How to Hire Someone and Be a Good Boss

How to Hire Someone and Be a Good Boss

From How To! with Charles Duhigg by How To!

July 14, 2026 · 36 min · Episode 397

About this episode

Paula Poundstone seeks guidance on managing her household staff and overcoming her aversion to conflict with the help of relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab.

Comedian and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! panelist Paula Poundstone splits her time among a grueling tour schedule and a chaotic home life, but she wants to find the focus necessary to manage her household staff and stop letting her deep aversion to conflict ruin her business. Enter Nedra Glover Tawwab, relationship expert and author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, who advocates for establishing extreme clarity and asserting direct workplace rules rather than falling into the trap of passive-aggressive avoidance. She introduces Paula to an evaluation rubric for vetting potential employees, advising her to utilize trial workdays and custom hiring assessmentsShe exposes the traps of management neglect that trick empathetic bosses into prioritizing an applicant's personal hardships over their actual ability to complete high-stakes tasks. Executive Producer Corey Wara Edited by Geoff Craig Booking by Ben Astaire Do you have a burning question or a problem you need help with? Email us at [email protected] and we will consider your topic for the show. For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To receive ad-free content, become a…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Pesca

Guest: Paula Poundstone

Topics covered

  • hiring
  • management
  • workplace conflict
  • boundaries
  • employee evaluation

Keywords

  • hiring
  • management
  • conflict resolution
  • employee evaluation
  • workplace rules

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Peach Fish Projects, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Set Boundaries, Find Peace

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