Carlii Lyon helped me start this podcast 5 years ago. Today, she's sharing her journey from terrified first-timer to leading personal branding expert—and her new book "Courage to Be."

If you've ever felt too scared to put yourself out there, this conversation will change how you think about courage.

💡 KEY INSIGHTS:

"I was that person who was terrified. I was that person who thought she was going to throw up the first time she posted on social media. I was that person who stood in front of an audience for the first time and was shaking with sweat pouring down my body. I was that person who went on TV and cried before the interview and straight after the interview. The only way through it is through it."

"Courage really is about faking it till you make it. Of course you don't know what you're doing. Of course you're afraid. But courage is doing it anyway."

"Be impeccable with your words—not just with others, but with yourself. What you say to yourself, you'll make true."

"Add massive value to people you want to connect with—so much so that they can't ignore you."

📚 ABOUT CARLII:

Carlii Lyon is a personal branding expert, author of "Courage to Be," and the person who helped Cathal start Better at Work 5 years ago. She specialises in helping professionals build their influence and attract the right opportunities through authentic personal branding.

📚 RESOURCES:

🌐 Website: carliilyon.com (or carliilyon.com.au)

📖 Book: "Courage to Be: Build Your Influence and Attract the Right Opportunities"

🎙️ ABOUT BETTER AT WORK:

Making your work life better, one conversation at a time. New episodes every Thursday, with listener Q&A episodes bi-weekly.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode!

📸 Instagram: @betteratwork

🌐 Website: betteratwork.net

NEXT EPISODE:

Listener Q&A Episode

Submit your questions: betteratwork.net

🎙️ Want to be a guest or submit a question? betteratwork.net

You asked, we answered. In this special listener Q&A episode, co-host Annette turns the tables and asks Cathal the questions we usually ask our guests.This is the story behind Better at Work: why it started, what we're building, and where we're going next.💡 KEY INSIGHTS:"People invest so much time in personal trainers to help them look better. We're like coaches to help you have a better day at work. What about in the world of work? What do you need to do? Set your intention going into a meeting. Think about how you can do this presentation to the best of your abilities. All of these little tweaks help you have a good day at work—and that'll make you feel great.""We're joining the dots from all these researchers, all these experts across all the fields. We've identified 100+ topics that we're distilling and bringing the nuggets so we make it easier for you to be better at work.""Most people experience work through who their leader is. Most people experience culture through who their leader is. So if we could help more leaders, that would be transformational."📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:🌐 Better at Work: betteratwork.net📸 Instagram: @betteratwork📩 Submit Your Question: betteratwork.net/questions✨ ABOUT THIS EPISODE:This is a special format where we flip the script. Usually, Cathal asks the questions. Today, his co-host Annette interviews him about the journey, the mission, and the future of Better at Work.If you've ever wondered, "Who is this Cathal guy and why should I listen?" - this episode is for you.Shoutout to our amazing community members mentioned in this episode: Helen, Sarah, Angela Collins, and David Munro. Thank you for being with us on this journey!New episodes every Thursday.Listener Q&A episodes are bi-weekly.🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode!NEXT EPISODE:🎙️ Carly Lyon - Personal Branding Expert | New Book LaunchSubscribe so you don't miss it!#betteratwork #careerdevelopment #workplacewellness #ProfessionalDevelopment #leadership #worklifebalance #podcast #ListenerQA #originstory #corporatewellness 🎙️ Want to submit a question? betteratwork.net

Taking a career break doesn't mean your career is over. In this episode, Julianne Miles—chartered psychologist, MBE recipient, and author of Return Journey—shares her proven 5-stage framework for returning to work after time away.

Whether you've taken a break for childcare, caregiving, health reasons, or personal development, this conversation will help you navigate the transition with confidence.

🎯 IN THIS EPISODE:

- Why career breaks should be valued, not feared [03:45]

- The 5 stages of returning to work (and where you get stuck) [12:30]

- How to handle the "what have you been doing?" question [18:15]

- Why your career break gave you MORE valuable skills [22:40]

- The perfectionism trap that holds returners back [28:50]

- Small tweaks that make returning to work easier [35:20]

- How to value what makes you different (not the same) [44:30]

📚 JULIANNE'S RESOURCES:

🔗 Career Returners: https://www.careerreturners.com

📖 Book: "Return Journey: How to Get Back to Work and Thrive After a Career Break" (Out September 4, 2025)

🎙️ Career Returners Podcast: Real stories from people who've successfully returned to work

📚 Cisco Academy: Free training courses for returners

🌍 Global online returner community

✨ ABOUT JULIANNE:

Julianne Miles is a chartered psychologist with over 20 years of experience supporting thousands of people returning to work after career breaks. She's a successful returner herself and the founder of Career Returners, an organization dedicated to making career breaks a valued part of lifetime careers. In 2019, she was awarded an MBE for her pivotal role in changing the landscape for UK returners.

🎙️ ABOUT BETTER AT WORK:

Making your work life better, one conversation at a time. Join host Cathal Quinlan as he explores workplace wellness, career development, and the real challenges of modern work with experts, authors, and people who've been there.

🔔 New episodes every Thursday

📸 Instagram: @betteratwork

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Introduction

2:30 - Julianne's story: From career break to chartered psychologist

6:05 - Why society needs to reframe career breaks

9:40 - The mental blocks (both sides face)

12:30 - The 5 stages of career transition

18:15 - Handling the "gap in your CV" conversation

22:40 - Skills you gain during a career break

28:50 - The perfectionism trap

35:20 - Small tweaks that make big differences

41:00 - Why taking the leap is worth it

42:40 - Smallest change for a better day at work

43:50 - The lesson about perfectionism

45:30 - Best advice: Value what makes you different

47:25 - Where to find Julianne's resources

#CareerBreak #ReturnToWork #WorkplaceWellness #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #WorkingParents #CorporateWellness #CareerTransition #BetterAtWork

A listener wrote in with a big question: “Where do I even begin with a career change?”In this episode, Cathal and Annette share practical advice on how to identify your unique talents, reconnect with your passions, and take small, meaningful steps toward work that matters.They also reflect on the lessons from Dr Zach Mercurio (Why Mattering Matters) — and preview next week’s guest, Julianne Miles, founder of Career Returners, who helps people re-enter the workforce after time away.Watch next:👉 Why Mattering Matters with Dr Zach Mercurio👉 The Courage to Be with Carly Lyons (coming soon)🎧 Listen on Spotify / Apple / everywhere: betteratwork.net💌 Submit your question: betteratwork.net📺 Watch full episodes: YouTube – Better @ Work#BetterAtWork #CareerChange #WorkHappiness #CathalQuinlan #AnnetteSloan #Podcast #MeaningfulWork

Only 30% of people feel like someone at work cares for them as a person. The lowest it's ever been.Zach Mercurio refers to this as a mattering deficit. And you can't solve it with perks, programs, or engagement initiatives. You can only solve it through daily interactions where people feel genuinely cared for.In this conversation, Zach breaks down the difference between caring about people (from a distance) and caring for people (getting close enough actually to understand them), why mattering is a survival instinct, and his framework for making people feel significant: noticing, affirming, and needing.This one's for every leader who's wondering why their team still feels disconnected despite all the programs they've implemented.Zach Mercurio is a researcher, speaker, and author of "The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance." He holds a PhD in organisational learning, performance, and change and serves as one of Simon Sinek's Optimist Instructors.BETTER@WORK PODCASTNew episodes every Thursday

Annette and Cathal sit down to debrief last week's episode with Tasha Eurich—and it got real.

Her research on why resilience is a limited resource, the concept of "grit-gaslighting," and the three biological needs we're all trying to meet completely shifted how we think about stress and burnout.

In this Listener's Questions episode, we break down:

→ The moments from Tasha's episode that hit us hardest→ What we're actually going to change in how we approach difficult times→ Why the resilience ceiling explains so much about high achiever burnout→ Your questions from the community about becoming shatterproof

If you haven't listened to Tasha's full episode yet, go back and watch that first here.

This is LQ Episode #2—where we take the best conversations from Better@Work and go deeper with your questions and our honest takeaways.

Tasha Eurich spent 5 years studying resilience - interviewing hundreds of people, reviewing 1,300+ scientific articles, and analysing the 52 most cited resilience studies.

What she discovered will change how you think about stress, burnout, and "powering through."

In this episode, Tasha reveals why resilience practices help you survive but don't help you thrive, why "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is actually backwards, and introduces her 4-step roadmap to becoming truly shatterproof.

Tasha Eurich is an organisational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times bestselling author of "Insight" and "Shatterproof: How to Thrive When Bad Things Happen."

She's coached CEOs for 20+ years, and her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The Today Show.

New episodes every Thursday

Instagram: @betteratworkpod

#Resilience #Leadership #Burnout #MentalHealth #WorkplaceWellbeing #TashaEurich #OrganizationalPsychology #Shatterproof

Tasha Eurich spent 5 years studying resilience - interviewing hundreds of people, reviewing 1,300+ scientific articles, and analysing the 52 most cited resilience studies. What she discovered will change how you think about stress, burnout, and "powering through."In this episode, Tasha reveals why resilience practices help you survive but don't help you thrive, why "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is actually backwards, and introduces her 4-step roadmap to becoming truly shatterproof.Tasha Eurich is an organisational psychologist, researcher, and New York Times bestselling author of "Insight" and "Shatterproof: How to Thrive When Bad Things Happen." She's coached CEOs for 20+ years, and her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The Today Show.New episodes every ThursdayInstagram: @betteratworkpod#Resilience #Leadership #Burnout #MentalHealth #WorkplaceWellbeing #TashaEurich #OrganizationalPsychology #Shatterproof

Welcome to our first-ever Listener Questions episode on Better@Work!

Hosts Cathal Quinlan and Annette Sloan are back for Season 4 with your new favourite format. Real workplace questions, real talk, and actionable advice.

In this episode:

• Quick-fire get-to-know-you round with Cathal & Annette
• Helen Tupper’s top takeaways from last week’s launch episode

Got your own workplace dilemma or question for Annette? Submit it anytime at https://betteratwork.net.

Don’t forget to subscribe for future Q&As and interviews with leading experts!

Like, share, and leave a comment below: what’s the biggest work challenge you’re facing right now?

Today we welcome Helen Tupper, CEO of Amazing If and co-author of the No.1 Sunday Times Business Bestseller The Squiggly Career: Ditch the Ladder, Discover Opportunity, Design Your Career. Helen has built her career across leadership roles at Microsoft, Virgin, and BP, and today helps millions of people rethink what career success really means through her books, workshops, and the No. 1 Careers Podcast, Squiggly Careers.

Helen and I dive into why traditional career ladders no longer work, and how the “squiggly” approach helps people find more purpose, confidence and fulfilment at work. Together we explore:- Identifying and playing to your “super strengths”- Tackling the “confidence gremlins” that hold us back- Building a supportive, genuine network- Keeping an open mind about possibilities for the future👉 Tune in next week when Annette and I answer your listener questions on careers and how to make work better for everyone.Get in touch: www.betteratwork.net/contact-us/Follow us on Instagram: @betteratworkpodOr LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathal-quinlan/And get the Best Bits Newsletter: betteratwork.net