Bob Sutton: How Great Leaders Reduce Workplace Friction and Build High-Performing Teams: Re-Release
Release Date: 07/21/2026
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info_outlineOn this re-release episode of the Live Greatly podcast, Kristel Bauer sits down with organizational psychologist, Stanford professor, bestselling author, and leadership expert Robert Sutton to discuss how leaders can reduce unnecessary workplace friction, build stronger teams, improve organizational culture, and create environments where people can thrive.
Drawing from his book The Friction Project, Robert shares insights on identifying "bad friction," making work more effective, receiving feedback with greater resilience, building self-awareness as a leader, and why his famous "No Asshole Rule" continues to be so relevant in today's workplace.
Whether you're leading a team, managing organizational change, or looking to improve workplace performance, this conversation offers actionable insights to help you become a more intentional and effective leader.
Tune in now!
Key Takeaways From This Episode
- What workplace friction is—and how to recognize it
- How great leaders remove unnecessary barriers to success
- Lessons from The Friction Project
- The leadership principles behind the "No Asshole Rule"
- How to build greater self-awareness as a leader
- Why receiving honest feedback is essential for growth
ABOUT ROBERT SUTTON:
Robert I. Sutton is an organizational psychologist and professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School. He has given keynote speeches to more than 200 groups in 20 countries, and served on numerous scholarly editorial boards. Sutton’s work has been featured in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on various television and radio programs, and has written eight books including The Friction Project, and two edited volumes, including the bestsellers The No Asshole Rule; Good Boss, Bad Boss; and Scaling Up Excellence.
About the book THE FRICTION PROJECT: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder (St. Martin’s Press; January 30, 2024), bestselling authors and Stanford professors Robert I. Sutton and Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao present a decade’s worth of research on what ought to be easy and what ought to be hard in organizations, and how to change things for the better. Based on their research, case studies, and hundreds of engagements with top companies, the authors reveal just how widespread this affliction is, and provide a roadmap for readers to take up the mantle and blaze a path
out of the muck. Sutton and Rao tease out the most common and destructive forms of friction, and share proven tactics, tools, and practices that can help us avert these traps and move forward. Ultimately, THE FRICTION PROJECT makes the case for a new philosophy that empowers us to build positive, productive, and humane organizations that make life better for their people and those they serve.
Website: https://www.bobsutton.net/
Order the book, THE FRICTION PROJECT - How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder: https://www.bobsutton.net/book/the-friction-project/
Social Media Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobsutton1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/work_matters
About the Host of the Live Greatly podcast, Kristel Bauer:
Kristel Bauer is a corporate wellness and performance expert, keynote speaker and TEDx speaker supporting organizations and individuals on their journeys for more happiness and success. She is the award-winning author of Work-Life Tango: Finding Happiness, Harmony, and Peak Performance Wherever You Work (John Murray Business November 19, 2024). With Kristel’s healthcare background, she provides data driven actionable strategies to leverage happiness and high-power habits to drive growth mindsets, peak performance, profitability, well-being and a culture of excellence. Kristel's keynotes provide insights to “Live Greatly” while promoting leadership development and team building.
Kristel is the creator and host of her global top self-improvement podcast, Live Greatly. She is a contributing writer for Entrepreneur, and she is an influencer in the business and wellness space having been recognized as a Top 10 Social Media Influencer of 2021 in Forbes. As an Integrative Medicine Fellow & Physician Assistant having practiced clinically in Integrative Psychiatry, Kristel has a unique perspective into attaining a mindset for more happiness and success. Kristel has presented to groups from the American Gas Association, Bank of America, bp, Commercial Metals Company, General Mills, Northwestern University, Santander Bank and many more. Kristel's work has been featured in Forbes and she has had multiple TV appearances including NBC News Daily, ABC News Live, FOX Weather, ABC 7 Chicago, WGN Daytime Chicago and more. Kristel lives in the Chicago, IL area and she can be booked for speaking engagements worldwide.
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