301: Real Talk: How to Stop Guessing What Your Boss Wants and Start Managing Up with Confidence with Melody Wilding
Release Date: 07/30/2025
311: Leading Like You Give a Damn: Building Teams That Thrive with Paula Davis
Workday Playdate
In Episode 311 of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Paula Davis — former lawyer, author of Beating Burnout at Work, and founder of the Stress and Resilience Institute — to unpack why burnout isn’t an individual failure, it’s a team dynamic. Together, they explore how leaders can prevent burnout by fostering empathy, connection, and intrinsic motivation. Paula introduces her powerful concept of TNTs (Tiny Noticeable Things) — small, intentional actions that spark trust, boost morale, and improve workload management across teams. If you’ve ever wondered how to build a culture...
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310: Nervous While Presenting? How to Calm Nerves in the Moment
Workday Playdate
In this solo episode of Workday Playdate, Erin breaks down a five-step, improv-inspired framework to help you calm your nerves in real time whether you’re stepping on stage, leading a meeting, or speaking up in front of a room. From understanding how your amygdala triggers fight-or-flight to learning simple techniques that regulate your nervous system, Erin shares practical tools to transform performance anxiety into focused, confident energy. If public speaking makes your heart race or your mind go blank, this episode proves that calming nerves is a skill you can build with the right...
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309: Closing the Tech Gap: How Women Can Lead in AI & Beyond with Lareina Yee
Workday Playdate
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Lareina Yee, Director at McKinsey Global Institute, to explore how women can thrive at the intersection of time management, technology, and radical empathy. From the promise of AI to the power of experience capital, Lareina shares data-driven insights and practical strategies for navigating the barriers women face in tech and beyond. Whether you’re wrestling with the “broken rung” in career advancement or wondering how AI can open new doors, this conversation is packed with both inspiration and actionable takeaways. Inside This...
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308: Feeling Overwhelmed? Try My 10‑Minute Time Reset Hack
Workday Playdate
In this solo episode of Workday Playdate, Erin tackles one of today’s biggest workplace challenges: overwhelm. With 66% of employees reporting burnout, it’s clear we’re all carrying too much and running on empty. But here’s the good news: a reset doesn’t have to be complicated. Erin shares her simple, science-backed 10-Minute Time Reset Hack to help you recharge your energy, sharpen your focus, and calm your nervous system without overhauling your entire schedule. Through real talk and practical strategies, Erin shows you how just 10 intentional minutes a day can shift your mindset...
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307: Stop People-Pleasing: Lead with Clarity and Confidence with Amy Green Smith
Workday Playdate
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Amy Green Smith—life coach, hypnotherapist, and boundary-setting powerhouse—to explore the fine line between being kind and being a doormat. If you’ve ever found yourself saying “yes” when every cell in your body was screaming “no,” this conversation is your wake-up call to stop people-pleasing and start leading with self-worth. Through raw insights and actionable strategies, Amy reveals how to reclaim your personal power, communicate with confidence, and finally set the boundaries you’ve been avoiding without burning...
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306: Time Batching for Baddies - More Focus, Less Burnout
Workday Playdate
In today's solo episode, Erin pulls back the curtain on how she went from chaotic multitasking to a calmer, more productive workday without adding more hours to her week. If your calendar feels like a game of Tetris you never signed up for, this episode is your permission slip to stop the scramble and start managing your time with intention. Through real-talk stories and proven strategies, Erin shares the exact methods that helped her reclaim her focus, prevent burnout, and design a schedule that works for her (not the other way around). Inside This Episode: The Power of Time Batching:...
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305: Anti-Mattering Is a Thing (And Leaders Like You Can Help End It) with Zach Mercurio
Workday Playdate
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Dr. Zach Mercurio—researcher, author, and leading voice on meaningful work—to unpack a quiet crisis in today’s workplaces: anti-mattering. If you’ve ever felt invisible at work or noticed your team going through the motions, this episode will give you the language and tools to change that. Instead of brushing past the small moments, Dr. Mercurio shows how everyday interactions shape whether people feel seen, valued, and significant. With research-backed insights and practical strategies, you’ll learn how to build...
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304: How to Actually Enjoy Networking (Yes, It’s Possible)
Workday Playdate
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin shares her five-step play process that flips networking from “ugh” to actually fun. If the thought of walking into a room full of strangers makes you want to hide by the snack table, this is your permission slip to try networking a whole new way. Instead of dreading it, Erin shows you how to treat networking like an improv game: playful, curiosity-driven, and connection-first. With tips that blend practical strategy and improv magic, you’ll learn to leave a lasting impression without feeling salesy, stiff, or stuck in small talk. Inside...
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303: Are We Settling Without Even Knowing It? Steffani LeFevour Spills the Truth and How to Break Free
Workday Playdate
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with Steffani LeFevour—speaker, coach, and conscious creation educator—to unpack the surprisingly radical act of living on purpose. If you've ever felt like you're coasting through your days, stuck in default mode, or quietly settling in a career, relationship, or mindset that no longer fits, you’re not alone and you’re not stuck. This episode is your permission slip to snap out of autopilot and into alignment. From rewiring your inner dialogue to redefining networking as a tool for service, Erin and Steffani deliver soul-deep...
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302: Your New Networking Rule: Simple, Sticky & Stress-Free
Workday Playdate
In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin tackles the career skill most of us dread but desperately need: networking. If you break into a cold sweat at the words “elevator pitch” or feel like networking is just performance in business casual, this one’s for you. Forget awkward small talk and robotic intros. Erin’s here to flip the script with her Simple, Sticky, Stress-Free Networking Rule that makes connecting with people feel more like improv night and less like a corporate casting call. Inside This Episode: Why most networking advice makes you sound like a LinkedIn bot The...
info_outlineIn this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin gets real about one of the toughest career skills no one really teaches you: managing up with confidence. Because let’s be honest, trying to figure out what your boss actually wants can feel like decoding emoji hieroglyphics at 11 PM.
Enter Melody Wilding: therapist-turned-career-coach, emotions researcher, and author of Managing Up. Named one of Insider’s “most innovative career coaches,” Melody is here to help you stop overthinking every Slack message and start building a relationship with your boss that’s rooted in clarity, confidence, and collaboration.
Whether you’re a new grad navigating your first 1:1, an early-career professional trying to stand out without burning out, or a sensitive striver who struggles to speak up, this episode will help you transform anxiety into action and guesswork into game plans.
Inside This Episode:
- What managing up really means (and why it’s the fastest way to build trust and grow)
- The 3 toughest conversations to have with your boss — and how to start them
- Why “sensitive strivers” are actually management superstars (with the right mindset shift)
- How to protect your boundaries without damaging your reputation
- One simple step you can take today to feel more confident in every manager conversation
Who This Episode Is For:
Early-career rockstars. Career changers. Anyone tired of reading between the lines of vague emails and ready to build real, human, mutually beneficial relationships at work.
Stop guessing what your boss wants. Start showing up like the leader you’re meant to be.
Listen now and share this episode with a friend who’s stuck in the “do they hate me?” spiral. Let’s make managing up feel less like a guessing game and more like a playdate.
Feeling stretched thin but still trying to “stay positive”? Grab our free Positivity Without Pretending Toolkit. It’s a quick, honest reset for people leaders who want to show up without faking it. In five minutes or less, you’ll reframe, refuel, and lead with heart (even when you're running on fumes). Download it now and take the pressure off.
No, You Hang Up First (Let’s Keep Connecting)
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