Squiggly Careers

Most of us will change career up to 5 times in our squiggly careers. In this shortcut, Sarah shares why career change isn’t about having the perfect plan — it’s about getting started. She gives three practical ways to make progress without pressure, from small experiments to curious conversations that open new doors.

Episode 509

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🇬🇧 Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts

00:28 Why “perfect plans” hold us back

01:05 Idea 1

02:15 Idea 2

03:35 Idea 3

04:50 Why small actions build big confidence

05:10 Where to learn more

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- How to stop overthinking your next move

- Why progress matters more than perfection

- How to turn small steps into big opportunities

- How to reframe uncertainty as growth

🎧 For more ideas, listen to Episode 379, where Sarah interviews April Rinne about navigating career change with confidence.

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

🏃‍♀️ Join the Skills x AI Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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This week on the Squiggly Careers podcast, Sarah and Helen borrow brilliance from Vanessa Urch Druskat’s research on team emotional intelligence, first featured in Harvard Business Review.

While emotional intelligence is often talked about at an individual level, this episode explores what happens when you apply it to teams — and how emotional awareness can build motivation, trust, and high performance together.

Sarah shares how she used AI (Claude) to turn Druskat’s research into a practical team emotional intelligence quiz, helping teams assess their habits and find simple ways to improve.

Episode 508

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

01:35 What is team emotional intelligence and why it matters

03:41 Awareness + action: how teams build emotional understanding

06:30 Sarah’s experiment

09:20 The three key dimensions of team emotional intelligence

10:50 Understanding each other better

13:30 Action idea: Challenge & Build feedback ritual

21:40 Action idea: Scenario planning made simple

33:45 Action idea: Mapping and Mattering*to stay connected

38:00 How often should teams check in on their emotional intelligence?

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- What team emotional intelligence means and why it drives performance

- How to assess and improve your team’s emotional awareness

- Practical tools to create more connection, curiosity, and collaboration

- How to use AI to help your team learn and reflect together

- Ways to turn feedback, reflection, and stakeholder mapping into routinely rituals

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

🏃‍♀️ Join the Skills x AI Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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✨ Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts— a series from the Squiggly Careers podcast, bringing you quick career tips in just 5 minutes, every Thursday. In this shortcut, Helen shares three practical ways to stand out with senior stakeholders — the people who can influence your impact, support your development, and open up new opportunities. Whether it’s your manager or another leader in your organisation, these ideas will help you build better relationships and be remembered for the right reasons.

Episode 507

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US – https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts

00:28 Why senior stakeholders matter

01:05 Idea 1 – Position yourself as a peer

02:10 Idea 2 – Go further with your follow-up

03:55 Idea 3 – Build connections they care about

05:10 Where to learn more

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- How to build confidence and connection with senior stakeholders

- Why going beyond “thank you” helps you stand out

- How to add value by linking people and priorities

🎧 Listen to Episode 334 to learn more: https://youtu.be/N_J9EySKxgg?si=6NRrcjFlDINWtVdp

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

🏃‍♀️ Join the Skills x AI Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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This week on the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from an unexpected source — the psychology of seats. Inspired by a conversation about how we choose where to sit, Helen talks about how your seating choices can shape the way you feel, behave, and influence others at work. From safe seats that help us feel in control to power positions in meetings and even virtual seating on video calls, this episode reveals how something as simple as your seat can affect confidence, inclusion, and collaboration. You’ll leave with small, practical shifts to help you show up differently — and boost your impact and influence at work.

Episode 506

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

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⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction & Announcement

01:54 Borrowing brilliance from the psychology of seats

03:54 Why where you sit says more about you than you think

07:54 Seat safety — comfort, confidence, and control

12:34 Power seats — what your meeting position communicates

15:54 Round tables, rectangles, and creating collaboration

20:04 The height effect

20:54 No-seat meetings

22:54 Virtual seats

29:54 Inclusion, confidence, and creating space for others

🎯 What You’ll Learn

📚 Resources Mentioned

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

✨ Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts — a series from the Squiggly Careers podcast, bringing you quick career tips in just 5 minutes, every Thursday. In this shortcut, Sarah shares three practical reframes to help you quieten your inner critic — the fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs that hold you back in your squiggly career. From fear of failure to feeling “not good enough” or being put on the spot, we all have gremlins trying to stop us.

Episode 505

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 What are confidence gremlins?

00:42 Reframe 1

01:38 Reframe 2

03:21 Reframe 3

04:55 Where to go next for more

🎯 What You’ll Learn

🎧 Listen to Episode 387 to learn more: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ORexpOPpBQgp94cOmR6FE?si=kPkUOUxcTduREjGiQZm4Vg

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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This week on the Squiggly Careers podcast, Sarah and Helen borrow brilliance from an unexpected source — maps. Inspired by Jürgen Appelo’s Substack post “I Started Drawing Maps”, they explore how mapping can help you find clarity, confidence and direction in your squiggly career.

You’ll hear about five different types of maps you can create to understand yourself and your work better — from mapping your energy and relationships to visualising your skills, possibilities and problems.

Episode 504

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction — Borrowing brilliance from maps

01:00 Why maps matter for our squiggly careers

06:40 The value of visuals for clarity and creativity

08:37 Map 1: Energy Map

13:30 Map 2: Give–Gain Map

18:45 Map 3: Skills Map

24:15 Map 4: Possibilities Map

30:00 Map 5: Problem Map

38:00 How to pick the right map for you

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- How visual thinking can bring clarity to your career

- Five creative ways to map your work and growth

- How to use maps for reflection, self-awareness, and team development

- Practical examples you can try right away

📚 Resources Mentioned

I Started Drawing Maps by Jürgen Appelo https://substack.jurgenappelo.com/p/i-started-drawing-maps

The Secret Language of Maps — Stanford Design School https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Language-Maps-Stanford-D-School/dp/1984858009

AI Skills Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=5fD8VGW4Z46LgJFr

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

✨ Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts — a series from the Squiggly Careers podcast, bringing you quick career tips in just 5 minutes, every Thursday.

In this shortcut, Helen shares four powerful questions to help you make a difficult career decision. When you’re weighing up your next move, it’s easy to get stuck in overthinking or uncertainty. These questions are designed to help you zoom out, get clear on what matters most, and move forward with confidence.

Episode 503

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts

00:28 Why career decisions can feel difficult

01:05 Question 1 – Create distance

02:10 Question 2 – Get data

03:05 Question 3 – Discuss

04:20 Question 4 – Define your drivers

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- How to make big career choices feel more manageable

- A practical four-step framework for clarity and confidence

- Why connecting with your ‘why’ builds resilience in tough moments

🎧 Listen to Episode 297 to learn more: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4oGa9JECFTOqKn79TPuZAQ?si=UhFXcSXkQ-Ki-2skkumLIQ

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to live — and work — with moral ambition? In this episode of the Squiggly Careers podcast, Sarah introduces ideas from Rutger Bregman’s book Moral Ambition and Helen helps turn them into practical actions you can apply in your own career.

You’ll hear why moral ambition is about using your 80,000 working hours wisely, how to close the belief–behaviour gap, and what small steps you can take to make a bigger difference. Together, Helen and Sarah explore how to connect Bregman’s big ideas to the everyday reality of squiggly careers.

Episode 502

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

02:18 Moral ambition

05:59 The belief–behaviour gap (what we say vs. what we do)

12:01 Action 1

19:23 Action 2

23:58 Action 3

29:36 Reflections

🎯 What You’ll Learn

-What moral ambition is and why it matters

- How to spot your own belief–behaviour gaps

- Practical ways to volunteer and use your strengths for impact

- How to extend your positive influence beyond your current circle

- Why finding morally ambitious role models helps you take action

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

✨ Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts — a series from the Squiggly Careers podcast, bringing you quick career tips in just 5 minutes, every Thursday.

In this shortcut, Sarah shares a practical idea to help you confidently ask for a pay rise. While the conversation can feel anxiety-inducing, waiting rarely works — you need to advocate for yourself and highlight the impact you’re having. Sarah breaks it down into 3 simple tips to set you up for success.

How To Ask For A Pay Rise 

Episode 501

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to Squiggly Shortcuts

00:24 Create don't wait 

01:23 Tip 1 – Understand the pay rise process in your company

02:26 Tip 2 - How to approach the conversation 

05:09 Tip 3 - Summarise what's been said 

05:08 Think about your pay rise tradeoff 

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- Why waiting to be noticed often doesn’t work

- How to approach a pay rise as a series of conversations

- 3 practical steps for how to ask for a pay rise

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Is “just be yourself at work” really the best advice? In this 500th episode of the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah explore the tricky topic of authenticity — and why being 100% yourself at work might not always help you succeed.

Borrowing brilliance from Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, they discuss the difference between effective vs. ineffective authenticity, why trust often matters more than “being real,” and how to adapt without feeling fake. You’ll learn three practical actions to help you show up authentically and intentionally in ways that work for you, your team, and your career.

Episode 500

🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster:

PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn

Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction & Announcement

02:19 Celebrating 500 episodes 🎉

06:32 What is “effective authenticity”?

09:05 Why trust may be more important than authenticity

11:40 Action 1

17:55 Action 2

21:16 Action 3

23:35 Questions to help you apply this week’s shortcut

25:41 What’s next: Borrowing brilliance from maps

🎯 What You’ll Learn

- The difference between helpful and unhelpful authenticity

- Why trust and emotional intelligence matter more than “bringing your whole self”

- How to balance being true to yourself with adapting to your team

- 3 actions you can take to use authenticity for career success

📚 Resources Mentioned

Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead) by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Be-Yourself-Authenticity-Overrated/dp/1647829836

HBR Article: https://hbr.org/2025/08/do-you-have-an-emotionally-intelligent-team

The Values Institute https://values.institute/

AI Skills Sprint - https://youtu.be/5swOYWW6l7M?feature=shared

For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected]

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:

📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/

📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction

📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices