The Indigo Podcast

Bosses can be bad for many reasons. One reason is that they were promoted based upon technical expertise yet lack leadership and interpersonal skills. In this episode, we discuss that situation. Spec…

Forrest Faison is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy who served as its 38th Surgeon General. He is now the senior vice president for research and innovation and chief healthcare strateg…

What would it look like if every time someone wronged us, we responded with our most basic instincts: avoidance or revenge? This is one of the most critical types of situations in which we find ourse…

Going off to college is an exciting time for both parents and students. It’s a time that marks the end of childhood in some ways and the launch into adulthood in other ways. It’s also a time that’s f…

Cheryl Gray studies unhelpful help, which refers to those times when a supervisor or coworker does something that others perceive as being intended as helpful but actually is unhelpful or even harmfu…

In some workplaces, foul language seems to spew forth from people nonstop. In others, the slightest off-color remark would turn heads and raise eyebrows with astonishment. Given these differences, ho…

If you ask a person to do something, why would he or she say yes and comply? It has to do with the power you hold and the influence you wield. This holds true regardless of whether you’re working wit…

Dave Smith is a professor of sociology in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College. Brad Johnson is a professor of psychology at the U.S. Naval Academy. Their most recent bo…

The data are clear about the benefits of having a sense of purpose and meaning in life. And one big piece of that for many people is their work. But what makes work meaningful? How might we make our …

Imagine an “executive.” What do you picture in your mind? If you’re like most of us, some characteristics likely come to mind, and these characteristics are part of something called “executive presen…

Rachel Wernicke is a clinical psychologist and leadership coach, currently serving as an associate dean and chief mental health officer at George Mason University. She’s also a U.S. Army veteran, and…

What do you think about when you think about the word, “bureaucracy?” If you’re like most people, it’s probably not something positive. Truth be told, there is plenty about bureaucracy that’s not gre…

Surveys have become very common, and it can be annoying. But are surveys worth doing? The short answer is yes, but it depends. It turns out there are a number of best practices that have to do with s…

Among the scholars who study the world of work, Paul Spector is a giant. A 2012 Indiana University study and a 2019 Stanford University study listed Paul as one of the 10 most influential business ma…

Co-hosted by organizational psychologist Ben Baran and management consultant Chris Everett, The Indigo Podcast takes an evidence-based approach toward solving problems at work and in life in a way th…

Even with the best hiring and coaching, good organizations and leaders need to be ready to fire someone who isn’t working out. Letting poor performers linger doesn’t help anyone. But firing people is…

When it comes to managing people, one of the toughest parts is hiring. But if you want a good organization, you have to get hiring right. The good news is that there’s a mountain of evidence about ho…

Leading people is hard. It’s especially hard when many of the people you’re trying to lead don’t like you. But you have to lead anyway. In this episode, we talk about what you can do, exploring: 

- S…

In this episode, we discuss training at work. Specifically, we examine what’s widely known in the training industry as the 70:20:10 rule. One part of this idea is that most of the learning that occur…

Microsoft released a report on March 22, 2021 that outlines seven urgent business trends and five ways forward with regard to the world of work. We discuss the report and provide our analysis and com…