People Are the Worst

When the team gets bigger, the decisions get harder. More people involved, more data on the table, higher stakes when you get it wrong. In this mini episode from Episode 9 of People Are the Worst, Dana asks how to think about decisions that are getting more complex as her team grows. Lucy walks through the three factor framework she teaches Elevate clients for any complex decision: data, stakehold...

A good decision that nobody understands isn't a good decision. It's just a good idea that never traveled. In the final episode of our three part series on making quality decisions, Lucy and Lindsey unpack the mechanics of the toughest calls leaders make. The kind where more than one team is involved, the data is messy, the stakeholders disagree, and the stakes are real. Then they get into what hap...

The "shit sandwich" might be the most common feedback technique in management, and it's also one of the worst. In this clip from Episode 8 of People Are the Worst, Lucy and Lindsey break down why sandwiching constructive feedback between two pieces of praise wastes time, why most managers don't give nearly enough feedback in the first place, and how to build the confidence to actually do it well....

Decision-making isn’t just about frameworks. It’s about what happens when those frameworks break down. In this episode of People Are the Worst, Lucy and Lindsey continue their in-depth exploration of leadership intelligence, focusing on what truly hinders high-quality decisions: bias, fear, and confidence gaps. Even when leaders understand data, stakeholders, and process, decisions can still go si...

How do you know if your strategic thinking is actually effective, especially when everything feels like it’s moving faster than ever? In this mini episode of People Are the Worst , Lindsey and Lucy unpack a question many newer managers quietly wrestle with: Am I thinking strategically enough? When urgency is high and the pace of change keeps accelerating, it’s easy to slip into constant reaction m...

In this episode of People Are the Worst , Lindsey and Lucy continue their exploration of leadership intelligence by tackling one of the most difficult skills modern leaders must develop: making quality decisions quickly. In this new world of AI evolution, leaders rarely have perfect information or unlimited time. New expectations emerge almost overnight, and waiting for certainty is no longer an o...

What do you do when a team member comes to you with questions all day long? In this mini episode of People Are the Worst , Lindsey and Lucy unpack a frustrating but surprisingly common leadership challenge: employees who rely on their manager for every decision. Leaders often accidentally train this behavior. Every time a manager immediately answers a question, they reinforce the pattern. Over tim...

In this episode of People Are the Worst , Lindsey and Lucy continue their Leadership Intelligence series by exploring a leadership challenge many managers underestimate: managing across. Unlike managing direct reports, managing peers comes with no formal authority. No one technically has to listen to you, follow your lead, or prioritize your work. Influence becomes the only real currency. That is...

In this episode of People Are the Worst , Lindsey and Lucy dig into one of the most common leadership challenges: blurred boundaries between managers and their teams. The question comes from Brock, a leader who feels stuck in the weeds and is struggling to protect his time while still supporting his team. What unfolds is a practical and grounding conversation about why boundary issues rarely come...

AI is changing everything, from the way we work and communicate to the pace decisions are made. And if we’re honest, traditional leadership playbooks aren’t cutting it anymore. In this episode of People Are the Worst , Lucy and Lindsey introduce Leadership Intelligence, a modern leadership framework built for an era of change and an AI-driven, emotionally heavy world. Leadership Intelligence helps...

Money conversations are never neutral but they can be really straightforward and empathetic. In this mini episode, we tackle one of the toughest moments in leadership: telling someone they are not getting a raise. We break down how to lead with clarity instead of overexplaining, why the core compensation message needs to come first, and how sticking to the facts actually builds more trust. You wil...

Whether you’re navigating performance reviews or holding the line on salary bands, talking about money in the workplace can get awkward fast. In this episode, we dive into the most nuanced, and avoid-at-all-costs conversations managers are often thrown into without a script. We walk through some real-world questions from leaders dealing with everything from disappointed team members to deserving-b...

Giving feedback is hard. Giving feedback to someone you know is going to react emotionally or defensively? That’s a whole different level of dread. In this mini episode of People Are the Worst , Lucy and Lindsey respond to a question from Mandy, a manager facing one of the most uncomfortable leadership moments: delivering tough, repeated feedback to a direct report who hasn’t taken it well in the...

You gave the feedback. You agreed on the next steps. You even wrote it down. So why is your direct report acting like it never happened? In this episode of People Are the Worst , Lucy and Lindsey dive into one of the most frustrating patterns managers face: when someone receives clear, thoughtful feedback but somehow, nothing changes. Whether it’s passive resistance, people-pleasing, or a lack of...

In this quick mini-episode, Lucy and Lindsey break down what psychological safety actually looks like in practice. If you want a team that debates ideas, takes risks, and speaks up without fear, it starts with modeling vulnerability yourself. They share simple, real-world ways to create a safer environment for honest conversation, from admitting what you don’t know to calling forward quieter voice...

If you want your team to think like owners, take initiative, debate ideas, and share real opinions in meetings, but you keep getting silence, hesitation, or “Just tell me what to do” vibes, this episode is for you. In this episode, we’re answering a question from a manager who wants his team to lean in more, take risks, and bring forward their own recommendations rather than wait for direction eve...

Not all feedback conversations are high stakes; sometimes, they just smell that way. In this quick mini‑episode of People Are the Worst , Lucy and Lindsey share a hilarious (and painfully relatable) story about one of the trickiest office offenses of all time: the tuna fish lunch. What starts as a small complaint about a strong scent turns into a reminder that even the awkward, low‑impact moments...

Welcome to the first episode of People Are the Worst , the podcast where leadership meets reality. We’re Lucy Georgiades and Lindsey Nehls, co-founders of Elevate Leadership, and in this premiere episode, we’re diving into three very real challenges people leaders face every day: What do you do when a direct report keeps “forgetting” feedback and backslides on performance again and again? Should y...

Welcome to People Are the Worst : Smart strategies for surviving people problems at work! You know that moment when you close your laptop after back-to-back meetings and think, “People are the worst”? Yeah, us too. And that’s exactly why this podcast exists. We are Lindsey Nehls and Lucy Georgiades, cofounders of Elevate Leadership, and together we’ve coached thousands of people leaders through th...