Sharper management, better workplace conversations.
Manage Smarter is a sales management show focused on the human side of performance: hiring, culture, trust, confidence, and employee listening. Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith keep the pace conversational while guests bring frameworks for better decisions at work.
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Manage Smarter looks at leadership from the floor where decisions actually land. The show is rooted in sales management, but its conversations are rarely limited to quotas and pipelines. Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith spend much of the recent run on the people systems behind performance: hiring, culture, communication, listening, confidence, trust, and retention. It is direct business talk with a human center. Recent episodes show the range. Tara May brings autism and neurodivergence into the workplace conversation through the lens of meaningful employment and the ROI of kindness. Nick Montalbine is used to frame continuous employee listening as something broader than occasional internal surveys. Kate Lowry's episode puts fear-based leadership under scrutiny, especially the way pressure can be mistaken for leverage. Dr. Rosenna Bakari's conversation begins with the uneasy feeling of being successful on paper while wanting a different direction. Summer Craig's episode centers on imposter syndrome and the late-night loop of second-guessing work decisions. Dave Garrison's episode turns buy-in into a practical process, with emphasis on co-creation rather than leaders announcing finished answers. Salvatore Manzi's appearance focuses on cultural realignment, inclusive change, authentic connection, and high-stakes communication. The format is conversational and often personal. Strong and Smith commonly start with a familiar workplace problem, sometimes from their own exchange, then let the guest add structure. That gives the show a useful rhythm: quick recognition first, framework second, application third. It is not a glossy leadership lecture. It is closer to a management working session, with enough informality to make difficult topics feel discussable. The best fit is a manager, sales leader, founder, or executive who wants sharper questions and cleaner ways to handle team friction. The show's strength is its insistence that businesspeople are people too, and that better management usually starts by listening more carefully before acting.
Made for: The show is for sales managers, executives, founders, and team leaders responsible for hiring, culture, performance, and retention. It also suits workplace communicators who need practical language for sensitive leadership moments.
What sets it apart: Manage Smarter pairs sales-management discipline with unusually people-focused topics, from neurodiversity to imposter syndrome to fear-based leadership. Its strongest episodes turn recognizable workplace tension into concrete questions, frameworks, and next steps.
Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith on the #1 sales management podcast as they dive into management, leadership, business, sales, company culture, talent retention, revenues, performance metrics, hiring and more. From debunking sales myths to learning how to manage with and without measurements, you'll learn something new with every episode and will be able to implement positive change throughout your workplace. Available on all major podcast outlets and all episodes available on ManageSmarter.com
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical case for building commitment by giving people a real hand in the decisions they must carry out.
Dave makes a clear case that buy-in starts before a proposal is finished. Leaders can name the outcome they want and set the criteria, while still giving stakeholders a real hand in the decision.
A grounded look at executive presence for introverted leaders who want visibility without becoming the loudest voice in the room.
Leadership advice often mistakes visibility for volume. This episode of Manage Smarter focuses on introverted leaders and the practical question of how quieter professionals can build executive presence, pursue promotion, and meet leadership expectations without recasting…
Fast signals for leaders watching work change.
Practical psychology for better work.
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Sharissa Sebastian Deppen reveals that over 40% of corporate leaders are introverts, defying typical stereotypes.
Tara May, CEO of AspireTech, says 93% of her software and technology team are autistic adults, including representation on the board and in 50% of executive leadership.
Nick Montalbine discusses the importance of continuous employee listening to identify engagement issues and improve team performance.
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This episode discusses the rise of fear-based leadership in various sectors and its negative impact on teams, with insights from guest Kate Lowry.
On the Manage Smarter Podcast, Dr.
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Dave Garrison, co-founder of Garrison Growth and author of The Buy-In Advantage, defines workplace buy-in as knowing why work matters and connecting daily tasks to a compelling purpose.
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Sue Heilbronner, author of Never Ask for the Sale, tells hosts C.
Salvatore Manzi tells hosts Audrey Strong and Lee Smith that a town hall rollout, a marketing-led brand campaign and a 90-day timeline are the three myths of cultural realignment, which he says needs 18 to 36 months.
Seth Kugler of Grella Shaw says people are being sued for using AI in hiring and promotion decisions, and he notes that California's AI employment regulations took effect on the day of recording.
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