Inside Job

At the Inside Job Podcast we are huge believers in the importance of taking action. And we do so knowing that when we put ourselves out into the world we are going to face rejection. In this episode we talk about what to do when we experience rejection.

Rejection shows up in many ways: not getting a job offer, failing to sell our work on Etsy, not being invited to the book club, getting denied the promotion, etc. Hell, Eric is still bemoaning the rejection stemming from nobody reading his LinkedIn article about Betty White. In any form rejection is real, and it hurts.

During our conversation we talk about how the work of the inside job is to make sense of rejection and figure out what we can learn from it. We start by acknowledging the courage that comes from the choice to get in the arena in the first place; we experience rejection because we choose to do the big work in life. Taking brave action is always worth celebrating.

More importantly, we talk about the need to sit in the emotional response for a bit. It's important to experience it, process it, and then release it. By releasing it we choose not to let it define us, nor hold us back from taking the next step forward.

We also talk about ways we can make sense of rejection. Rejection presents us with an opportunity to learn, improve, and pivot. We talk about ways to ask for feedback, how to get others to help us improve for the next time, and how to overcome common mistakes that might be leading to serial rejection.

We close by talking about ways to find the strength to move forward. Nayla talks about the importance of reconnecting with ourselves and replenishing our spirit, while Eric reminds us to reflect on the cost of not trying 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.

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One of the core principles of the Inside Job Podcast is that we believe that all of us should be designing a life and a career on purpose. We think that one of the saddest things in the world is to not be paying attention to ourselves.

As such we believe it's so important to practice periodic reflection and to conduct check-in meetings with yourself. After all, you're in the business of you – if you have a commitment to personal growth then you owe it to yourself to evaluate if you're growing, and if you're doing it in the way you intended.

During this episode we talk about the value of a personal quarterly meeting – one that is taken seriously and conducted deliberately. We talk about what to ask yourself, how often to do it, and how to make sense of the analysis and results.

We share our favorite tools for personal meetings, and how to use them, including:

• Wheel of Life
• Journal
• After Action Review
• Calendar audit
• Financial audit
• Nayla's 5 favorite reflection questions

We also talk about the importance of using these meetings as a time to celebrate – something we firmly believe in and practice at the Inside Job Podcast.

As Annie Dillard said, "How we spend our day is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing." So pay attention to how you spend your days so you can understand how you spend your life.

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!

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This week on the Inside Job Podcast we talk about money! By any name — cold hard cash, Benjamins, cabbage, moolah, clams, etc. — it's one of our favorite topics as humans, and yet it often seems so taboo to admit it. Why is that?

Maybe the better question is: given how important money is, how do we talk about it in ways that are meaningful and aligned with our values?

During our discussion we acknowledge that we are in a relationship with money – whether we like it or not – and like any relationship it needs to be explored, evaluated, and discussed on a regular basis. We notice that money shows up in our values (like financial security or appreciation), our needs (like acknowledgment or freedom) and even in our joys (like adventure or travel). It literally can be a means to an end, and by opening up the conversation about the role we perceive money plays in our lives we can better understand ourselves, our beliefs, our desires, and our biases.

Simply put, the work of understanding our relationship with money is at the core of the Inside Job of understanding ourselves.

During the conversation we also bring up the 80s glam rock band BulletBoys, pick on Alan Watts, quote the movie "Almost Famous", and summarize about a third of country music. All in less than 30 minutes.

You can listen to the episode on our website: www.insidejobthepodcast.com or on your favorite podcast platform. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and sign up for the newsletter – we have a lot of exciting things coming out over the next few weeks!

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!

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We'd love to hear from you.

This week we're talking about the sensation of being trapped or stuck, and settling for a situation that doesn't work for us.

It's often the reason clients seek coaching, and we know from personal experience that it can feel intractable.

And yet, this is also an opportunity in our lives to see things clearly, to understand the tensions between what we want and where we are, and to create a shift that results in momentum.

There are weights that give us the sensation of being stuck: fear, comparison, worry…the list goes on. How can we check reality on these weights? What can we shift in our thinking through exploration, partnership with someone who challenges us.

Each of us also has resources that allow us to move forward: optimism, support, past successes, good habits…

We dive into:

• How important other people (a coach, a community, a trusted friends) can be to getting unstuck…
• How much good questions can help us move forward…
• How daily practice is the key to removing the weights and deepening the resources…..
• And, Kevin Costner.

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!

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We'd love to hear from you.

To kind of quote Jane Austen, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person who works with other people will one day have to be the bearer of bad news."

It is a reality of organizational (and adult) life that we will have to say the hard things. And yes, if we want to lead, we must say the hard things.

Whether it's delivering tough feedback, acknowledging mistakes and missteps, or resigning from a job, we'll have to share information that has the potential to hurt something or someone.

Maybe our reputation will be impacted, maybe a boss or employee will be hurt, maybe we'll be the ones to suffer.

Avoiding tough conversations can be a form of self-protection. We explore the inside job being the bearers of bad news requires of us. It makes us face stirred up pain, worry, unpleasant memories of other bad news we've been a part of in the past.

Being the bearer of bad news can also lead us down the risky road of assumptions, where we think we know what the other party is thinking or will feel, and we act.

We offer some best practices and models to keep conversations specific and spacious at the same time so we can be truly present, share what needs to be said, and solve problems that move us all 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!

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We'd love to hear from you.

Networking. It's one of those things we know can help us, advance us, grow us…and yet, for many of us, it's something we deprioritize or avoid.

This week, we jump into why some of our clients resist this essential part of career and leadership development.

Too many people carry the impression that networking is gross, sleazy, needy and a host of other things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

We believe – deeply – that networking is about learning, about relationship building and above all, about CONNECTING. And connecting isn't just good for your career, it's rewarding for your life.

In this practical and grounded episode, we talk about:

• Shifting our thinking about networking from a series of transactions to be about learning something new
• Simple ways to reach out to even the contacts we have let cool off over time
• Guidance about how to engage on LinkedIn and other ways that are low touch and high impact.

This episode is full of encouragement, human connection and things you can put into place today!

Plus, we have a healthy debate about the merits of Brussel sprouts.

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!

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We'd love to hear from you.

By now our listeners have heard us talk about 'running experiments' in our process for making change happen in our work and in other domains of our lives… but what does that mean, really?

It's not an understatement to say that we think experiments are key to growth and development. (And we think the Inside Hive in the company of coaches and a supportive community is a great place to do this work!)

We offer a blueprint for experiments in this week, starting with the question: What are you trying to find out or do differently?

Nayla offers that sometimes clues for our experiments are in the way we talk to ourselves and others about what we are drawn to, when we say things like:

• I'm afraid…
• I'm worried…
• I don't think…
• I wonder if…

Great! Those thoughts often point us in the direction of the thing we can plan and design an experiment around.

But experiments aren't just about thoughts and plans – they require action. Eric makes the case for the value of public declaration beyond the people who are already in our cheering squad, to help us stay accountable for moving forward.

We talk about incremental, measurable steps, the value of looking at the information gathered in our experiments neutrally…(and how hard that can be!) and how to think about knowing when we've collected enough information and are ready to decide what it means.

We offer a handful of personal and client stories, the ups and downs of experiments we've tried, and would love to hear from our listeners about the experiments you're running on the way to new adventures in your own career and life.

You can listen to the episode on our website: www.insidejobthepodcast.com or on your favorite podcast platform.

Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and sign up for the newsletter – we have a lot of exciting things coming out over the next few weeks!

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!

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We'd love to hear from you.

This week on the Inside Job Podcast we challenge the notion that work must be defined and limited to the tasks that we can perform using the tools "above our neck". We discuss how important and meaningful it is that we are able to be creative and expressive in our lives, and why we should both value and develop the ability to leverage our hands and our bodies to add value to our work.

We question why many in society differentiate between "meaningful work" and trades. For the two of us, we notice the more time we spend around people who build, maintain, and fix things the more we value not only what they do but we also feel a little jealous that they get to do it.

We recognize that many of us need to have room in our careers and/or our lives to introduce things that we make; that we need to experience the sense of accomplishment when we create something, or when we have something to show for our work. We know that when we can see the impact of what we do, then we experience more meaning in our work and in our lives.

It's a fun conversation, during which we:

• Liken PowerPoint to the Dementors in Harry Potter
• Talk about Ben Affleck and how we're fans even though it's sometimes not popular to admit it out loud
• Laugh at Nayla's inability to draw her family's dog
• Recommend the book "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford

You can listen to the episode on our website: www.insidejobthepodcast.com or on your favorite podcast platform. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and sign up for the newsletter – we have a lot of exciting things coming out over the next few weeks!

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!

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We'd love to hear from you.

This week we continue the conversation about how to make the relationship with your manager work. Specifically we dive into two listener-submitted questions:

• What do I do about my career if I perceive that my boss is falling out of favor with our organization?
• How do I talk to my boss about pursuing a new role given how important "loyalty" is to her?

We love these because both questions serve as an invitation to explore our own internal contributions to the relationship we have with ourselves, our managers, and our organizations. In these situations, and others like them, we can start by noticing the moments when we can practice self-regulation and apply our values in ways that allow us to show up as our best for ourselves and for those observing these situations.

We talk about how our leaders' careers can attract drama – with a capital D – and why it's important for us not to get involved in, contribute to, or instigate water-cooler talk about what's happening with them.

We also get into two of our favorite topics – noticing our assumptions and collecting evidence – and we talk about how to discover the truth about our situations and our reputations from leaders and stakeholders inside our organization.

Par for the Inside Job, Jason Bourne makes an appearance . . . again. And we attempt to use the words "fivology" and "hexology" as we draw an analogy between our podcast and the blockbuster movie franchise starring Eric's hero Matt Damon . . . poorly.

As always, we'd love to hear what's on your mind and what you think we should talk about in an upcoming episode. Contact us via insidejobthepodcast.com or on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook @insidejobpodcast . Make sure you sign up for our newsletter so you receive exciting updates about the Inside Hive, our new venture offering our community exclusive access to coaching, extra content, and each other.

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!

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• Facebook

We'd love to hear from you.

One of the most significant relationships in our lives is the one we have with our boss. It's a relationship which can make or break our day, and which has significant impact on our emotional well-being.

Like all meaningful and important relationships the one with your manager takes effort, communication, and conscious contributions from both parties. Yet it can be a difficult one to navigate because of the different personalities, power structures, assumptions, and expectations at play at any one time. So it's no surprise that several of our listeners submitted questions to us about how to improve the way their relationship works with their manager.

In this episode – part 1 of 2 on the subject – we respond to questions about how to work with a manager whose attitude is "hot and cold", and what to do with a boss who is vague about their expectations. These two situations will show up in a variety of ways in the workplace, which allows for a rich conversation about the responsibilities of all parties involved.

We begin by discussing the difference between being a manager and being a leader, and therefore between asking to be managed and asking to be led. The differences are important because as employees it's important for you to know what your needs are. Do you need teaching or training or managing or coaching? What you need will differ depending on how long you've been in a role and how high your level of competency is for the skills in the role.

We also talk about the fact that managers may or may not be accurately assessing your individual needs, especially if they lead large teams. Your ability to put a name to what you are experiencing and to ask specifically for what you need from them can be a huge positive boost to the relationship. You might actually be surprised by how well it's received and how much it's appreciated.

Throughout the episode we highlight the nuances of this important relationship, and offer our advice about ways to talk about your emotions, experiences, and perspectives in meaningful ways that lead to all parties saying good things about each other at dinner each night.

As always, we'd love to hear what's on your mind and what you think we should talk about in an upcoming episode. Contact us via insidejobthepodcast.com or on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook @insidejobpodcast. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter so you receive exciting updates about the Inside Hive, our new venture offering our community exclusive access to coaching, extra content, and each other.

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.