Manager on a Mission

Promotions and progress are the lanugage of success in Corporate America. But promotions can be notoriously difficult to get, or at least difficult to understand. Some companies keep the process shrouded in mystery and very tightly controlled. But when prospective employers want to see progress, advancement, and forward movement - and current employers are reluctant to provide it - what’s an emplo...

Jess Walker has spent over 20 years as a manager and organizational leader at some of the top creative agencies in New York City, working with Fortune 10 trailblazers, long-standing companies, and fast-growing brands. She now applies her dedication to creating value and growth to what she cares about most: people. She recently founded Wondering Forward, a coaching practice for individuals and team...

Our first interview episode features Jod Kaftan, Head of Product Design & Research at Oracle. Jod has over 20 years of experience in product, UX, and strategy, and as a trailblazer and leader in the industry, he is an advocate for a people-centered approach to management.  Having recently branched out into coaching, Jod has been reflecting on his evolution as a manager who now believes hi...

RTO, or "Return to Office," edicts swept corporate America in 2023. After a year or two of sweet-talking, strongly suggesting, and guilting employees to come back to the office, it seemed like CEOs of major companies had returned from a League of Doom meeting in which they unanimously decided it was time to end this ridiculous remote work fantasy once and for all - and RTO was born. The question I...

If you’ve been on Tiktok or Insta lately you’ve seen all the posts of terrible bosses. And on LinkedIn it seems like it’s just one layoff after another. You’re not alone in wondering if things have gone off the rails in Corporate America. In today’s episode, we look at some of the reasons work sucks more than ever for so many people.  We talk about the worrying trend of corporations having a...

Did you know that the word “feedback” was first used in 1919? And it primarily had to do with mechanics. The original definition is pretty dry: the return to the input of a part of the output of a machine, system or process. Yuck. And feedback is the word we use ALL THE TIME in Corporate America to supposedly help our team members do better work. In this episode, I’m not saying managers should be...