Candor & Courage At Work®
The workplace communication podcast that helps professionals navigate difficult conversations, speak up with confidence, and build stronger careers. HR experts Denise and Maggie share practical frameworks for giving honest feedback, addressing conflict, and leading with authenticity... without the career-limiting fear that keeps most people silent. Learn how to say what needs to be said while building trust and advancing your professional goals.
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The Lessons Great Leaders Keep Coming Back To | Ep24
<p>When some of the most respected voices in leadership got on stage this year, they kept coming back to the two things this whole show is built on: candor and courage.</p> <p>In this episode, we share the insights from the Global Leadership Summit that resonated with us the most: why you can't get through to someone who isn't ready to hear you, why waiting for certainty is its own (usually wrong) decision, why backing up is not the same as backing down, and how to keep your best people from picturing a future somewhere else.</p> <p>...
Push Through Fear, or Live with Regret: A Conversation with Medicare Misty | Ep23
<p>Fear might be the only thing standing between you and the life you actually want.</p> <p>In this episode, we're bringing in a guest who has made a habit of choosing courage over comfort. </p> <p>Medicare Misty has spent two decades building one of the most recognizable personal brands in Chattanooga. But before the brand, there were 25 rejections chasing a different dream, a psychology degree that led to a $15K salary, and a stint waiting tables while pregnant.</p> <p>Together we get into why courage is a muscle you build one hard decision at a time, w...
Weighing the Cost: A Listener's Story of Courage | Ep22
<p>How far would you go to do the right thing at work? Further than you think, or not as far as you'd hope?</p> <p>In this episode, we share a listener's story that stopped us in our tracks. Their employer rolled out a mandatory wellness program that crossed a serious line, and this employee had to make a choice: go along with it, or risk their job to say no.</p> <p>This story is a candid look at what courage can really cost when your values (and sometimes even your health) are challenged. Along the way, we...
It’s Not Me, It’s You: Breaking Up Passive Aggression | Ep21
<p>You can't always stop passive aggressive behavior at work. But you have more control over it than you think.</p> <p>In this episode, we're continuing our series on passive aggression and answering a listener's question: Can managers prevent passive aggressive behavior from taking root in the first place?</p> <p>Then we share two real stories of passive aggression in action, specifically when the person being passive aggressive didn’t report to us (one was a coworker, and one was a boss!).</p> <p>If you've been wondering if you should address the passive aggression or just let it...
Sure, Whatever: Addressing Passive Aggression at Work | Ep20
<p>As a leader, you don't have a choice. You have to have the hard conversations.</p> <p>In this episode, we're addressing feedback from two listeners about our recent series on managing underperformers:</p> I'm afraid the underperformer will quit if I bring it up, and I can't afford to lose them. What if *I* am the problem? <p>Then we shift into something that shows up in every workplace: passive aggressive behavior, what it actually looks like, and how to address it directly without blowing up the relationship.</p> <p>If you've been tiptoeing around a difficult person...
Facts Over Feelings: A Leader's Guide to Addressing Underperformance | Ep19
<p>Every day you avoid the underperformer conversation, you're sending a message to your whole team. In this episode, we’re sharing how to finally address it the right way.</p> <p>We walk through how to analyze the situation and the data, how to have the actual conversation, and why documentation and follow-up are non-negotiable. </p> <p>We're also sharing two real stories of when underperformers went unchecked, so you can see these principles in action. </p> <p>If you've been avoiding the conversation with an underperformer, this episode will help you feel more prepared and confident to address it.<...
Managing Underperformers: The Conversations Most Leaders Avoid | Ep18
<p>If you've never had an underperformer, you are a leadership unicorn! It's something every people-manager deals with at some point in their career, and how you handle it impacts the whole team.</p> <p>In this episode, we walk through how to handle underperformance before it spirals, including: the honest questions every manager needs to ask themselves first, how to consider the full context around an employee's performance, and what to do when you really feel like you've tried everything.</p> <p>Learn more at candorandcourageatwork.com & connect with us on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/hr-habitude</p>
Showing Up Fully Without Running on Empty | Ep17
<p>How do you balance a meaningful career with being present for your family, without completely depleting yourself in the process?</p> <p>In this episode, we talk with the winner of our goal-setting contest about her biggest challenge for 2026: refilling her energy bucket so she can show up fully for the things and people that matter most to her. </p> <p>It's a candid conversation about building meaningful professional connections while protecting what you need to show up fully at home.</p> <p>If you've ever felt like your own needs always come last, this conversation offers both recognition a...
Ditch the Resolutions, Actually Follow Through on Your Goals | Ep16
<p>If you're tired of setting goals only to abandon them by “Quitter’s Friday” (the second Friday in January), this episode is for you. </p> <p>We're sharing a better way to approach goals (that actually makes them stick), inspired by James Clear’s Atomic Habits, lessons from legendary coach Nick Saban, and our own experiences.</p> <p>Denise opens up about how one candid moment helped her break a lifelong habit of procrastination. We also break down why most workplace goals fail (hint: it's not about willpower) and what to do instead.</p> <p>If you want to turn your...
Managing Up When The Stakes Are High | Ep15
<p>What do you do when your boss asks for feedback… and you know they might not like the answer?</p> <p>That question was at the heart of both of our stories in this episode, where we revisit two career-defining moments of high-stakes candor. In each case, there was no time to rehearse, just a split-second choice between staying silent or saying what needed to be said, even if it meant telling your boss they were being a jerk.</p> <p>These aren't theoretical scenarios. These are the high-stakes moments that test whether you'll show up as the person yo...
