How to Be a Good Boss, With Basecamp’s David Heinemeier Hansson and Columnist Rob Walker
Too often, people who are good at doing things are promoted to leaders by those who do them – without any training in how to lead. So how do you become a good boss? Are you gaining leadership skills at work or do you need special coaching? We’ll find out this week. First, we’ll take a look at what makes a good boss with the author of Lifehacker’s new career advice column, “Human Resources,” Rob Walker . Then executive coach Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler tells us how she helps bosses to be the best they can be. Finally, Ruby on Rails creator and Basecamp co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson explains how to make your workplace go crazy in five steps.
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In this episode
Self Help: Rob Walker (1:44 – 18:13)
Self-help is a new segment in which we ask relevant questions to the experts of the Lifehacker team. This week we ask Rob Walker, author of Lifehacker’s new career advice column, Human Resources, what makes a good boss.
Have a working dilemma for Rob to solve? Email him at [email protected] .
Interview: Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler (19:13 – 37:18)
Jen Goldman-Wetzler doesn’t work with the troubled bosses Rob Walker heard about. Instead, it helps make good bosses great. In this segment, we learn from her how to be the great leaders that we always knew we had to be.
Jen recommends the following books to all the rest of you who are not satisfied with just being “good”:
- Achieving “Yes”: Negotiating Agreement without Concessions
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss the Most Important Things
- The person you want to be: how good people fight prejudice
How to Create a Quiet Workplace Without Extravagance in Five Steps: David Heinemeier Hansson (37:26 – 41:52)
David Heinemeier Hansson explains why we need fewer meetings and more time without interruptions; why workaholics should not be honored; and why we should strive for “good enough”.
Updates of the week
We return with Jen Goldman-Wetzler to discuss our updates of the week. This week: Via Instagram like Pinterest such ugly shoes that should change your life; and the benefits of night vision.