Inside Job

This week, Eric and Nayla enter the arena to tackle a topic that comes up nearly every week – our clients' concerns about their professional reputation. While the conversation is free form (and likely to take a few episodes to reconcile), we start by distinguishing between three terms: our identity (how we see and understand ourselves), our professional brand (what we choose to show the world) and our reputation (how the world sees us). This topic is so highly sensitive because while we may have the impression that we can control and manage our personal brand (even as we flex and adjust it depending on our audience) we cannot always control how people perceive us – our reputation. Getting comfortable and owning the shadow sides of our reputation as we learn about them allows us to accept ourselves and decide how to engage others in our personal growth. We advocate this through moving away from the secrecy and 'big reveals' of 360 data collection and other forms of building self-awareness, instead moving our reputation into the light through ongoing conversation and more openness with colleagues. Let them in on what you're working on. This way we can have and acknowledge incremental progress as we make it and get help along the way! The inside job is doing the conscious work of reconciling our desired brand with the way we are perceived, deciding what we can live with in terms of discrepancies between the two. Then, we can decide what to do about it – which we'll explore further in a future conversation. As always, we'd love to hear about your experiences, so please contact us via insidejobthepodcast.com or on Instagram and Facebook @insidejobpodcast. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode we talk about FOMO one MO time! In a previous episode on the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) we talked more about the "Fear Of" than the "Missing Out". Yet sometimes we do actually miss out – when we make choices we have to deal with trade-offs and sacrifices. Saying "yes" to one thing does lead to "no" for other things. So how do we deal with the aftermath -- the feelings of remorse and regret that accompany lost opportunities? It's not dramatic to say that as humans we are wired to experience grief and regret when we lose out on opportunities. This happens even when we know we made the right decision! There is always loss – we can't have it all. The point is not the quality of the choice; the point is that we have to make sense of the emotions we experience when we are denied an opportunity or experience so we can be at peace with the decision. We offer our perspectives on why we tend to sit in our negative emotions more than the positive ones, and offer some thoughts on how to shift our mindset so we can spend equal (or more) time focusing on what we have gained from our choices. In doing so we can leave options on the table from a place of wisdom and self-confidence and move forward with grace. We also talk about the importance of remembering that our lives have seasons, and that saying "no" to something now does not mean it won't present itself in a different form at a later point in life – at a time when we are in a better situation to say "yes". As always, we'd love to hear about your experiences, so please contact us via insidejobthepodcast.com or on Instagram and Facebook @insidejobpodcast Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode we tackle the question, "What do I do with the sense I have that I was promised a specific outcome at work as a result of a certain amount of time and energy on my behalf?" In what will likely be disorienting to many workers, neither of us believe that companies can make promises. Which means that addressing the question at hand requires a meta-analysis of not only each individual circumstance but also the general employer-employee relationship and agreement. Certainly companies send a lot of signals about how it views its employees, and how it plans to implement a system of reward, recognition, and advancement. Employees are left to interpret those signals and determine how to make sense of their own situation. The result is a complicated web of expectations, entitlements, implied promises, interpreted promises, and probabilities that drastically affect how all parties feel about each other (and themselves) and their future together. We break that web down and talk about what it means to imply a "promise" or "guarantee", and how employees should think through the ways to interpret and respond. We also highlight the critical differences between promises and possibilities/options, and discuss how specificity can be a bridge to resentment when it comes to these conversations. We close by talking about how to stay positive when considering our future, and how to avoid becoming cynical when discussing our path forward with our organizations. As always, we'd love to hear about your experiences, so please contact us via insidejobthepodcast.com or on Instagram and Facebook @insidejobpodcast. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

"Comparison is the thief of joy." In this episode we tackle a topic suggested by one of our listeners – how to handle professional FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out). FOMO arises when we look around at our colleagues, friends, and even our families and see that they have things that we want. They may be getting promoted faster, paid more, recognized more publicly, or taking on assignments we desire. FOMO may lead us to feel as though we are not doing enough, or not doing it quickly enough (or both), and may have us experiencing a sense of inadequacy. Throughout our conversation we unpack FOMO, reminding our listeners (and ourselves) that the picture we are viewing is only a fraction of what's happening in the lives of others. Nayla talks about why we have to be careful comparing our "middle chapters" to other people's "ending chapters", and Eric discusses the importance of noticing if we are using norms or outliers as our benchmarks. More importantly we recognize that FOMO and envy are related, and rather than to be avoided they are both to be explored. We believe envy can be an important source of information, and that it holds clues that our values need to be revisited and possibly updated. FOMO and envy also serve as an invitation to create personal research questions to further identify information that might help us make better decisions about future roles and opportunities. And because we are who we are, we talk about the role hummus can play in career advancement and what Matthew McConaughey would say about FOMO. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

"How should I start thinking about what I want from the coming year?" We have been getting this question a lot lately, as we do around this time every year. In this episode we offer our thoughts on the principles we use to guide our clients forward in their thinking and planning. The principles we offer are: Notice what your energy is calling you to do, and go after the things that really matter. Approach your life from a place of want, not should. Notice that what is likely to get done is the stuff you actually care about, and not the crud you think you should care about. Maintain a generosity of spirit towards yourself. Focus as much on answering the question, "How do I want to be?" as you do on, "What do I want to accomplish?" As we explore these principles we also introduce the idea of "new year's dissolutions"; we recognize that 2021 isn't giving any of us more hours in a day and we can't start doing new things until we stop doing the things that aren't serving us anymore. Throughout our conversation we continue to offer that we're all just trying to do the best we can with what we've got. As a bonus we offer our guidance on why you don't want to run the toilet toss at the school carnival and how to avoid kicking your own ass. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

As the year comes to a close, we're taking a deliberate moment to declare victory and celebrate the wins of 2020. Yes, the year has been difficult, "unprecedented" and full of hardship, and yet, we know that each of us can find at least one thing to celebrate, no matter how small. It's so easy to overlook, minimize or simply forget the wins we create. Most of us lack good habits around celebrating ourselves, and our biology is designed otherwise. After all, as Rick Hanson says, our brains are like Velcro for negative experiences, and Teflon for positive ones! We're not talking about silver linings, the "at least" statements we often fall to, but honest-to-goodness wins – things that went well, plans that we saw come to fruition, simple pleasures we generated for ourselves (learning to cook something new, reconnecting with an old friend, making time for a personal project we've delayed…) and the big tasks we took on despite the changes to how we live our daily lives (finishing school, getting professional mental health help, developing an exercise routine.) We believe in the power of noticing and celebrating the victories in our lives, and in practicing that routinely. To hear how others are celebrating their victories, we partnered with Daily Haloha (an app that connects people around the world through responses to thought provoking questions every day) to ask participants to weigh in: "A win I had in 2020 was_____". We received 1100 replies from around the world, ranging from the simple: "I learned to cut my own hair" to the deeply profound "I finally dealt with my depression and got professional help". In this week's episode, we explore the responses to that question, and offer ideas of how to build a celebration practice of your own. Also, this week, we celebrate our 40th episode of Inside Job, and crossing the threshold of 10K downloads. Join us on Instagram where we're hosting our first giveaway, to celebrate!! Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Call it the internal saboteur, the gremlins, the inner critic, or as the great Anne Lamott calls it – KFKD, all of us have heard the internal voice of doubt, fear and discouragement that stops us from the pursuit of the thing we want. This voice keeps us small and still, and often tricks us because it proports to tell us the truth and keep us safe. As always, we start with the inside job of noticing that the voice exists in the first place, and that while it shows up as evidence- based, it doesn't have your best interests at heart. How we start to notice the inner critic and what do we do? Sometimes the inner critic is revealed to us in language, often with the word "but": I would love to go for that job, but I don't think I have the right experience. I would love to go for that business idea, but I love the steadiness of my current paycheck. I really want to try that sport, but it would be too expensive to start. We also have to develop the sophistication and discernment to know how sneaky the inner critic can be. Sometimes the inner critic is loud and black and white, sometimes the voice is delicate in its deception – we offer examples of both. We talk about how personifying – giving a visual identify or even a name to our inner critic – can help us relate to his or her voice differently, reminding it that we can handle whatever we're facing. It also can spare us from wasting energy "crushing" the inner critic, so that we have the energy to chase what matters. Finally, invite our listeners to dial down the voice of the inner critic in favor of the other voices we have internally, whether it's our inner voice of wisdom, our personal board of directors, or our future selves. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

If we're human, we're going to have the experience of things not going as we'd planned. We did the preparation, we put in the effort, practiced and still… disappointment. Eric and Nayla share their own disappointments in an unproductive day of recording this very podcast, and how they noticed the spiral of normal reactions immediately afterwards. A natural instinct might be to catastrophize and personalize the circumstances to signal an unmitigated, irreversible disaster, thinking to ourselves: I can't be trusted… No one will ever hire me…something is terribly wrong with my candidacy, or worse, with me!! Part of the Inside Job is to explore the question: What Am I Making This Mean? How likely is that? What else could possibly be true? We offer that the opportunity to turn our disappointments into learning experiences shouldn't be missed. What really happened? What would we do differently next time? What did go well? Are there messages we have to understand and integrate from this event? (Also, these setbacks are evidence if the leaders and organizations that say things like "We celebrate failures as a source of learning" really mean it, or are blowing smoke.) Next, we propose, ask yourself: how much does this still matter to me? Do I still want the thing that didn't work out? Do I have the energy to dig deep and try again? What would it take to keep going? Finally, we talk about the opportunity to show ourselves goodness and compassion, to treat ourselves as a beloved member of our families, rather than resorting always to working harder and faster to make things right. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Most of our clients come to us asking: Can you help me figure out what I want? Our position: we can help YOU explore and express what you want – the answer to that question resides in you. Yet, we have a ton of empathy for all the reasons this question is so common: we have all internalized messages about what we can or can't have because of the other commitments in our lives, have ideas of what is or is not available to us, or have restricted views about 'how' the things we love could be part of our work. Nayla introduces the continuum of Should/Could/Want and Must, (and that Want is the most expansive and creative of these options). Want comes from a place of desire and energy, the sustenance we call on to keep moving forward in our search for what's right for us. Eric introduces how our internal saboteurs (the internal voices and reasons that block us from articulating and going after what we want) can wreak havoc on our emotions and must be explored and often set aside if we want to move forward. We believe that your life is the primary source of information about what you want; chances are you are already devoting time to the things you want in your spare time and with your discretionary attention. We offer some tips about how to excavate your own life to find clues that point you towards your true wants. The search for your true career (and life) desires is a process that requires patience. And, it is a process that we can bring other people into as we design and pursue the personal research questions that get us closer and closer to expressing what we want. Finally, we believe that our wants are fluid and evolve as we grow, so learning to be open to the process of seeking is the surest way to continue to explore the question: what do you want? Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

What's really going to change on January 1, 2021? The hype around the fresh start of a new year can have the side effect of letting us wait to take action until the calendar turns over – we think there's a better way. If you're looking for a better outcome in any domain in your life, don't wait for an outside marker of a new start (new year, birthday, new semester). We suggest you start with small steps, now. Sometimes we act our way into new ways of thinking, rather than waiting until our beliefs or thinking is different. Sometimes the "just do it" advice makes sense! There are lot of popular messages about gathering just a few moments of energy or courage to propel us into action (the movies We are the Millers, We Bought A Zoo and Mel Robbin's work offer a few variations on the theme) – our experience is that sometimes this idea works as an alternative to over-thinking or over-planning. Aligning your action – even small actions – with purpose and focus offers an antidote to thoughtless and frenzied action, making sure you're working on something that matters to you and is likely to bring you closer to your goals. And the key word is 'closer'. We also talk through how to combat the instinct to 'get it right' by considering learning rather than perfect outcomes, knowing that even our imperfect actions can serve as practice rounds to get better at whatever we're trying to take on. Finally, we offer the ideas of declaring your intentions out loud as a form of instant energy, and doing the post-action debrief to sort out how things went, and what could come next. Starting now has the wonderful effect of building momentum in the areas of our life where we want to create change. As the great Dolly Parton says: Energy begets energy. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode, we take on the expert advice around time management and the sacredness of daily routines. Admittedly, this is an area where we are drowning in knowledge but short on wisdom. We know that this time of year store aisles are filled with yearly planners, organizers, habit trackers, and the like. For those of us feeling a little disorganized and overwhelmed it can be tempting to believe the answer lies in somebody else's "tried and true" approach. The reality is that what works for one person rarely works for everybody else, and that's ok. The point is to find what works for you. We talk about the pros and cons of routines, and the struggles we have with rigidity and the implied need for perfectionism. We compare and contrast daily vs. weekly routines, and share thoughts on breaking days into segments instead of minutes. We also revisit the importance of knowing your values and your non-negotiables, and using them to define what a successful day (or week) looks like. Recognize that your values will be different than others, and those differences can lead to unique approaches for time management. And like always, we discuss the need to be gentle with yourselves and hold yourself with grace. It's not failure if you can't live up to other people's processes. Find what works for you and be okay working your own style on your own schedule, with consciousness and discipline. As long as the results are there and you don't step on organizational norms or break bones in the process then you're probably doing something right. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

How many of us have been told to "tone it down" at work? How many of us have bought into the old cliché that, "the consummate professional is cool, measured, calm, and reserved." We call B.S. At the Inside Job Podcast we believe that emotions are important signals and that we can be trusted to learn to use them well. Emotions can lead individuals, and their organizations, to be more human and more effective. The work that needs to be done is to learn how to notice one's emotions, regulate the natural reaction/response mechanism, and make a wise choice about how to use emotions in the most productive way. Rarely will that ever involve a throat punch, to Eric's dismay. Nayla highlights the dangers of suppressing our emotions and dehumanizing ourselves at work (plus, all that suppression is exhausting!). Instead, we need to learn how to understand what we're feeling – and why – and choose to dial up and dial down our emotional responses to match the moment. Eric talks about how the philosophies of Stoicism and Mindfulness are misunderstood and misapplied. Rather than using these tools to disguise or eliminate emotions, we talk about how to use them to recognize what's triggering our emotions and make conscious choices about how to respond, regulate and react. We believe that we are at our best as humans when we embrace all of the richness and complexities or our existence – including our emotions. Feelings are going to happen and they're incredible sources of information. The key is to learn how to manage and use your emotions, rather than letting them use you – which is at the heart of the Inside Job. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Have you received the gift of feedback? Eric and Nayla are big believers in the power of feedback to help us understand how we're perceived by others, what we're doing well, and what we can do differently at work. This week, in line with our November theme, we're exploring how we get better at trusting ourselves to make sense of feedback that comes our way. First, we offer that we must trust ourselves to think feedback through before reacting or responding. It is not a fact that every piece of feedback we get is accurate, or truthful, or must be acted upon. It's our responsibility to pause, breathe and reflect on the messages we get about our performance before we dive into action. Eric suggests that processing the internal feedback about our performance can be as useful as processing the external feedback we get from others. Listening to our own body's cues is one way to do this. We offer suggestions about looking for patterns and trends in feedback, using the idea of 'resonance' to explore whether feedback lines up with our self-knowledge or other things we've heard. Is this comment in line with what we know to be true for us? Does it reveal a blind spot? Or might it tell us something about the other party's agenda? This helps us decide how to filter and make choices about our 'personal curriculum' as Nayla calls it – we can only focus so much attention on so many things at once – what are you choosing to pay attention to, learn from and take action on? We offer a pathway of how to express appreciation for feedback, think it through (alone or with others), and decide (trust yourself!) how to move forward. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

November's podcast theme is how we learn to trust ourselves more than the "experts". In this week's episode we introduce the topic of "expert" advice and talk about why we are so drawn to their voices – often unreasonably so. We talk about why we listen to what they have to say, and why it's hard to make sense of all of the external voices. Nayla asks us to remember that it is the full time job of most experts to advocate for, and perpetuate, a particular state of life, and that it can be enough to pull a few ideas that work to meet our deepest needs. Eric highlights why it's both normal and dangerous for us to curate the voices of many to create a standard for ourselves that is impossible to attain. The point we arrive at is that each of us the expert of our own lives. It's important to dig deep internally and do what's right for you. Pick one place to start. Choose what works for you. And most importantly, listen to the internal voices telling you what you really need more than the external voices telling you what you should need. And true to form we mock what the Dalai Lama would be like as a father and highlight the advice of Matt Damon's character in the movie, "The Martian". Oh and Eric sings. Which he should never be allowed to do in public again. Ever. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Welcome to the collective exhaustion. The biggest cliché of our time is how hard 2020 has been. And yet, that cliché turns out to be true. How many times have we said: all things considered, we're fine!! This week, Nayla and Eric are done pretending it's all fine. Sometimes, we just need to vent. Let it out. (We sure do, for nearly ten minutes). Then, we start to explore some ideas to move ourselves forward. We talk about taking one step or action at a time. Maybe it's a walk outside, defrosting the chicken for dinner, or tackling a quick task from a tall pile to create just a little bit of momentum. We also talk about how important it is to celebrate even small victories. A virtual high five, an extra few minutes outside, (or a handful of Pringles for Eric) can all bring more light to the hard days. Finally we talk about how important human connection is these days – perhaps more than ever. The work may be personal, as Parker Palmer says, but it doesn't have to be private. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

We cover three things we think of truths when it comes to workplace relationships in pain: Some workplace conflict is inevitable Sometimes we work with people who act like jerks Sometimes we act like jerks The workplace is full of decisions, tradeoffs, pressures and high stakes, and many of these are associated with strong emotions, and sometimes, conflict. When conflict happens, many of us feel hurt, disappointed, even targeted, which rubs up against our human desire to have harmony and get along at work. Is that always the goal? We ask our clients (and ourselves) about the continuum between being respected and liked (or feared and loved – thank you, Michael Scott). We argue that conflict can be healthy and productive, as long as it stays respectful, safe and there's a pathway forward. Second, we offer that when we face bad behavior from others at work, it's not enough to follow the guidance to give courageous feedback…That may be a best practice, but it doesn't adequately offer us a way to make sense of being on the receiving end of someone else's outburst. Nayla offers a story that illustrates a few ideas for sense-making of a workplace relationship gone wrong. We explore the idea of taking ourselves out of the leading actor role in someone else's movie, and how to explore the limits of our responsibility for someone's else actions. Finally, we admit that each of us has been the jerk at work. These are times when we believe we bear 100% responsibility for our actions (even though that's difficult at times!) and that the inside job is about getting better at anticipating, understanding and managing our own behaviors. We explore ideas of body awareness and reflection, and the role of a honest apology when it's necessary. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

We can agree that having friends at work helps us stay engaged, productive and satisfied with what we do all day. It's so important that the most commonly used employee engagement survey asks respondents to weigh in on having a best friend at work. We discover new opportunities, get valuable – often unfiltered feedback – and grow because of our true connections on the job. Friendships at work build culture, lead to great collaboration and innovation, and fun! And yet… friendship at work can be complicated. We explore this in greater detail in our latest episode. Eric leads the exploration of how shared accountability can be fuel for friendship at work, and also a source of potential tension. Whether we have a manager/employee relationship or are both accountable for a piece of work we've all been in situations where conscious creation of ground rules and conversation about 'how we're going to do this' can help protect the relationships with the people we care about in the office. Nayla wonders how information and shared experience can be the building blocks of friendship, but also risky terrain when the impulse to share news with a friend can be costly down the road. We talk about how self-awareness and self-regulation can help us make decisions that are in line with the friend we want to be at work – taking care, anticipating the impact of our actions, and doing right by those we call our friends. In line with our philosophy, we think friendship at work is a great way to explore the inside job. Acknowledging that we've all made missteps we encourage our listeners to really define the kind of workplace friend they want to be, the kind of friendship they want to have, and to take deliberate action in that direction. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode we talk about the concept of a Personal Board of Directors (or a personal committee) – the group of influential teachers, managers, friends and colleagues (even heroes) who offer us a new way of exploring, managing and shaping the decisions we make as leaders and humans. We also offer the ideas that our Boards are comprised of people we know, and also people we've never met, as well as teammates, kids and other people in our lives. Eric talks about a former manager, John Hickson, to whom one of our favorite lines: "A lack of clarity will cost us dearly" is attributed. John's voice continues to shape Eric's view of creating clarity in crisis and chaos. Nayla also talks about a former manager, Amir Ziv, an accounting professor turned dean, who taught her the value of letting other people operate in their zone of genius without jealousy or threat, while honoring your own area to shine. We also talk about the heroes and influencers we have yet to meet: Eric talks about Dave Grohl's wisdom and exemplary humanity. Nayla shares her gratitude for Anne Lamott's lessons on taking chances with "shitty first drafts" and deciding – rather than succumbing – to worry or not worry about certain things. We also celebrate the good fortune that has both of us appreciating the insights and counsel of our respective 12-year old daughters – it turns out they are two of the best mentors we could ever ask for. Finally, we leave our listeners with the guidance to look for those who challenge and support you, who help you see problems and opportunities in a new light, and who can serve as your personal committee of advisors when you need one. We acknowledge that our personal committee or board may need updating as our career grows and our lives change, so we avoid the echo chamber or the trap of a fan base. Eric even recommends printing out an org chart of advisors as a visual reminder. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode – the second of two parts on the topic of lies humans tell ourselves – both Eric and Nayla share a lie/story that frequently show up in our clients. Eric talks about the lessons from a client who believes he is being unfairly passed over for promotion. We explore the myth that great work will be rewarded simply because it's so good (as we define it) and the roles that both performance and potential play in the reward system. We also contrast the difference between what one accomplishes from how they accomplish it, and how the reward systems at our jobs may differ from early in our career to later in our career. Nayla frequently hears from clients that the job they are in is the "only" place where they can make their career work, and the corresponding belief that going somewhere else means starting over. This leads to a discussion of the difference between technical competencies and transferable skills and the importance of continuing to reflect on the question, "what is the work that you really do?" We also briefly remind our listeners that you are not the only one who doesn't have it all figured out. We have no problems admitting we don't have much of this so-called life figured out either. Finally, we leverage the wisdom of both Marshall Goldsmith and Twenty-one Pilots. Don't believe the hype, people. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Some of the hardest obstacles we have to overcome as leaders of ourselves are the lies that we tell ourselves. These lies are deeply woven into our belief systems, serve as both detractors and motivators, and are often the cause of many of our blind spots. The lies we tell ourselves are typically born when we are young, and feature prominently in our origin stories. To understand these lies requires that we examine our beliefs, both past and present, and review where our experiences conflict with our expectations. In this episode – the first of two parts on the topic – both Eric and Nayla share a lie they tell themselves, discuss where it has roots in their history, and investigate how it has both served and hindered them in their careers. Eric talks about the belief that he is only as valuable as his accomplishments and how the desire to achieve has always come at a substantial cost. Nayla talks about her struggle between standing out and being "too much or too big" and how that has led her to say yes when she wants to say no, and to support ideas she doesn't always believe in. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

An old Stoic philosophy says, "The only thing you have control over is how you respond to your circumstances." While that is absolutely true, it's also a deeply unsatisfying response to give someone when they say, "I feel helpless" or "I feel out of control." In this episode of the Inside Job Podcast we discuss the topic of control, and the fact that our clients and colleagues are often struggling with something deeper when they express these feelings. We contrast the desire for control with the need for clarity, and how having the courage to make a decision – even a small one for oneself – can help provide relief from the pain and agony of helplessness. We also talk about how we all have more influence than we realize, and why it's important to stop waiting and to take action to alter our circumstances. Lastly, we discuss the concept of discernment and how important it is for us to consciously choose what we put our energy towards. Nayla reminds us that discernment is a muscle, which only gets stronger with practice. Finally, true to form we talk about the merits of neck tattoos and why we need more Janet Jackson in our lives. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In this episode, we address the popular concept of work-life balance, and why it is often misunderstood and is an unintentional source of stress. (Plus you get to hear Eric react to the phrase itself – priceless.) The bottom line is that for most of us escaping work isn't possible anymore. We discuss why the idea of "balance" is misleading or unattainable, and how it can sometimes even set us up for failure. We pivot and instead discuss the question, "how do I create the right amount of time and space in my life for all of the things that are meaningful and bring me joy?" We talk about the importance of specificity and boundaries, and why it's important for us to evaluate the choices we are making which compromise the goals we have for ourselves. We also discuss how to design flexibility and options into our lives so we can manage the shifts that occur in our lives across seasons. Finally, we celebrate the fact that we are now a top 150 Apple podcast in South Africa. Thank you to all of our fans in Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and the surrounding areas. We'll come visit – and maybe even broadcast a live show – when we can travel once again. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

There are at least two truths when it comes to careers: progression is rarely linear, and reality often fails to meet our expectations. When faced with these truths we can experience frustration, anxiety, and disappointment; we can also feel like our options are limited and are forcing us to compromise or settle. In this week's episode, we discuss how to make sense of career choices when what we expect and what we get are two different things. We talk about needs vs. values, how to balance short term and long term gains, and the importance of changing the way we process these situations so we can expand the way we make meaning of our opportunities. We also talk about why it's so important to believe your own story, and why we have to deeply explore the question about what we really want out of our life and our professional hours. Nayla drives home the point that only you can give yourself the gift of options. Also, we discuss the horror Eric experiences when finding out Nayla has not yet seen The Big Lebowski. "This aggression will not stand, man." Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Actual quote from episode 22: "I think some of the best episodes we have are when we take the leash off of Eric's ego and just let it lead us into the forest of wonderment." He's kind of a big deal (in his own mind). We did that, and yes wonderment ensued -- all the way into the effin' sunset. In a previous episode we talked about knowing when it's time to leave, and this week we build on that idea by exploring how to exit with a clean break. Spoiler alert: it's so much easier said than done. How many of us have been guilty of slowing our transition into a new role because we are trying to complete all of our unfinished business in our old role? Worse . . . how many of us have avoided leaving a job because we are trying to make sure our legacy is intact by checking everything off the to-do list and getting the "house" in order before the next person takes over? In this episode we discuss how to balance our responsibilities to our old jobs (which will be different if we are staying in the same organization or leaving completely) while also coming to grips with the fact that every chapter must eventually end. We talk about the illusion of control when it comes to our reputation, and how much of that is totally out of control once we leave a situation/job/organization. We also explore our own egos, and highlight the emotional arm-wrestling that happens when we are simultaneously a high performer and totally replaceable. And, true to form, we quote both Ron Burgundy and Jerry Maguire. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

At some point, we all think our manager should *know* what we need, what we want, and what it takes to bring out the best in us. But how can they know if we never share that information, or even know ourselves well enough to know what drives us? Our managers may be our coaches, mentors and people we truly value, but they are not mind readers or sorcerers. We make the case that it is OUR role as employees to know what we need, and to talk to our bosses about it so they have a better chance at supporting us the way that is best for everyone. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

It's really easy to complain about how much we hate email because we get so much of it. It overwhelms us, delays us and infuriates us. Let's get beyond the complaining to understand that we can do about this. We dive a little deeper – what are the professional habits that lead us to overuse this tool – laziness, fear of conflict, lack of accountability? And, when is email useful and enjoyable? Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

We've talked about who you know when it's time to leave a job or professional situation, but how much do you know about how to explore what could be next? We discuss some of the ways we have managed our own exploration about our next steps, from daydreaming, to values and skills assessment, to enlisting the support of others. We hope this will motivate our listeners who feel stuck or bred at work to start the process of determining what they are heading towards. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

When is it okay to complain about work? To whom? What is the difference between griping, unloading, advocating and expressing our true feelings at work? We talk about the emotional hot potatoes at work and the things we do to relieve our own pressure that are constructive and less constructive. We talk about the draw of drama and griping and work, and how we have to learn to manage our instincts to fall for the quick sugar fix and instead seek substantial understanding, empathy and problem solving from the situations that evoke high emotion. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

How do you know when is enough is enough? What are the signs and signals that tell you it's time to move on professionally? We talk about the importance of noticing when boredom or resentment at work, or skepticism about your organization are pieces of information telling us we need a change. We explore the need to identify not only what we're moving away from, but also what we're moving towards as a next step (more on this in a future episode). We also offer some strategies about how to engage stakeholders and thought partners in your exploration and decision-making so you maximize your chances of leaving with dignity and peace. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Ever been blindsided by a piece of professional news, an organizational change or tough feedback? We have, and nearly everyone we know has been unpleasantly surprised at some point at work. We talk about the different kinds of workplace bombshells and what you can do to manage your reactions and maybe even minimize the impact. We also offer some ideas about what you can do to be more aware of both of what's happening organizationally and what's happening to you in your mind when you get tough news. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Why is it so hard to ask for real help when we need it, especially at work? We talk about the messages of perfection, expertise, reputation and looking like we've got it under control. Sometimes even knowing how to ask for help when the overwhelm is great seems like more work than we can handle. We offer a few thoughts on how we can enlist the support of people around us, give ourselves the freedom to focus by delegating, and even develop others along the way. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

What if there aren't enough opportunities, time and money? Don't we all have days where we worry that there just isn't enough to go around? We talk about the limiting beliefs around scarcity, the ironies of how these beliefs that are meant to protect us from losing things we value actually trap us, and some ideas (including one of Nayla's favorites – data collection) to wrest yourself free of this mind trap. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Have you ever heard yourself say: I'd love to do that (apply for that job, ask for that promotion, launch that personal project…) but I'm just not ready? In the first in a series of conversations about limiting beliefs, we explore the ways in which aiming for an ideal of 'readiness' for what's next can hold us back from taking chances, from asking for what we want, or seeing how much we've already accomplished. We explore how systems of measurement can lead to outdated forms of self-assessment, how comparison keeps us trapped, and how we don't have to go it alone. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

There are a number of things we thought we'd lose when we were sent to work from home…creativity, collaboration, community…Eric and Nayla talk about the steps they've taken to mitigate some of these losses. We also explore the surprising gains of being home full time. We talk about using Zoom to build rather than bore, Artists Dates, and the joy of experiencing someone else's toddler on the phone. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Oh, boundaries… are any of us handling them well? Exhaustion, resentment, stress (not to mention doing three things at once and neglecting our non-negotiables) are all the signals that our boundaries need some strengthening. We talk about people-pleasing, saying yes when we mean to say no, and the ways in which we're telling ourselves this is what work requires. We also explore the origin stories we all carry about what giving more and more of ourselves does for us, and offer a few points of entry to rewrite some healthier stories. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Work can hurt. Maybe it's a layoff or firing, maybe it's a professional disappointment or a plan that doesn't work out. Our instincts and our culture tell us that we should get back to work – it's just a job after all – figuring out what's next. We know though, that there's a time to experience the feelings and learn from them. Nayla and Eric talk about their own work heartbreak, and offer some ideas of how to understand how the pain can teach us about what matters to us. They also talk about the importance of sitting in the feelings before moving on to next steps. Note: If you are laid off and are ready to take action, in episode 6 we touched what we think you can prioritize. You can also read and hear more about Nayla's research on recovery from layoff on her website. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Eric and Nayla talk about building and expanding their networks of colleagues and friends through some of their new work and personal interests. This opens a conversation about the high value of having strong, restorative relationships with people who challenge us, open us to new ways of thinking, and support us. We talk about the people on our board of directors (our closest network), the people we're just getting to know, and the sometimes awkward need to put some old relationships aside if they are no longer bringing out the best in us. And, we talk about Eddie Vedder (and why he needs to call Eric). Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

There's a dominant storyline around work being something we endure out of necessity. Think of the images of the workplaces in pop culture, shows, movies and even songs – work suffers from a reputation problem. At the Inside Job, we think it's great to feel good at work, and to learn from the moments where we experience flow, productivity and positive emotions. We talk through some the guilt we might experience when you feel good at work when others around you have a lot to complain about. We offer our listeners a chance to update their existing narratives so they can explore and relish feeling great at work. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In our roles as coaches, teachers and leaders in higher education and business, Eric and Nayla are often asked for advice. It's part of the job, and a rewarding part of the job, to share our insights and learnings with the people who trust us. Yet, we both know that during a long career, it's possible that we've given advice that we wish we hadn't. Today we talk about Eric's advice to 'find work that aligns with your passion', and why that guidance now gives us pause. We explore the questions of discovering and honoring your passions, how work fits in, and what choices we have when we seem unable to have our work and our passions go hand in hand throughout our professional lives. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

In the midst of this global crisis of Spring 2020, we're facing record unemployment and the distressing prospect of more layoffs ahead. Today, Nayla shares some of the insights she's gained in her study and work with professionals who were laid off in the 2008 Recession and since. We focus on the ideas of balancing the need to manage the practical realities of layoff (insurance, cost-cutting measures, unemployment measures) with the opportunity for a thoughtful reset of your career plan. We discuss why we prioritize intentional mindset management (the inside job), reflection and planning, and how your network can help you gather the strength to get back in the game. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Students graduating from college or graduate school in the Spring of 2020 are facing a different global economy than they (or anyone) was expecting. We offer a glimpse into the guidance Eric is offering his students graduating from a top US business school that we think is relevant for anyone completing their studies this year. We offer both mindset and practical tips for opening your options, intelligent networking, and taking the pivots this time requires. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

We share our stories of our personal experiences of being too attached to our job titles, and what we had to do to create professional identities that are based less on our titles, more on our work itself. We argue that while our titles can offer access and signal achievement in our career, they can also limit our sense of creativity and imagination when it's time for a change. Practical ideas of how to work on the distinction between you and your job title included. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Is work supposed to make us happy? Or is work supposed to mean something else? We introduce the idea that we are in a relationship with the work we do, and how we believe that idea sets us up to derive greater meaning from work. Knowing how to create meaning at work comes from practice in really understanding ourselves, our needs and our values, so we introduce a few ideas to help listeners gain clarity on what matters to them in order to create a stronger relationship with work. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

We share some early thoughts about how to navigate and take some action if you're feeling job insecurity during a period of rapid change. We offer a number of strategies and ideas of how to use the time you have to both reflect and take action. We talk about effective networking during difficult times, researching companies or leaders you admire during this time, and some thoughts on using social media (especially LinkedIn) to explore and contribute to what's happening at work right now. Also, we encourage you to remember that even if work is happening at home – we're still at work – by all means, wear a shirt when you're on a Zoom call. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

We talk about the first reactions we're having in our professional and personal lives as we adjust to the realities of staying home in Spring 2020. We talk about the criticality of reaching out and connecting, even as circumstances having us staying at home, apart from one another. We talk about some of the actions we're taking – including honest, vulnerable conversations with friends, taking one action (even imperfect) to move things forward with things feel chaotic and ambiguous, and designing the self-care that you need. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.

Most of us will spend more hours of our life working than doing anything else. Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson introduce their personal journeys to have healthier, more productive and conscious relationships with work. Our commitment is that these conversations will offer honest insight into our own exploration of how we are learning to relate better to work, as well as practical learnings and actions that all listeners can experiment with right away. Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson. To learn more about us and our work, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected]. To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes. Let's connect! Instagram Facebook We'd love to hear from you.