“Founder Mode” Is Just A Rebrand of Micromanagement

This week we’re bringing you another AITA-style episode (since we had so much fun doing it the first time). Listen to hear Kaila and Kyle read and weigh in on your “am I the a**hole?” submissions around your work-specific scenarios. 00:00 Intro 01:00 Scenario #1 - Dishonest Interview 04:11 Scenario #2 - Tattle Tale 10:31 Scenario #3 - Work Bestie Desserted Me 16:03 Scenario #4 - Boss Is Back From Paternity Leave Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle dig into the real meaning of “Founder Mode” (made famous by Brian Chesky and Paul Graham), and whether or not it’s a good thing. Is it just a rebrand of micromanagement? Then, Kaila and Kyle debate whether or not micromanagement can ever be a good thing. 00:00 Intro 00:35 A brief explanation of “Founder Mode” 04:45 Talking micromanagement 06:43 The instances where being a micromanager is okay 09:49 The Delegation Ladder 14:57 The three buckets of micromanagement 18:50 What to do when you’re being micromanaged  23:30 Morning Brew’s founder on Founder Mode Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle dive into the implications of going sober in your career with special guest Andrew Yeung, founder and CEO of Fibe. Can you still network and attend work happy hours when you’ve quit alcohol? What does it mean for climbing the ladder? 00:00 Intro 01:05 What prompted Andrew’s sobriety 05:40 What you miss out on when abstaining from alcohol 10:10 On having to explain your sobriety  15:36 How quitting alcohol impacted Andrew’s lifestyle 18:28 How getting sober impacted Andrew’s business 21:08 How alcohol has impacted Kaila and Kyle’s careers 24:26 Tactics for the sober curious Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle are joined by special guest (and Morning Brew social media star) Macy Gilliam to discuss whether Gen Z gets an unfair reputation at work, and address questions like: Does Gen Z overshare? Do they lack respect for office etiquette? Does Gen Z care less, or MORE about money than other generations? 00:00 Intro 02:38 Gen Z stereotype #1 08:40 Resume Builder stat 09:26 Gen Z stereotype #2 16:18 Gen Z stereotype #3 20:28 Gen Z stereotype #4 26:04 Gen Z stereotype #5  31:36 Advice for working with Gen Z Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle dig into occupational personality tests—from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, to the science-backed Big Five—and debate their legitimacy, when they might be useful in the workplace, and whether or not they should be used at all. 00:00 Intro 01:00 Myers-Briggs (MBTI) 03:57 Criticism of the Myers-Briggs 07:28 The CliftonStrengths Assessment 18:11 The Big Five Personality Test (OCEAN) 25:19 A big critique of personality tests 27:29 Tactics New York Times article cited in the episode: Personality Tests Are the Astrology of the Office Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle tackle the age-old question of: how hard do you have to work to get ahead? Do you ACTUALLY have to put in overtime, or can you have a healthy “work-life balance”?  00:00 Intro 02:54 Stats on workplace boundaries 05:08 Defining what a workplace “boundary” is 06:10 The 60% Rule 08:55 Three things to keep in mind when adopting the 60% rule 16:30 Decoupling number of hours work from impact 18:19 The Eisenhower Matrix 23:27 The “three seasons of work” 29:15 Tactics for developing work-life balance that works for you Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle debate whether Amazon’s decision to mandate a 5 day in office policy for all employees is a smart move for the tech giant or just a cover for possible impending layoffs. Amazon CEO letter cited: Message from CEO Andy Jassy: Strengthening our culture and teams Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle dive into the unspoken rules around Slack, Teams, and email. What is proper etiquette when it comes to professional communication these days? When is email actually necessary in a Slack-driven workplace environment? Plus, award-winning journalist and communication expert Celeste Headlee weighs in on what she thinks the new rules of workplace communication should be.  00:00 Intro 04:30 The issues with instant messaging  10:32 Have Slack and Teams hurt workplace communications? 15:12 How Slack affects workplace culture after a layoff 18:24 Tactics for Slack (or any workplace IM platform) 20:21 How to think about email when your company has Slack or Teams 26:28 An argument for the email before the meeting 31:42 Tactics for in-person communication Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the different styles of mentorship, how to find and secure a career mentor, and why mentorship benefits the mentor as well as the mentee.  00:00 Open 00:19 Intro 03:44 Can a boss be a mentor? 05:14 Defining mentorship 06:03 “Mentorship from afar” 11:00 How to get to an informal mentorship 15:00 Kyle’s advice for how to approach cold-emailing a potential mentor 19:03 The benefits of being a mentor 23:35 Mentorship vs sponsorship 28:27 Tactics Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s resources? Subscribe: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle discuss the realities and misconceptions around imposter syndrome, why Kyle has never experienced it, and Kaila’s take on when imposter syndrome becomes a humble brag. 00:00 Open 00:22 Intro 01:07 Defining imposter syndrome 07:13 Stats on the prevalence of imposter syndrome 07:32 Why Kyle has never experienced imposter syndrome 12:35 Kaila’s experience with imposter syndrome 20:43 The people who are actually imposters 22:46 How Kaila overcame feeling like an imposter 26:27 Advice for listeners Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s resources? Subscribe: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/  Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube:    @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices