Friends Don’t Fire Friends (with Dustin Liu)

Work Face

Have you ever had a manager who acted like a friend instead of your boss? They confide in you, trust you with important work, and treat you like a peer. How do you say no when you’re completely overwhelmed and can’t find the courage to disappoint them?
Dustin Liu, senior associate director at NYU Stern’s Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, knows exactly how this feels. After years of advising leaders at Stanford and NYU and interviewing employees about their experiences at Hear Me Out, he explains why the best managers often set the clearest boundaries.

(00:00) Setting Boundaries with Your Boss
(03:13) Investigating Workplace Culture
(09:14) When Your Boss Becomes Your Friend
(14:44) The Meaning of Workplace Flourishing
(20:26) Company Values vs. Reality
(24:38) The Return to Office Dilemma
(27:52) Leading Through Disruption
(32:23) Reimagining Multi-Generational Work

Dustin Liu is the senior associate director at NYU Stern’s Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing. Previously, he was the associate director at Stanford’s Life Design Lab. For the last three years, he’s also been a moderator at Hear Me Out, where he interviews employees about their workplace experiences.

Connect with Dustin on LinkedIn and learn more about his work at the NYU Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing’s website.

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Work Face is produced by Hear Me Out, a culture strategy firm for leaders with the courage to listen. We help them cultivate trust by having real conversations with employees at all levels about what’s working and what’s not.

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