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Lessons: What to do when you get “layered” at work

August 4, 2026 · 25 min

Show notes

If your company is growing faster than you can keep up, your manager might decide to “layer” you—that is, split your job in half or hire someone with more experience to become your boss. This is an experience a lot of people go through at work, but it’s rarely talked about because it’s often unpleasant for everyone involved. In this episode, Molly offers practical advice for anyone going through layering at work, from employees who find themselves sharing their job with someone new to leaders making the tough decision to hire another person for a role. She outlines 6 important things for employees to consider if they’re struggling to adjust to being layered, and key principles to help managers layer their teams in a way that builds trust instead of breaking it. She also reflects on her recent conversation with Don Faul and the lessons he shared from his experience being layered during his early years at Facebook.


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For the full text transcript, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife-transcripts

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