{"podcast":{"title":"The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving","slug":"the-strategy-skills-podcast-strategy-leadership-critical-thinking-problem-solving-431195","podcast_index_feed_id":431195,"rss_url":"https://strategyskills.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"https://www.firmsconsulting.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/b/b/8/dbb87cad4c06da1d/SS_art_4.png","author":"Kris Safarova for Firmsconsulting.com","episode_count":500,"summary":"CEOs and business leaders, management consulting senior partners, ground-breaking professors, thought-provoking writers and journalists, record-setting athletes and coaches, and award-winning actors and celebrities discuss the key issues facing the business world and broader society. Get free access to our newsletter, Monday Morning at 8 am, along with sample episodes from our training programs on www.strategytraining.com. Go to https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-15T22:22:19.528722+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-strategy-skills-podcast-strategy-leadership-critical-thinking-problem-solving-431195"},"episode":{"title":"629: Ashley Herd, Former Head of HR North America at McKinsey, on What Effective Managers Actually Do","slug":"629-ashley-herd-former-head-of-hr-north-america-at-mckinsey-on-what-effective-managers-actually-do","published_at":"2026-02-18T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-strategy-skills-podcast-strategy-leadership-critical-thinking-problem-solving-431195/629-ashley-herd-former-head-of-hr-north-america-at-mckinsey-on-what-effective-managers-actually-do","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-strategy-skills-podcast-strategy-leadership-critical-thinking-problem-solving-431195","url":"https://strategyskills.libsyn.com/629-ashley-herd-former-head-of-hr-north-america-at-mckinsey-on-what-effective-managers-actually-do","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/strategyskills/629_FSS_Ashley_Herd_e_lio_mio_192kb_compressed.mp3?dest-id=291244","summary":"Ashley Herd, former Head of HR North America at McKinsey, joins this episode to discuss what effective leadership looks like in practice, especially in environments defined by speed, pressure, and increasing expectations around AI. Drawing on her experience training more than 250,000 managers, she introduces a simple but rigorous framework: pause, consider, act. In fast-moving organizations, leaders often default to speed over reflection. Herd argues that the brief pause before responding to a mistake, delivering feedback, or making a decision materially changes outcomes. It allows leaders to ask: What result am I trying to achieve? How would I want to be treated in this situation? What will the ripple effect of this action be? Several practical insights stand out: First, performance feedback remains one of the most persistent leadership failures. The issue is not usually saying the wrong thing, but saying nothing at all. Delayed or avoided feedback creates confusion, resentment, and surprises in annual reviews. Timely, specific recognition is equally important; a simple acknowledgment can shape engagement far beyond the moment. Second, leadership style often oscillates between two extremes. Herd describes \"tight jeans\" leadership as micromanagement that restricts autonomy, and \"oversized sweatpants\" leadership as excessive hands-off behavior that leaves teams without direction. The effective middle ground is structured autonomy: clear expectations combined with room to operate. Third, leaders underestimate the degree to which they influence their teams' well-being. Research shows a manager's effect on employee health rivals that of a spouse. Everyday behaviors whether following up, acknowledging effort, or setting realistic expectations, have consequences that extend…","meta_description":"Ashley Herd, former Head of HR North America at McKinsey, joins this episode to discuss what effective leadership looks like in practice, especially in en…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3415,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-strategy-skills-podcast-strategy-leadership-critical-thinking-problem-solving-431195/episodes/629-ashley-herd-former-head-of-hr-north-america-at-mckinsey-on-what-effective-managers-actually-do/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-strategy-skills-podcast-strategy-leadership-critical-thinking-problem-solving-431195/629-ashley-herd-former-head-of-hr-north-america-at-mckinsey-on-what-effective-managers-actually-do.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}