Épisodes

  • Luck makes careers. Here’s how to get more of it.
    Nov 26 2024

    Most successful people will tell you that hard work and talent can get you where you want to go. Fewer of them will admit that luck is at least as important. Some of us are born into luckier circumstances than others; but we can all do more to make our own luck, and be ready to capitalise on it when the opportunity arises. In this episode, Isabel Berwick speaks to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of business psychology at UCL and Columbia, chief innovation officer of ManpowerGroup, and author of books including ‘The Talent Delusion’ and ‘Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?’ Along with FT work and careers writer Emma Jacobs, they discuss why luck is a taboo subject, how it helps the wrong people thrive, and what managers can do to level the playing field.


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    Why it’s often luck, not talent, that takes us to the top

    The rich have advantages that money cannot buy

    The untold career value of a little bit of luck at the outset


    FT subscriber? Sign up to get Isabel’s free Working It newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday: ft.com/newsletters

    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    18 min
  • How to get the long-term sick back to work
    Nov 19 2024

    The UK has a well-known problem with long-term sickness in the workforce – but it’s not alone. In several wealthy countries, the number of young people turning to disability benefits has risen. Why is that? What can managers do about it? And just how much could helping people back to work boost productivity? To find out, host Isabel Berwick speaks to John Burn-Murdoch, the FT’s chief data reporter, as well as Camilla Cavendish, FT contributing editor and columnist.


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    Out of work and unwell: the worrying rise of young people on benefits

    How companies can deal with in-work sickness

    Sickness and work is a disaster that must be fixed


    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    18 min
  • What I wish I’d known when I started my career
    Nov 12 2024

    Isabel Berwick writes about how managers and workers can get better at their jobs. But that doesn’t mean she’s always been a perfect employee… In this special episode, Isabel speaks to her former boss (and good friend) Michael Skapinker about how she’s changed over the course of her career, her professional shortcomings, and some of the run-ins the two of them have shared. Later, Isabel and Michael discuss nuggets of career wisdom from FT colleagues including Stephen Bush, Claer Barrett and Jemima Kelly: how important is talent to a successful career? Does anyone care where you went to university? And what if the biggest career decision you’ll ever make is really to do with who you marry…?


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    Starting out in work? Here’s what you need to know

    My first job: what I wish I had known

    My career race is in the home stretch, here’s what I know


    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    21 min
  • How to be a kind manager – without being a pushover
    Nov 5 2024

    We do not always associate bosses with kindness. But being kind to your team can make workers more engaged, more likely to stick around and more productive. So how can managers weave kindness into their daily work, even if they’re annoyed or dealing with a colleague they are not keen on? Isabel Berwick speaks to Graham Allcott, author of ‘KIND: The quiet power of kindness at work’, and Bonnie Hayden Cheng, a professor at the Hong Kong University Business School and author of ‘The Return on Kindness’.


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    How acts of leadership kindness make everyone better

    Kindness in the workplace too often goes unrewarded

    Is kindness a leadership superpower?


    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    18 min
  • Best of: Has ‘retirement’ had its day?
    Oct 29 2024

    Retirement used to be a cliff edge: you’d be working one week, and gardening the next. That’s changing. Now, retirement can mean working on the things you enjoy at a slower pace, and staying engaged with new ideas. Isabel Berwick speaks to author, columnist and Harvard Professor Arthur C Brooks on the science of flourishing in later life, and what older brains can do that younger ones can’t. Later, Isabel talks to former FT journalist Michael Skapinker about the importance of staying engaged with old colleagues and new ideas – even if you’re not doing the same thing every day.


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    It’s time we stopped talking about retirement

    The sun is setting on traditional retirement


    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read the transcript of this episode which was first aired in December 2023 on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    20 min
  • How to network without being inauthentic
    Oct 22 2024

    The idea of networking makes many of us shudder. But connecting with colleagues doesn’t have to mean cold emails and awkward encounters. Alison Fragale tells host Isabel Berwick how ‘strategic socialising’ can help us make genuinely helpful connections at work. They’re joined by Natasha Wood, head of strategy at the FT’s events business, FT Live. Natasha explains how joining colleagues in an ekiden — or long-distance relay race — helped her boost her professional status after coming back from maternity leave.


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    Top ways to be a super schmoozer

    Workplace friendships should be encouraged not policed

    How do I get the most out of networking?


    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    17 min
  • Why the pandemic couldn't kill the 100-hour week
    Oct 15 2024

    Bankers and lawyers have long had punishing work schedules. Has the pandemic – and a widespread move towards flexible working – changed that? Guest host Bethan Staton speaks to Craig Coben, a former senior investment banker at Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, as well as Suzi Ring, the FT’s legal correspondent. They discuss why client satisfaction trumps work-life balance, why law firms can’t just hire twice as many lawyers to work half as hard, and what bankers actually do during a 100-hour work week.


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    The ‘80-hour circuit breaker’: Wall Street banks tackle workloads of junior staff

    High pressure, long days, crushing workloads: why is investment banking like this?

    London’s junior lawyers deserve their £150,000 pay


    Presented by Bethan Staton, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    18 min
  • How to survive a corporate shake-up
    Oct 8 2024

    Corporate reorganisations can be hugely unsettling for employees, whose working lives can change overnight. What can managers do to make these periods of flux as easy as possible for their charges? Isabel Berwick speaks to work researcher Christine Armstrong, and Andrew Hill, the FT’s senior business writer. They discuss how to get ahead of gossip, why clarity is king when you deliver bad news, and the dirtiest office secret of all: that work isn’t your whole life.


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    Silent lay-offs are rarely as quiet as bosses hope

    We’re all busy again’, say UK restructuring experts

    The anatomy of a corporate turnaround


    Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Simon Panayi. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    17 min