The best podcasts for new managers: your first one-on-ones, giving feedback, managing former peers, delegating and handling an underperformer. Practical shows only, no motivational talk. Ranked for what helps in your first year.
We did not rank these from memory. TL;WL has transcribed 379 episodes of 2 of these shows to build its research library, so we know what each one actually covers.
Mark Horstman (co-founder of Manager Tools LLC; former Procter & Gamble sales and marketing manager who has trained managers since 1988). Mike Auzenne (co-founder of Manager Tools LLC; former manager and executive at MCI and Bell Atlantic)
two co-hosts teaching one management behavior per episode, often as multi-part casts · 25-45 min · weekly · since 2005
Why it is #1: It gives new managers a concrete system (one-on-ones, feedback, coaching, delegation) with scripts you can use the same week. Two separate feeds, Manager Tools Basics and Manager Tools - New Managers, collect the core episodes so a new manager does not have to dig through 20 years of archive.
What it is like: Two hosts walk through one specific management behavior in detail, often with the exact words to say. It is direct, rule-based and opinionated, and many topics run across two or three parts.
Ramona Shaw (leadership coach; runs Archova, which offers manager training, coaching and workshops)
mostly solo lessons, some guest interviews · 20-35 min · weekly (Tuesdays) · since 2020
Why it is #2: It is aimed squarely at people in their first manager role, and its 2026 episodes cover the exact problems they hit: former peers, inherited teams, delegation, doing the team's work yourself.
What it is like: Short, structured episodes that each take one new-manager problem and give a named method or a set of scripts. Most are solo, with occasional guest interviews.
Dave Stachowiak (founder of the Coaching for Leaders Academy; previously 15 years at Dale Carnegie, leaving as senior vice president)
interviews with authors and researchers, plus occasional listener Q&A · 35-40 min · weekly (Mondays) · since 2011
Why it is #3: Its 800-plus episode archive is titled by problem, so a new manager can search it for almost any situation and get a researched answer in under 40 minutes.
What it is like: A calm, structured interview with one author or researcher per episode, ending with specific steps. Titles are phrased as how-to questions, so it is easy to find the episode for your problem.
Mamie Kanfer Stewart (management trainer and co-author of Momentum, a book on running effective meetings)
alternating short solo lessons and expert interviews · 7-10 min solo, about 30 min interviews · weekly · since 2018
Why it is #4: The short solo episodes give one tool you can use that week, and the interview episodes go deeper on the same day-to-day topics.
What it is like: One week is a short solo lesson with one tool, the next is a conversation with an expert. Topics stay close to daily management work: feedback, delegation, meetings, accountability.
Muriel Wilkins (executive coach, co-founder and CEO of Paravis Partners, author of Leadership Unblocked (HBR Press, 2025))
recorded real coaching sessions, plus 'Ask Muriel Anything' listener Q&A · 30-60 min · every 1-2 weeks · since 2020
Why it is #5: Hearing a real person work through a problem with a coach shows how the advice plays out, which most advice shows cannot do. Several episodes deal directly with first-time manager problems.
What it is like: You listen to an actual coaching session with an anonymous leader working through a real problem, followed by the coach's commentary. Q&A episodes answer several listener questions in one go.
Tom Henschel (executive coach and founder of Essential Communications)
solo coaching stories · 20-25 min · monthly · since 2006
Why it is #6: It focuses on how you come across as a leader: presence, feedback, difficult conversations. New managers often lack that skill and few other shows cover it. The 20-year archive covers most situations.
What it is like: Each episode tells a story from a coaching client (with details changed) and turns it into a few concrete steps. It is short, scripted and calm.
Kim Nicol (executive mindfulness coach who has taught Essential Skills for New Managers since 2017)
solo · 15-20 min · weekly until August 2026, now paused · since 2019
Why it is #7: It is built for exactly this audience and its 270-plus short episodes are easy to work through. No new episodes have come out since 10 August 2026, when the host announced a pause.
What it is like: Short, friendly solo episodes, each with one simple idea or framework for a new manager. The host announced in episode 273 (10 August 2026) that the show is on pause for a while.
Kim Scott (author of Radical Candor and co-founder of Radical Candor). Jason Rosoff (CEO and co-founder of Radical Candor). Amy Sandler (host and lead Radical Candor coach (the regular team is on sabbatical in 2026))
co-hosts discussing workplace feedback questions; in 2026, Kim Scott interviewing authors · 45-60 min · roughly every 1-3 weeks · since 2016
Why it is #8: It is the best single source on giving clear, kind feedback, the skill new managers most often avoid. The back catalog of host episodes (seasons 1-7) is the part to listen to.
What it is like: The regular format is the three hosts working through a feedback or management problem with stories and listener questions. In 2026 the team is on what it calls a Radical Sabbatical, and Kim Scott interviews book authors instead.
Dave Smith (software engineer with 20 years of experience who has led engineering teams). Jamison Dance (product engineer who has led teams)
listener Q&A, two co-hosts · 30-35 min · weekly · since 2016
Why it is #9: For engineers becoming team leads it answers the awkward real questions in plain terms, and it has published every week since 2016.
What it is like: Two engineers answer two listener questions per episode, with a lot of jokes and then real advice. Questions come from developers and new engineering leads.
Alison Beard (executive editor at Harvard Business Review). Adi Ignatius (editor at large at Harvard Business Review; its editor in chief for 16 years)
interviews with researchers, authors and executives · 25-35 min · weekly, sometimes more · since 2006
Why it is #10: It has well-researched episodes on core management skills, but you have to pick them out from episodes on strategy, AI and executive topics.
What it is like: A short, well-produced interview about one idea from HBR's research and authors. Topics range from strategy to managing people.
Mark Horstman (co-founder of Manager Tools LLC). Mike Auzenne (co-founder of Manager Tools LLC)
two co-hosts teaching one career behavior per episode · 25-30 min · weekly · since 2008
Why it is #11: New managers also have a boss, and this show covers managing up and your own career with the same exact-steps approach as Manager Tools.
What it is like: Same style and hosts as Manager Tools, applied to your own career: working with your boss, meetings, writing, getting promoted.
Brett Berson (partner at First Round Capital). Todd Jackson (partner at First Round Capital; hosts some episodes)
long-form interviews with startup operators · 45-70 min · roughly every 1-3 weeks · since 2020
Why it is #12: It has a handful of excellent management episodes from operators at companies like Figma and Facebook, and its interviews go deeper than most.
What it is like: Long, detailed interviews with founders and executives from well-known startups, with many follow-up questions on how they actually do the work.
Why is the move from IC engineer to manager so hard, and how do I do it well?
What management habits did leaders at Google and Facebook learn the hard way?
How do I get better feedback as a leader?
How do I grow as a manager inside a fast-growing startup?
Start with
Molly Graham’s management lessons from Google, Facebook, Quip & Lambda School.The show's first full episode, entirely about management.
Why is the transition from IC Engineer to Manager so tricky (and how to get it right)?.Marcel Weekes, VP of Product Engineering at Figma, on the IC-to-manager move.
Jerry Li (founder of the Engineering Leadership Community (ELC)). Patrick Gallagher (producer and co-host at ELC)
interviews with engineering leaders · 40-50 min · weekly · since 2020
Why it is #13: The early episodes include practical management conversations with engineering leaders from Google and Square. Most recent episodes are pitched at senior leaders.
What it is like: Interviews with engineering directors, VPs and CTOs about how they run their teams. Recent episodes focus heavily on AI adoption in engineering orgs.
Lenny Rachitsky (writer of Lenny's Newsletter; former product lead at Airbnb)
long-form interviews · 60-95 min · weekly · since 2022
Why it is #14: A few of its episodes are among the best interviews on management for tech people, especially the Julie Zhuo and Alisa Cohn conversations.
What it is like: Long, detailed interviews with product, growth and tech leaders. Management comes up in some episodes, but most are about product and growth.
What scripts can I use for difficult conversations and hard feedback?
How do I move from IC into management?
What leadership skills matter now that teams use AI?
What changes when I start managing other PMs?
Start with
Scripts for difficult conversations: Giving hard feedback, navigating defensiveness, the three questions you should end every meeting with, more | Alisa Cohn (executive coach).Concrete wording for feedback conversations.
Julie Zhuo on accelerating your career, impostor syndrome, writing, building product sense, using intuition vs. data, hiring designers, and moving into management.The author of The Making of a Manager on becoming a manager.
Nikhyl Singhal (three-time founder and former product executive at Meta and Google; runs Skip Coach, a career coaching service for product leaders)
interviews and coaching-style conversations on tech careers · about 60 min · every 2 weeks · since 2023
Why it is #15: For PMs thinking about or just moving into managing other PMs, it gives a clear view of how the management path works in tech today.
What it is like: Career conversations for people in tech, mostly product managers, drawn from real coaching situations. Some episodes cover the choice between management and IC tracks.
Practical depth first: does an episode leave you with something you can use at work on Monday? Then the quality of the hosts and guests, whether the show is still publishing, and how consistent it is. Fame counts for little. Listener numbers are shown only when the show or a credible source has published them, with a link to where; we never estimate them. Facts were checked in October 2026.
Your question. Every show at once.
Have a burning business question you cannot find in one podcast episode? Describe it. TL;WL researches what founders and operators said about it across these shows and hundreds more, then narrates one private episode for you, with every quote linked to the minute it was said.
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