is fine for checking off ta...

Barb Betts is a keynote speaker, CEO, and author of The Relationship Advantage , who helps sales teams and leaders build the trust-based connections that actually drive revenue, retention, and stronger teams. With more than 23 years in sales and leadership, she built a seven-figure business for over a decade without ads or cold outreach—proof that relationships, not transactions, are the real driv...

Rashmi Airan is a leadership expert and transformation strategist who once had it all, an Ivy League law degree and a high-powered Wall Street career. Then, a spectacular fall landed her in federal prison. Rather than let that failure define her, she rebuilt her life and now helps leaders and organizations do the same: face hard truths, build trust, and grow through discomfort instead of avoiding...

In this episode, Caroline interviews Jia Jiang, to discuss his new book, Easy Discipline: An Unconventional Way to Achieve Ambitious Things . Drawing on his own struggles with ADHD and procrastination, Jia argues that the most successful people don't rely on grit and willpower, they find ways to make hard things feel easy. If you've ever felt like discipline is a losing battle against distraction...

Caroline Webb is a leadership coach, economist, and author of " Leadership Intelligence: Science-Based Strategies for Mastering Twenty-One Everyday Management Challenges ". In this episode, Caroline shares practical, science-backed strategies for making smarter decisions, managing conflict, building trust, and steering through uncertainty. Whether you're a new manager or a seasoned executive, her...

Lata Hamilton wants to help women navigate career transitions and earn what they're worth. Drawing on her own experience tripling her salary in three years, along with change management work that has touched over 100,000 people across major Australian companies, she offers practical strategies for pivoting careers, building unshakeable confidence, and future-proofing your professional path. In thi...

In this episode Caroline talks with Mary Helen Rogers, the Chief Marketing Officer at the International Sleep Products Association about how sleep and overall well being make us more productive at work. Mary Helen shares insights on why quality sleep matters and how small, consistent habits can help listeners start every day with a good night's sleep. Her practical, science-backed approach makes t...

How do you keep climbing the corporate ladder while quietly panicking on the inside? Patty Azzarello knows firsthand. She became the youngest general manager in Hewlett-Packard's history at thirty-three, ran a billion-dollar business at thirty-five, and was a CEO by thirty-eight. In her new memoir, Why Is SHE Still Here? My Ungraceful Journey from the Playground to the Boardroom , Azzarello pulls...

What separates elite teams from average ones? According to psychologist Ron Friedman, it's not longer hours or more meetings, it's how teams manage energy, attention, and each other. Friedman, bestselling author of The Best Place to Work and Decoding Greatness , surveyed thousands of teams for his latest book, Superteams: The Science and Secrets of High-Performing Teams , drawing on real-world exa...

In this episode Caroline interviews Carrie Joy Grimes, the founder and CEO of WorkMoney, a nonprofit serving over 9 million Americans with practical financial guidance, and the author of the new book The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money No Matter How Much You Have . Drawing on her experience talking directly with everyday Americans about their finances, plus her o...

In this episode, Caroline talks with Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard, author of the new book Power Reimagined: My Mission to Get It, Grow It and Give It Away , she draws on personal stories—from a discrimination lawsuit she won as a teenager to negotiating equal pay as a junior attorney—to challenge conventional ideas about who holds power and how it's built. She offers a framework for turning obstacles...

Gustavo Razzetti, culture strategist and CEO of Fearless Culture, has spent 25 years helping teams break through the conversations they keep avoiding. In this episode, he introduces the concept of "conversational debt", the hidden cost that builds when smart people stay silent, talk in circles, or mistake politeness for progress. Drawing on his new book, Forward Talk , Gustavo breaks down the thre...

In this episode of Your Working Life, Caroline Dowd-Higgins talks with Leidy Klotz about the power of our physical spaces. Klotz, a behavioral scientist and University of Virginia engineering professor, wrote the new book In a Good Place: How the Places Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive . While most self-improvement advice focuses on what we do, Klotz makes a compelling case for pay...

Today, we have an appointment with the "Teamwork Doctor"! Liane Davey is an organizational psychologist, CEO advisor, and author of her forthcoming book Thoughtload: Manage the Madness and Free Your Team to Do Great Work . With over 25 years of experience advising teams at companies like Amazon, Google, and Walmart, Davey argues that today's workplace crisis isn't caused by oversized workloads — i...

Today's guest is Caroline Maguire, an internationally recognized social-emotional learning expert, ADHD coach, and author of the groundbreaking new book Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults: A Guide for the Anxious, Uniquely Wired, and Easily Distracted . Caroline offers neuroscience-grounded strategies for a community too often left out of conversations about connection, belonging, and pro...

In this episode of Your Working Life, Caroline Dowd-Higgins speaks with Minette Norman, keynote speaker, former software executive, and award-winning author about her new book The Psychological Safety Playbook for Changemakers . Despite psychological safety topping the list of leadership priorities, Minette explains why it still isn't working in most organizations and why mission statements and on...

In this episode, Caroline Dowd-Higgins is joined by Chris Dyer, whose new book Moments That Matter: See, Shape, and Scale What Counts offers a groundbreaking look at why we remember less than one percent of what we experience. Dyer reveals that the moments shaping our careers, cultures, and relationships rarely announce themselves, they happen in hallways, on quick phone calls, and in the first mi...

In this episode of Your Working Life, Caroline Dowd-Higgins sits down with Daniel Coyle, New York Times bestselling author of Flourish . Drawing on years of research and immersive reporting, Coyle reveals the surprising science behind what makes certain groups, from a band of miners trapped underground in Chile to a beloved Michigan deli, thrive with deep connection, joy, and purpose. He shares ho...

Anthony Klotz is a professor of organizational behavior at UCL School of Management in London, best known for predicting the pandemic-era labor shift he coined the "Great Resignation" — a term that became a defining phrase of modern work culture. His new book, Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters , explores how over half of all decisions to quit are triggered by a single unexpecte...

In this episode, Caroline interviews researcher and author Marcus Buckingham about his newest book, Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business. Buckingham challenges the prevailing belief that pressure, force, and intensity drive excellence — arguing instead that thirty years of data point to a different and more powerful force: love. Love in a work context looks like a dee...

Dr. Suzan Song is an internationally recognized humanitarian psychiatrist, anthropologist, and advocate who's dedicated her career to supporting forcibly displaced youth, former child soldiers, and other vulnerable populations worldwide. Her debut book, Why We Suffer and How We Heal: Using Narrative, Ritual, and Purpose to Flourish Through Life's Challenges , draws on two decades of clinical and a...