Squiggly Careers

Squiggly Careers are full of choice and opportunity which can sometimes mean we are faced with more decisions than we can handle.In absence of a clear and confident reason to say ‘no’, we can find ourselves drowning in the things we say yes to by default. In this week’s podcast, Helen and Sarah talk about how to say ‘no’, sharing their experiences of getting it right (and getting it wrong).They talk through their top tips for how to say no in a way that feels right for you and share other resources they think will help.Head to amazingif.com for links. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Sarah interviews Viv Groskop, author of How to Own the Room (and host of the brilliant podcast with the same name). Together they discuss three ways in which you can improve your presence, performance and authenticity and generally ‘be more’.First up Viv shares why her unofficial and unpaid job is to be Michelle Obamas biggest fan, and shares how we can all be more Michelle. A big part of this is achieving what Viv calls ‘happy high status’ and she shares the actions we need to take to make that happen in our work.Then Sarah and Viv discuss storytelling and how to be more JK Rowling. And last and most importantly how you can be more you. Why nerves are not going to go away (and why that’s ok) and why it's useful to remember that its not all about you!Viv combines humour with piercing insights (no surprise that she’s both a stand up comedian and a journalist) in a way that will leave you feeling confident about how you can Own the Room. For further resources visit amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our squiggly careers are full of change and uncertainty. At times, that can take the form of organisational restructures and even job redundancies. These challenging times can make us question what we're great at and what we should do next.In this week's podcast, Sarah and Helen share their experiences and their top advice is this is something you find yourself experiencing.For links to further resources, head to www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen talks to Marie Forleo about her new book 'Everything is Figureoutable' and what insights we can apply to our future careers.Their conversation covers how to build great networks, the importance of creating a vision and how you build your resilience.For resources and links, head over to www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this weeks episode Sarah interviews Scott Morrison one of the authors of Creative Superpowers and founder of bringer of the BOOM!Scott shares with Sarah why we all need to learn to teach ourselves by unlearning and relearning and how this connects to a growth mindset. Together they discuss how learning by doing and learning from unexpected places helps us to solve problems in new ways and what practical actions you can take to bring creativity to whatever job you're doing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All of the data points to meetings being an increasingly ineffective way of us getting work done. In this week’s podcast, Helen and Sarah explore what’s going wrong with meetings, sharing their own experiences of the good and not so good and thoughts on common wisdom to make them better. They conclude with tips and approaches that work for them and might also be useful for you too. For links to additional resources, head over to www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In celebration of 100 episodes of the Squiggly Careers podcast, hosts Helen and Sarah bring together 4 people that are making work better for everyone with a live studio audience.In this episode you'll hear from Simon Biltcliffe about how marxist-capitalism creates a new operating model for work, Pip Jamieson and Dan Murray-Serter about the entrepreneurs reality of launching and running The Dots and Heights and John Vincent, co-founder of Leon about what we can learn from Wing Tsun and why winning at work, doesn't mean fighting.For more information, head over to www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Sarah interviews special guest Dame Stephanie Shirley; tech pioneer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. In this episode we talk about what it was like to start a tech business as a woman in 1962 with a £6 initial investment (she went on to make £150m, at least £65m of which she has given away).We talk about her book Let It Go and her secrets to success including having faith in others, relentless enthusiasm and building a values led, progressive organisation.If you'd like to read more Sarah has written an article for Management Today profiling Dame Stephanie which you can find, along with our other career resources, on www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you ever struggle to speak up or feel frustrated in your ability to share your views and opinions at work? If so, don't worry, in this week's Squiggly Career podcast Helen and Sarah share their top 5 tips for preparing for and engaging in a courageous conversation. Listen to their stories and insights to increase your confidence and inspire action. For additional resources, head over to www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Sarah is joined by special guest and co-author of the book, No Hard Feelings, Mollie West Duffy. Mollie shares her insights and ideas about the new rules of emotions at work including: be less passionate about your job, inspire yourself and why your feelings aren't facts. Together they discuss how you can use your emotions at work positively and the benefits it will bring for both you and your colleagues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Helen talks to Rachael Glynne from LinkedIn to help you make the most of the platform. Whether you are an active user or you’ve let your profile gather dust, this week’s podcast will help you to standout on LinkedIn and build your brand and network. Head to www.amazingif.com to access links to any resources mentioned. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emails. Projects. Meetings. The long list of things you want to do and things you think you should do! Our work can sometimes feel overwhelming and difficult to manage. In this week’s Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah talk about how to cut through the noise and prioritise your work. They cover tools, tips and tricks that you can put in place to give you more control over and confidence in where you are spending your time so it can make the biggest difference to you in your squiggly career. Head to amazingif.com for resources to accompany this week’s episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you haven't heard of Heather McGregor, you need to listen to this week's Squiggly Careers podcast! Heather is one of the most squiggly and brilliant people we have met and have long been inspired by her journey. Her book 'Careers Advice for Ambitious Women' sparked the thinking for our business Amazing If and we have been inspired by her career journey ever since. Listen to this week's podcast to hear about how to manage your career, where to invest your time and efforts and why being in control of your finances pays career dividends. Links to resources mentioned are over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squiggly Careers allow people to try many different modes of work and one that comes up a lot for our community is freelancing. If you’re curious about what work is like as a freelancer and how you go about making the leap from corporate life to freelance, this week’s episode is a must listen. We’ve invited Matthew Knight, founder of the Leapers Community, and Chloé Jepps, Head of Research at IPSE into the Squiggly Careers studio to explore the highs, lows, ins and outs of a career as a freelancer. Links to resources mentioned are over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Negotiation can feel like one of those skills we know we could be better at, but we're not sure how to go about improving. It's in the moments when we know negotiating would really help us (think salary negotiations and job crafting) that we often realise we've got work to do in order to successfully and confidently ask for what we want. In this week's Squiggly Careers podcast, Sarah (a great negotiator) and Helen (a work in progress), share their experiences and top tips for approaching key conversations at work confidentially and negotiating your way through to the outcomes you want. For resources and links, head to www.amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Managing for the first time can feel like a daunting experience that triggers all kinds of Confidence Gremlins. What if I get found out? How do I help people when I don't know how to help myself? How do I feel in control without micromanaging? In this week's Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah share the moments they started managing and their top insights and actions to help you be the kind of manager that makes a positive and lasting impact on the people that work for you. All resources mentioned are linked over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Loneliness is a growing issue in the workplace and one that we can all take action on to support people. In this week's podcast, Helen interviews Tracey Crouch, the UK's first Minister for Loneliness about the Loneliness Strategy and the work being done to support individuals and organisations to create more belonging at work. For resources and links mentioned on the podcast, head to amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our careers are longer than ever and more and more people are looking not only to do a great job, but also to make a difference. In this week's Squiggly Careers podcast, Sarah and Helen talk about how to increase your social impact at work. They share their experiences of building businesses with a social purpose and working in large organisations with a social agenda. They also share organisations you can learn from and top tips you can action to build social impact into your career. All references and links can be found over at amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How aware and affected are you of microaggressions at work? Perhaps it’s something you’ve not heard of before or maybe you think you may have unintentionally done something that could be categorised as a microaggression. This week, Helen and Sarah deep dive into the topic, exploring definitions, examples and actions you can take to respond to it and create workplaces that make work better for everyone. You can find any resources mentioned on the podcast over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Success is often defined by what we see others doing and achieving or external signals like salary and status. This search for external success can leave people feeling demotivated and frustrated. The reality is that we all have individual definitions of success and unless we take time to understand what this looks like, we can get distracted by the expectations of others. This week’s podcast is about different approaches to explore what success looks like for you and how to align your actions to achieve it. As ever, Helen and Sarah share practical tools and techniques that you can use for your own career development and resources to keep learning after you listen. Find all resources over at www.amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Squiggly Careers podcast episode features neuroscience expert Amy Brann, sharing her wisdom about how we can use our knowledge of the brain to stay engaged at work. Whether you listen for yourself or to get insight into how to make changes the workplace to benefit others, this week's podcast is an actionable and practical take on an increasingly important area of research for work and careers. Find links and additional resources over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Politics at work is something everyone experiences and no one we've spoken to yet actually enjoys! It seems like a 'fact of work' that politics is just part of the deal, but if often causes unhappiness, uncertainty and leads to environments where people can't be their best. This week, we've braved the topic and looked into the research to find out what causes politics, whether it's possible to avoid it and how to manage it positively if it feels like your working reality. As ever, we've got lots of resources for you over at amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coaching is a fantastic tool for your career and personal development, however it’s often expensive and out of reach for many people who would benefit from it. One solution, is to take some of the tools professional coaches would use and apply them to yourself. That’s exactly what this week’s podcast is all about. Sarah and Helen talk through how they self coach and share 4 different tools and strategies so you can get started yourself. The more we can all take control of our development, the better! Lots of resources to accompany this episode over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squiggly Careers might be full of opportunity, but they are also full of challenge! Challenge can feel hard and at times it can affect our confidence. Proactively building your confidence support system can help you to build resilient in a squiggly career. In the week’s episode Sarah and Helen walk you through practical steps to build your confidence support system so that you can be at your best, regardless of the situation. Head to www.amazingif.com for resources. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode Sarah interviews special guest Michelle Morgan. Michelle is a social entrepreneur, with a number of awards to her name including EY entrepreneur of the year. Michelle developed the idea for her latest business Pjoys after experiencing first hand what it's like to mentally burn out and sink into anxiety and depression. In this thoughtful and reflective episode you'll hear more about Michelle's story, why mental health at work matters and what we can all do about it. Sarah shares her experience of being trained (by Michelle) to become a Mental Health First Aider and as always we include ideas, hints and tips for how and where you can learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all know the old rules about your impact being 7% what you say and the rest how you say it. This week, Sarah and Helen take on the importance of language at work, focusing on what you say and how you say it. As well as challenging the commonly held views about the 7% number, they share top tips for making your words and your body language work for you. For all resources, head over to amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it really mean to be happy at work and are we setting ourselves up to fail if we expect to be happy every day? We spend 90,000 hours of our life at work, so they feel like relevant questions to discuss. This week, Sarah and Helen review the lastest insights about 'happy work' and share 5 small actions we can all take that can make a big difference to our enjoyment at work. You can find a transcript of the episode and all links over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does conflict at work fill you with dread? For many people, conflict is something to avoid at all costs and results in them stepping back and disengaging in conversation. This week, Sarah and Helen talk about tips and tactics that can help to reframe and react differently to work situations where conflict is present. All the resources mentioned and a transcript of the episode can be found at www.amazingif.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Sarah talks to special guest Christine Armstrong author of The Mother of All Jobs. Christine shares how work has changed whilst the needs of children and the world of school and childcare has not changed at all. Christine shares what she has learnt from interviewing hundreds of professional parents who have opened up about everything from the good to the truly awful experiences of parenting. Together Sarah and Christine discuss why combining careers and motherhood can be such a challenge and what everyone can learn from the people who make it work (most of the time!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that we are sleeping 1-2 hours less than we did 60 years ago, that over 2/3s of us work outside of our contracted working hours and that on average people lose 6 days of their annual holiday because they don't take them? All of this contributes to feeling overworked and always on. This week's Squiggly Careers podcast looks at home we can press pause and put practical actions in place that enable us to switch-off and slow down. For all resources mentioned, headover to amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Helen and Sarah tackle the subject of inspiration. Where it comes from, why it's so important for our work and how we can cultivate it. They share their own experiences of getting and staying inspired and dig into the research to learn from the experts! Listen to hear their top 5 ideas to increase your inspiration. For all links and resources, head over to amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Empathy is a skill which underpins relationships. Often, it happens intuitively, but there is much that can be done to cultivate more empathic workplaces and this week's Squiggly Careers podcasts looks at the actions we can all take to achieve that. Helen and Sarah explore 3 different types of empathy at work and talk through 5 ways in which we can build more empathy into our work. For show notes and resources, head to amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're joined by productivity expert Graham Allcott, founder of Think Productive, speaker and author of numerous books on the subject of productivity! Pick-up tips on how to take control of your inbox, your diary and your to-do list and understand how different processes and tools can help you to create simple systems to make your working life a little bit easier! Links as ever will be over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perfectionism at work is responsible for increased stress and anxiety and it's a common challenge people struggle with. It can be routed in a fear of failure or a habit of setting unachievable goals and it can get in the way of truely being our best at work. In this week's Squiggly Career podcast, Helen and Sarah take on perfectionism, sharing their experiences and their top 5 pieces of advice for moving towards a mindset of done being better than perfect. All resources mentioned can be found at amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With so many competing priorities at work, setting effective goals and staying motivated to achieve them has never been more important, though it’s not always easy! This week, Helen and Sarah are talking about how to set yourself up for success with goals and their example of what works best. Head over to amazingif.com to access all resources. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Micromanagement is a big frustration for many of us at work. We all don't like it, but so many of us have to work with it. In this week's podcast, Sarah and Helen delve into the science of micromanagement, why people do it and what issues it causes in the workplace. We share our top tips for coping with Micromanagement and also, how to manage yourself if this is an approach that you fall victim. Resources as ever can be found at www.amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the Squiggly Careers podcast welcomes a special guest! Emma Rosen, author of The Radical Sabbatical, talks to Helen about what we can learn about finding a job you love by exploring multiple career possibilities. Emma took this approach to the extreme by exploring 25 different jobs in 1 year, during her Radical Sabbatical, documenting it in her blog www.25before25.co.uk during this time. We break down what she learnt into set of key insights and actions we can all apply to open up our thinking about future roles and opportunities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taking control of your career development is easier than ever if you've got the motivation and you know where to look! This week, Helen and Sarah are sharing their top tips of 'do it yourself' career development and favourite, tried and tested, learning resources. Get a summary of the resources and access the links over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cutting through the noise of work, so people hear you and your perspectives, has never been more challenging. It's the people who have influencing skills that are able to counteract this environment. These people gain more control over their career because people listen to their thoughts and take action off the back of them. In this week's podcast, Sarah and Helen dissect what it takes to be good at influencing and identify 5 key tips which make the biggest impact. Head over to amazingif.com for the summary and to access resource links. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all experience emotion at work. Sometimes it helps us and sometimes it hinders us. This week, Sarah and Helen talk about the positive and negative emotions that show up at work. They discuss concepts like 'emotional labour' and 'emotional agility' and share tips to help you to be in control of your emotions rather than your emotions controlling you. There are lots of great resources this week, so make sure you head over to www.amazingif.com and read the podcast notes for this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this weeks special episode Sarah interviews guest Bruce Daisley, author of The Joy of Work, 30 ways to fix your work culture and fall in love with your job again. They explore why over half of us are unhappy in our jobs and what we can do about it. Listen to find out what 'monk mode' and 'pre-mortems' are and how they will help you enjoy your work. Sarah shares the actions she has tried so far including turning off notifications and leaving people alone and the impact they have had on her work. Bruce also makes the case for why we need to reduce the amount of meetings we have by 50%. An action packed episode full of ideas you can test out straight away. Head over to amazingif.com to access links and resources mentioned in this weeks episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not every day at work is a happy day. Sometimes it feels like our motivation to be our best and do our best at work, has got lost somewhere between home and the office. This week, Helen and Sarah talk about why Squiggly Careers can create challenges for our motivation, what the motivation highs and lows have taught them and what action can be taken from proven research about the psychology of motivation. Head over to amazingif.com to access links and resources mention in this week’s episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January is the busiest time of the year for job applications, which makes it a good time to be getting your CV in order. Polishing off your CV isn’t just about getting a new job though. In this week’s podcast Helen and Sarah talk about how the process of updating your CV can help you to be clearer on what you’re great at and how that creates value. Listen and get their top 5 tips on how to write a brilliant CV. Head over to amazingif.com to access all links and resources mentioned. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Start 2019 with new habits to transform your career. Covering topics like email management, curiosity and strengths, episode 63 is part 2 of the '10 habits to transform your career' series of the Squiggly Career podcast. To access resources mentioned in the podcast, head over to www.amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're feeling a bit lost in your career, it can be hard to know where to start. In the last episode of the Squiggly Career podcast for 2018, Helen and Sarah share part 1 of their '10 habits to transform your career'. As well as talking through how the habits can help you in your career, they specifically reference the actions they will be committing to for 2019 in the new year career resolutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you’re busy it can seem counterintuitive to stop and reflect, but research shows reflection could be the secret to unlocking better work. In this week’s podcast, Helen and Sarah talk about the importance of reflection and practical ways to make it work for you. For all resources mentioned, head over to amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's information fuelled world, we are each facing over 35,000 decisions a day! Thankfully, the vast majority are unconscious, but when it comes to your career, you need to be tuned in to take the best course of action. In this week's podcast episode, Helen and Sarah talk about what they learnt from their best and worst career decisions this year and share their top 5 tips for making decisions at work. Head over to amazingif.com to access all resources mentioned. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gravitas isn't just for the Leadership Team! Everyone can operate with gravitas at work as a way of influencing people, generating support and standing out. In this week's podcast, Helen and Sarah talk about what gravitas is and what it looks like at work. They share how they use it to achieve the outcomes they want at work and what actions you can take to grow and apply gravitas yourself. Head over to amazingif.com to access all resources mentioned. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Managers are a key part of people being their best at work. This week, Helen and Sarah are talking about what it takes to be a 'Growth Mindset Manager'. They break down this management style into 4 behaviours and talk about the managers they have worked with that naturally exhibit these traits. They also share actionable tips for how you can develop these traits, whether you are a manager today or aspire to be a great one in the future. All links mentioned to resources can be found over at www.amazingif.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squiggly Careers can making planning a bit pointless. All of the opportunity that we are faced with creates possibilities we can't predict. In this environment, having a vision for what you want you career to look and feel like can be a powerful tool for your motivation and to give you a sense that you're moving in the right direction. This week, Helen and Sarah share how they create a vision for their career and talk through practical tips on how to make this work for you. Any links mentioned can be found on www.amazingif.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.