How to Be Awesome at Your Job
How to be Awesome at Your Job
Get more fun, wins, meaning, and money from your job! With 25,000,000 downloads and mentions in The New York Times, Forbes, and Linkedin Learning. This show helps grow your skills and impact at any job that requires thinking and collaborating. Each week, Pete interviews thought-leaders and results-getters to discover specific, actionable insights that boost work performance. Their stories and advice sharpen the universal skills to flourish at work. Boost your time/energy management, leadership, confidence, career opportunities, and fulfillment—while still getting home earlier.Try starting with episode 0: START HERE and listener favorite episodes we put at the beginning numbered: A, B, C, D, E, and F. (Subscribe and/or sort Old to New to find these starter episodes.) Welcome!
Episodes
Mentioned books
10 snips
Oct 16, 2025 • 43min
1102: How to be “Lucky” by Hacking Hidden Markets to Get More What You Want with Judd Kessler
Judd B. Kessler, a Wharton economist and author of *Lucky by Design*, guides listeners through the intriguing world of hidden markets. He explains how certain individuals consistently secure coveted resources by adapting their strategies. Discover the surprising benefits of settling for less and how to signal genuine interest when job hunting to boost your chances. Judd also critiques traditional first-come ticketing systems and offers innovative alternatives that foster fairness. Tune in for practical tips to navigate these unseen dynamics!
9 snips
Oct 13, 2025 • 39min
1101: Navigating the Four Seasons of Leadership with Carolyn Dewar
Carolyn Dewar, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and author of 'A CEO for All Seasons,' shares invaluable insights from her work with top CEOs. She explores the surprising blind spots leaders often overlook and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness. Carolyn introduces the Four Seasons framework, highlighting how leaders can thrive through various phases of their careers. She discusses effective strategies for obtaining honest feedback, prioritizing major decisions, and preparing for succession, making her advice applicable to leaders at any level.
11 snips
Oct 9, 2025 • 42min
1100: How to Be Bold in the Face of Uncertainty (According to Science) with Dr. Ranjay Gulati
Dr. Ranjay Gulati, a Harvard Business School professor and author of 'Deep Purpose,' explores the science behind everyday courage. He delves into how to activate courageous actions during uncertainty and differentiates between instant and deliberate bravery through compelling examples. Ranjay introduces the critical 'Nine C's of Courage' and emphasizes the importance of personal narratives in shaping our responses to fear. He also shares practical techniques for building confidence and cultivating a culture of courage within teams.
14 snips
Oct 6, 2025 • 46min
1099: How to Buy Back Your Time with the Right Assistant with Jess Lindgren
Jess Lindgren, an experienced administrative professional and host of the Ask An Assistant podcast, dives into the essential traits for hiring a great assistant. She emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence over outdated tests and offers strategies to streamline the hiring process. Jess shares insights on building a successful assistant-executive relationship, including the do's and don'ts for fostering mutual respect. She also highlights unconventional sources for finding top talent, like leveraging your network and community.
8 snips
Oct 2, 2025 • 41min
1098: How to Achieve Your Biggest Goals through Self-Persuasion with Jay Heinrichs
Jay Heinrichs, a New York Times bestselling author and rhetoric expert, unveils the secrets of self-persuasion. He discusses the importance of embracing silliness in affirmations to enhance receptivity. Jay shares his adventurous goal-setting experiment, where he tackled a challenging athletic objective, emphasizing gradual habit-building with Aristotle's lure-and-ramp method. Listeners learn how to reframe failures as essential learning experiences and overcome imposter syndrome through analogical thinking. A treasure trove of practical tools awaits to transform your approach to achieving goals!
24 snips
Sep 29, 2025 • 38min
1097: Turning Conflict into Connection with Charles Duhigg
In this engaging discussion, Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Supercommunicators, shares transformative communication techniques. He unveils the three-step looping method to truly understand others, highlighting the importance of asking, paraphrasing, and confirming. Charles emphasizes the power of meta conversations to clarify intentions and how matching conversation types can foster better alignment. He also explains the neuroscience behind connection and encourages listeners to ask deep questions for meaningful dialogue.
22 snips
Sep 25, 2025 • 33min
1096: How to Find More Humor and Fun at Work with Adam Christing
Adam Christing, a laughter expert and president of Clean Comedians, dives into the power of humor in the workplace. He reveals how laughter fosters trust and boosts productivity. Discover the five laugh languages that can enhance connections among colleagues. Adam offers tips on integrating fun into work, even for those who don’t see themselves as funny. He emphasizes the importance of icebreakers and safe humor, while also sharing actionable advice on how to engage others through light-hearted interactions.
29 snips
Sep 22, 2025 • 39min
1095: Keeping Your Productive Groove through Movement, Thought, and Rest with Dr. Natalie Nixon
Dr. Natalie Nixon, a renowned creativity strategist and CEO of Figure 8 Thinking, shares insights on enhancing creativity and preventing burnout. She introduces her innovative Move. Think. Rest. framework, discussing how play and micro-movement can reignite cognitive function. Nixon emphasizes the importance of emotional recovery and interoceptive awareness for better strategic decisions. She encourages listeners to embrace self-compassion and tackle the weakest link in their productivity habits for optimal performance.
72 snips
Sep 18, 2025 • 35min
1094: How to Make Any Team Great with Steven Gaffney
Steven Gaffney, CEO of the Steven Gaffney Company and expert on high-achieving teams, shares powerful insights from his latest study. He discusses the importance of accountability within teams and how high performers keep one another in check. Gaffney emphasizes creating emotional safety to encourage open communication and tackle tough issues. He also introduces his new AI-enabled program aimed at fostering team excellence, and offers practical hiring tips and a challenge to practice generosity in appreciation.
65 snips
Sep 15, 2025 • 35min
1093: How to Become Powerfully Likeable with Dr. Kate Mason
Dr. Kate Mason, a communications expert and world-champion debater, shares her insights on being powerful yet likable. She discusses the impact of undermining language and how to boost credibility through thoughtful questioning. Kate reveals how leaders can balance authority with approachability—a key to effective leadership. She emphasizes the role of emotional connections over mere confidence in fostering genuine interactions, providing practical tips to enhance communication skills and professional influence.
