Inside Job

Today we're exploring the trade-offs we make at work and over the course of our careers, how we think about potential gains and losses, and the inside job to shift the stories we tell ourselves about our decisions.

We open today's show talking about the daily life trade-off between eating at the kitchen table and eating over the sink — the classic etiquette vs. efficiency debate. (This includes that Kung Fu Panda, "Don't Tell Monkey" moment when someone catches us!)

Then, we move on to address a listener question that gets to the heart of the tradeoffs we make in our work and our lives. From The Good Place to Almost Famous, we share touchpoints that help us examine these gains or losses more deeply. The inside job here is to pay attention to what can be gained as much as what can be lost, to acknowledge the complexity of the things we believe are important, to examine the stories we may be telling ourselves, and to be honest about whether "the market" will truly care either way.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

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We'd love to hear from you.

Today we're answering listener questions about the urge to justify our career paths and what it really takes to become better presenters.

When it comes to the urge we might feel to explain certain parts of our career journey, we might feel that anything on our resume that doesn't directly connect to the next thing on that list needs to be defended. But the inside job here lies in recognizing that it is a (totally optional) story. And this inclination is also your chance to get curious and to understand why you made certain choices.

Our second question is about presenting at work. We discuss the internalized standards we might have about what it looks like to be a great public speaker and the power of asking ourselves questions that focus our attention on our goals and the needs of our audience.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

Are your thoughts holding you back at work or in your personal life?

Today we're exploring why this might just be the case and how to reclaim your power in ways that truly serve you.

We open our show with a discussion of Eric's "Spock-like" off-air comments and Nayla's enthusiasm for what The Bear on Hulu can teach us about work and family. But the core of our conversation today centers around how powerful beliefs are, how they drive our behaviors (sometimes without our consent), and how we can begin to do the inside work to understand and choose our beliefs on purpose.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

On today's show, we open by mentioning the accountability and rage-parenting Venn diagram that we return to later in the episode. Then we explore the differences between responsibility and accountability and why micromanagement is not necessary.

While accountability is the neutral reporting of what did or did not happen, the stories we tell ourselves may layer on feelings like disappointment or panic and those are not required parts of accountability.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

Today we're answering listener questions, including what to do when life interferes with our work and what to do when your organization doesn't offer 360 Feedback – which is not an exercise where you spin in a circle in front of you colleagues.

We work through strategies for coping with both in a way that results in a better understanding of where the pressures we might feel are coming from.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

Today we're exploring success and how to navigate the thoughts and feedback that tell us we're missing the mark at work.

We share an Office Space reference that begs the question, "How would I even know if I'm being successful?" and why it's helpful to seek clarity from our supervisors about what it means to succeed in our role.

And we discuss the benefits of slowing down, becoming aware of how we define success and looking for evidence in the outside world to show whether the story is true or in our heads. Slowing down puts the brakes on our "Van down by the river" downward spiral and allows us to identify what we need to feel successful: Whether that's training, clarifying goals with managers, or more support.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

Today on the podcast, we talk through our ability to confront and explore those feelings that prevent us from celebrating the contributions of others.

We open the show with a discussion of Joni Mitchell's performance at The Newport Folk Festival, 10 years after a severe brain injury. Brandi Carlile's relationship with and support of Joni Mitchell is a model for how we can appreciate someone else's work without jealousy, envy, and comparison, which is at the heart of today's topic.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

We explore the feelings and questions that come up when we consider setting goals outside of work.

We kick things off with a story from Eric about introducing his children to the joys of scratch and sniff stickers – a reminder that our personal lives are also important.

Our discussion centers around the guilt we might feel for prioritizing personal goals because common wisdom has taught us to invest in our careers over everything else.

We share tools and resources to help unpack what we believe about work and "everything else". If you're working on setting goals outside of work, we'd love to hear from you!

Visit the podcast website to listen to the episode What If My Professional Goal Is Not Professional? and learn that it's okay to give ourselves permission to be done with work for the day and to switch focus to another area.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

It's one of the most common metaphors in the workplace: that person is 'in my lane'!

It's the professional equivalent of: mind your own business!

But what does it mean? Is it a bad thing? Is there any purpose to being in someone else's lane?

Today on the podcast, we're exploring whether we really need to stay in our lane, how to handle people dipping into our lane, and what to do when we feel the urge to dip into someone else's lane.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.

There are many things that we may think our organizations owe us or we owe our organization that deserve a closer look.

Today we explore the question of what we owe each other at work and we share our mutual love of the TV show 'The Good Place'.

Ted Danson, Kristin Bell, and the rest of the amazing cast explored week by week for four seasons the question, "What do we owe each other in our families, relationships, and communities?" which inspired us to examine this question in terms of what we owe each other at work.

This is on our minds because it's fairly regular to have a coaching conversation center around a belief that the client owes their company or the company owes them. This dynamic is driven by experience and expectation that colors our choices and feelings about our work.

Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit the show notes.

To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, us and our work, and to join our mailing list, visit insidejobthepodcast.com.

You can also continue the conversation with us through your favorite social channels:

• LinkedIn Eric | Nayla
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Email

We'd love to hear from you.