All Episodes

May 16, 2025 61 mins

In this episode of The Workplace Wonderer, Kara and Blake sit down with leadership powerhouse Chris Williams, a seasoned advisor with over 45 years of experience building and leading teams—from writing software to scaling departments to serving as VP of HR at Microsoft.

Together, they explore the often-overlooked plight of middle managers—those caught between strategic leadership and front-line execution.

Chris brings wisdom, wit, and real-world insight to the conversation, offering practical advice for supporting this essential tier of leadership.

You’ll also hear:

Chris’s behind-the-scenes take on Microsoft’s shift from a cutthroat to a collaborative culture.

What it was really like working under Satya Nadella.

How Chris became unexpectedly TikTok famous with leadership videos reaching over 250K followers.

And the leadership lessons that have stood the test of time.

📲 Follow Chris at https://CLWill.com or search @CLWill on social media. ✨ Subscribe for more episodes that help you rethink the modern workplace!

To Learn more about Kara Kirby: https://InsightsLG.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karakirby84/

To learn more about Blake Cohen:

https://blakeevancohen.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakecohenmscap/

 

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.