Your Boss Isn't Your Mom.

If authority figures still trigger old emotional responses for you, you’re not alone. In this episode, Joe explores why feedback from bosses can feel so personal — and how early conditioning often shapes the way we react to power, criticism, and expectations at work. You’ll hear why being challenged doesn’t mean you’re failing, how to separate your worth from other people’s reactions and what it really means to set boundaries with confidence — without becoming defensive or combative. This is about reclaiming your absolute right to exist, speak up and take up space. ........................................................... Special thanks to the incomparable Lisa Baskett for her amazing late-night-DJ-smoother-than-silk voiceover ;-) If this episode resonated, consider subscribing to Making UX Work . Each episode explores the human side of UX and product careers — confidence, power, impostor syndrome, boundaries and the challenges that never show up in books or conference talks. No hype. No platitudes. Just honest perspective, earned the hard way.

You can listen to Your Boss Isn't Your Mom. online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Your Boss Isn't Your Mom. is an episode from Making UX Work with Joe Natoli by Joe Natoli.

This episode is 10:52 long.

This episode was published on Jan 20, 2026.

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