Management Muse

Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin
  • 5.0 (47)
  • Management
  • Updated Daily

Management Muse is a leadership and management podcast for professionals who want to improve communication, increase employee engagement, and build high-performing teams. Hosts Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin draw from organizational science, management research, and decades of experience to deliver actionable insights that improve workplace performance. Topics include leadership development, team dynamics, performance management, workplace culture, change leadership, and strategic communication. Whether you’re leading a team or working within one, Management Muse helps you strengthen your skills and drive meaningful results.

  1. 6d ago

    Ep 126 - The Strategy Mistake That Makes Every Company Look the Same

    Looking at your competitors can feel like a smart strategy.  But it can also make your organization think exactly like everyone else. This week on Management Muse, Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin use POM Wonderful as a case study in thinking beyond the obvious. They explore how the company turned an overlooked agricultural byproduct into a premium category, and reinforced that decision on every step along the way. They also look at Southwest Airlines and the other side of differentiation: what happens when competitors catch up and a once-distinctive company starts to look more like everyone else. Along the way, they unpack why managers tend to stop at the first plausible solution, how analogy can help leaders think beyond their own industry, and why competitive advantage has to be continually defended. Episode Highlights: Why looking at your competitors can actually narrow your strategic thinking How POM Wonderful turned an overlooked byproduct into an entirely new category Why analogy can help you find answers far outside your own industry How to avoid the ‘first plausible solution’ trap What Southwest teaches us about how competitive advantages eventually disappear Why analogy can help you find answers far outside your own industry What leaders can do to avoid becoming another commodity in the market Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VirzVP2Ew5A Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Kim, W. Chan, and Renée Mauborgne. Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business Review Press, Feb. 2015, https://link.amazon/B02GpG6RT Rumelt, Richard. Good Strategy Bad Strategy, Crown Currency, 19 Jul. 2011, https://link.amazon/B04cQz30w Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  2. Sep 8

    Ep 125 - Why Demoting an Employee Is Worse Than Firing Them (And What Leaders Should Do Instead)

    Most leaders don't want to fire someone. So when an employee can no longer succeed in their role, demotion can feel like the humane compromise: keep the person, lower their responsibilities, and give someone else the job. But that “compromise” can create a much bigger problem. Before you move someone down the ladder, Cindi Baldi and Geoff Tumlin argue that you need to understand what a demotion actually does to performance, motivation, fairness, and the rest of the organization. In this episode, they unpack why involuntary demotions so often backfire, what fairness research tells us about how people respond to losing pay or status, and why moving someone out of a role does not necessarily solve the underlying problem. In this episode of Management Muse, we explain why we’ve almost never recommended a leader-driven demotion, when moving someone into a different role can work, and what leaders should consider before choosing the “middle ground.”  Episode Highlights: Why demoting an employee can create a bigger problem than firing them What fairness research reveals about how people respond to losing pay or status When moving a longtime employee into a different role can actually work The crucial difference between being demoted and choosing to step back How leaders can make difficult exits more respectful Why asking employees to permanently absorb eliminated jobs eventually drives them out Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1l8Jyqd4SPg Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Banko, P. The Necessary Goodbye, Forbes Books, May 2026, https://link.amazon/B0h8KtWKl   Greenberg, J. “Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity: The hidden cost of pay cuts,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(5), 561-568, 1990, https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.75.5.561  Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  3. Sep 1

    Ep 124 - Working Hard Won’t Get You Promoted: How to Move Your Career Forward w/ Maya Grossman

    Work hard, follow the rules, hope to be promoted.  It sounds straightforward, but it’s rarely the reality. Organizations have limited roles, competing priorities, and complicated promotion systems that don’t always reflect merit. If you want to grow, you may have to do more than perform well. You also have to understand where you can create value and sometimes build the opportunity you want instead of waiting for it to appear. Maya Grossman learned this the hard way. From creating her own entry into marketing, to reshaping her role at Microsoft, to leaving to reach the VP level faster, and eventually walking away from the title she had spent nearly 20 years pursuing, Maya knows what it looks like to intentionally design your career.  In this episode, she joins Cindi Baldi to discuss how to create opportunities that don't officially exist, when to stay versus when you've stayed too long, and how identity can hold you back from career advancement, and how to think several moves ahead instead of simply chasing the next promotion. Episode Highlights: Why hard work alone doesn’t guarantee career advancement How to create opportunities and roles that don’t officially exist What to consider to strategically plan your next career move How to tell strategic patience from staying too long What managers can do to unlock talent beyond the job description Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jhAbcLuq4Ms About Maya Grossman: Maya Grossman is an executive career coach, two-time VP of Marketing, LinkedIn Top Voice, and author of the best-selling book Invaluable. She built her career at global companies like Microsoft and Google—but it wasn’t a straight climb. After 17 rejections in a row, she cracked the code to breaking into senior leadership, landing two VP roles in her 30s. Now, she helps ambitious professionals in tech do the same - getting unstuck, stepping into bigger roles, and building the influence that gets them noticed and promoted. *Get Maya’s free masterclass to becoming a VP. Connect with Maya: Linkedin | Website | Instagram Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Waldinger, Robert, and Marc Schulz. The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness, Simon & Schuster, Jan. 2023, https://link.amazon/B0fTAwR00  Ferriss, Timothy. The 4-Hour Workweek, Harmony, Dec. 2009, https://link.amazon/B0iRSnQ9G  Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  4. Aug 25

    Ep 123 - The Problem With Volunteering: When Unpaid Labor Goes Too Far

    We have a controversial opinion: we don’t believe in volunteering. At least, not the kind that allows organizations to avoid paying people for work they genuinely depend on. In this episode of Management Muse, Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin challenge the assumption that volunteer labor is always a win-win. We discuss how underpaying mission-driven employees can create long-term staffing problems, why critical work is difficult to build around people who aren’t formally accountable for it, and how organizations can unintentionally take advantage of the very people most committed to the mission. If your organization depends on people giving more than they’re formally paid or accountable for, don’t miss this episode. It’s a useful challenge to the idea that goodwill can substitute for compensation, structure, and accountability. Episode Highlights: When volunteering crosses the line into unpaid labor The hidden organizational cost of relying on volunteers What inflation exposes about organizations built on below-market wages What to watch out for with mission-driven employees Why “free” changes the expectations and accountability on both sides The rare case where a volunteer becomes indispensable Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pPCD3iggEgI Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Pallotta, Dan. Uncharitable, Brandeis University Press, Oct. 2022, https://link.amazon/B0fDDCLYl  Ton, Zeynep. The Good Jobs Strategy, New Harvest, Jan. 2014, https://link.amazon/B04lHQSj1  Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  5. Aug 18

    Ep 122 - Why Organizations Break at the Intersections: The Problem of 2 Right Answers (w/ Dr. Timothy Tiryaki)

    Most leadership problems are framed too narrowly. A culture problem gets handed to HR. AI becomes a technology initiative. Operations get optimized in a vacuum of spreadsheets. But organizations don’t experience strategy, culture, technology, or people separately…and that may be exactly why so many well-intended transformations fail. This week, Cindi Baldi talks with Dr. Timothy Tiryaki, systems leadership expert and author of Leading with Strategy, about what changes when leaders stop treating organizational challenges as isolated problems and start leading the tensions between them. They explore why the hardest leadership challenges are often dilemmas rather than problems, why organizations need stability management alongside change management, and why AI adoption becomes dangerous when it is treated as a headcount exercise. If you’re trying to lead through disruption without destabilizing your team, culture, or strategy in the process, this episode is for you. Episode Highlights: Why the hardest leadership problems often exist between sectors How to recognize when you are facing a dilemma instead of a problem Why change management fails when leaders ignore the equally important work of stability management Why purpose statements are losing meaning with employees and what to focus on instead How authenticity, inclusion, and empathy can become liabilities when leaders use them without judgment Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B7v8oKoX_kk About Timothy Tiryaki: Dr. Timothy Tiryaki is a venture-building entrepreneur, author, and executive advisor helping leaders think strategically about AI, culture, and transformation. As founder of Maslow Research Center and co-founder of Strategy.Inc, he developed research-backed frameworks including the Big 5 of Strategy assessment to elevate strategic clarity across organizations.  He is the author of Leading with Strategy and Leading with Culture, bridging rigorous research with practical leadership tools. Drawing on experience across Fortune 500 companies, government institutions, and entrepreneurial ventures, Dr. Tim equips executive teams to align strategy, culture, and technology, moving from complexity to clarity in the AI era.   Connect with Dr. Tim: Linkedin | Website Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Free Press, 2004, https://link.amazon/B0dp9uKNd  Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  6. Aug 11

    Ep 121 - Can a Team Be Too Close? The Risk of Too Much Harmony at Work

    A team finally clicks. People trust each other. Communication flows. Performance increases. So why can that same team eventually start getting worse? In this episode of Management Muse, Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin unpack the surprising downside of team stability. One mechanism behind this is group polarization: the tendency for a group's distinctive characteristics and beliefs to become more extreme over time. What begins as a constructive team identity can eventually become an "us versus them" worldview that makes newcomers harder to integrate, collaboration harder to sustain, and contrary information easier to dismiss. Drawing on examples from fire departments, elite military units, office design, and consulting engagements, Cindi and Geoff illustrate why longevity doesn’t automatically produce better teamwork. Tune in to learn how organizational silos form, and what leaders should do to stop separate teams from becoming separate realities. Episode Highlights: The surprising point where team stability can stop helping performance and start working against it The high-performing “go-to” team that became so protective of its reputation that its members stopped catching each other’s mistakes Why the characteristics that make a team distinctive can become more extreme over time The overlooked role of office layout and proximity in creating organizational silos What elite military units and fire departments reveal about organizational tribalism The question leaders need to ask themselves to stop the “us vs. them” mindset in its tracks Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h2EPEVPBlTA Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: General Stanley McChrystal et al. Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, Portfolio, May 2015, https://link.amazon/B05kNdz24  Wise, Sean. “Can a team have too much cohesion? The dark side to network density,” European Management Journal, 32 (5), Oct. 2014, pp. 703-711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2013.12.005 Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  7. Aug 4

    Ep 120 - How to Sound as Smart as You Are and Build Confidence on Stage w/ Nausheen Chen

    You can be excellent at your job and still be overlooked if you cannot communicate your ideas when it matters. Speaking skills affect far more than stages and TED Talks. They shape who gets heard in meetings, trusted with responsibility, remembered by decision-makers, and considered for the next opportunity. In this episode, former Procter & Gamble communications trainer and filmmaker turned public speaking coach Nausheen Chen joins Cindi Baldi to explore what helps people communicate clearly and confidently under pressure. Together, they break powerful communication into three separate skills: confidence, messaging, and delivery, and discuss why learning to communicate under pressure can change the trajectory of a career. Nausheen shares the speaking techniques she uses with overthinkers and perfectionists, how to pull a distracted audience back, and the Stanford research that explains why some people build confidence faster than others after the exact same experience. Whether you are leading a meeting, presenting to executives, appearing on camera, or stepping onto a stage, this episode offers practical tools to help you sound as capable and credible as you already are. Episode Highlights: Why confidence and speaking skill must be built separately How improv helps perfectionists stop overthinking What to do when you realize you have lost the audience What body language reveals and the first steps to mastering it The one question every speaker should ask themselves about the audience How to turn past speaking experiences into future confidence About Nausheen Chen: Nausheen I. Chen is a 3-time TEDx speaker, a Public Speaking instructor for the Executive MBA program at Central European University and Wesleyan and a content creator with 500,000+ followers across LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. Nausheen coaches leaders at Google, Amazon, NASA and the UN as well as startup founders to speak fearlessly. Her clients have raised more than $115 million through winning investor pitches and successful exits. Connect with Nausheen: Website | Linkedin Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gK7racEvoW0 Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Monarth, Harrison. "The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool." Harvard Business Review, March 2014. https://hbr.org/2014/03/the-irresistible-power-of-storytelling-as-a-strategic-business-tool Stephens, Greg J., Lauren J. Silbert, and Uri Hasson. "Speaker-Listener Neural Coupling Underlies Successful Communication." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 107, no. 32, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1008662107 Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

  8. Jul 28

    Ep 119 - Why Motivational Speakers Are a Warning Sign (Your Team Needs Strategy, Not Hype)

    Leaders often confuse three different things: a goal, a strategy, and motivation. A goal describes the result. A strategy explains how the organization will achieve it. Motivation may help people execute the plan…but it cannot replace one. In this episode, Cindi and Geoff examine why ambitious targets, pep talks, and motivational speakers can backfire when employees are not given a credible path forward. They discuss how leaders can connect strategy to employees’ daily decisions, reduce uncertainty, and create genuine motivation through clarity and useful ideas. They then turn to individual career strategy and the limitations of the advice to “follow your passion.” Passion can support persistence, but competitive dreams also require a real advantage and a parallel plan. The conversation offers a practical test for organizations and individuals alike: Do you have an advantage and a plan, or are you hoping enthusiasm will carry you? Episode Highlights: The mistake leaders make when setting growth targets Why bringing in a motivational speaker may signal a deeper leadership problem How to tell whether inspiration is creating real value or just a temporary high What “follow your passion” leaves out of the career equation How leaders can make strategy feel relevant to an employee’s everyday work The advantage successful organizations and individuals have that motivation alone cannot produce Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1cFY9iwIiPA Get your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World here.  → Use code PLAYBOOK20 for 20% off. Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of The Uncertainty Playbook. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: Rumelt, Richard. Good Strategy Bad Strategy, Crown Currency, 19 Jul. 2011, https://link.amazon/B02CTAbii  Ordóñez, Lisa et al. “Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting,” Academy of Management Perspectives, Jan. 2009, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1332071  Join Our Community & Follow Us:  - Youtube Channel  - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website

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5
out of 5
47 Ratings

About

Management Muse is a leadership and management podcast for professionals who want to improve communication, increase employee engagement, and build high-performing teams. Hosts Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin draw from organizational science, management research, and decades of experience to deliver actionable insights that improve workplace performance. Topics include leadership development, team dynamics, performance management, workplace culture, change leadership, and strategic communication. Whether you’re leading a team or working within one, Management Muse helps you strengthen your skills and drive meaningful results.

Information

  • Creator
    Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Rebecca Henley
  • Show Website
    Management Muse