Talking about pay can feel awkward, emotional and high-stakes but avoiding it can quietly stall your career. In this episode, Shell is joined by compensation expert Matt McFarlane to unpack what’s really happening in the job market, how to talk about money earlier (not when resentment hits), and the non-salary levers that matter just as much as dollars.

👉🏾 why the pay market feels “beige” right now

👉🏿 earning vs learning, why changing jobs boosts pay and the cost to employers

👉🏻 how to raise pay conversations with your employer

👉 why are there a lot of people job hugging right now?

👉🏼 loyalty, trust & the changing employer-employee relationship

👉🏽 making money conversations less awkward

👉🏾 benefits beyond salary that actually matter

Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmcfarlane/

Check out his website: fndn.com.au

Connect with Shell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-johnson/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

As 2025 comes to an end, Shell and Dr Amantha Imber reflect on the big (and little) learnings, mindset shifts and practical stuff that they'll be taking into the new year! They touch on:

👉🏼 energy, focus & what really drives performance

👉🏾 boundaries, rest & staying out of burnout

👉 confidence, self-belief & playing bigger

👉🏿 navigating discomfort, embarrassment & growth

👉🏼 connection, influence & communicating well

👉🏽 psychological safety & healthier team dynamics

👉🏿 creativity, margin & making space to think

👉 AI workflows & working smarter

👉🏾 culture, trust & team transformation

👉🏽 small habits that compound over time

Here are the tools Amantha mentioned:

Wisper Flow: https://wisprflow.ai/

Nexstand: https://amzn.to/4s82cXJ

Connect with Shell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-johnson/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

In today's episode Shell shares 15 thoughts, musings and career advice that she needs you to hear loud and clear which touch on:

👉🏼 mindset shifts

👉🏾 navigating fear, discomfort & embarrassment

👉🏽 what actually holds people back in their careers

👉 confidence & self-belief

👉🏿 leadership realities most people don’t talk about

👉🏽 practical ways to show up better in your role

👉 getting out of your own way

👉🏿 and small habits that make a big impact over time

Connect with Shell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-johnson/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

In today's Q&A Shell discusses your work questions with return guest, Steph Clarke. They chat about:

👉🏻 how do you show up with personality and still be seen as professional?

👉 is it okay to quit a job without a plan?

👉🏾 how to rebuild credibility and trust after making a mistake at work

👉🏿 how do you manage up when your boss isn’t great at communication?

Connect with Steph on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-clarke/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

Shell and Rohan Dredge riff on the big topics leaders tend to avoid:

👉🏾 communicating with clarity

👉🏿 managing distractions for you and your team

👉🏻 why discipline beats desire

👉 the power of 1:1s

👉🏼 managing talented jerks, energy vampires & personality hires

👉🏽 the power of awkward honesty

👉🏾 what does vulnerability mean

Connect with Rohan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohandredge/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

Today Shell sits down with futurist Steph Clarke to unpack how to think about the future of work without spiralling. They chat about uncertainty, AI, imagining different possible futures, and how to stay flexible instead of trying to ‘future-proof’ your career.

👉🏾 why future-proofing your career is a myth + what to do instead

👉🏿 spotting signals of change

👉🏻 the high-impact / high-uncertainty quadrant

👉 how to prepare for uncertainty

👉🏼 what Steph means by "trying a different future on"

👉🏽 fear setting & preparing for what could go wrong

👉🏾 navigating anxiety about the unknown

👉🏿 a simple practical step you can take now

Connect with Steph on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-clarke/

Work with Steph: https://www.28thursdays.com/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

Can you be friends with the boss or the people that you lead? In this episode Shell chats with Steph Clarke who has a Substack called How To Friend, about the messy, beautiful, and sometimes awkward world of workplace friendships.

👉🏾 Steph’s interest in studying friendship and starting How to Friend

👉🏿 can you be friends with the boss?

👉🏻 perceptions of favouritism

👉 proximity, frequency, and why it's normal for work friendships to fade

👉🏼 the foundation for good work friendships

👉🏽 energy giving vs energy draining behaviours

👉🏾 identifying oversharing and emotional hijacking

👉🏿 showing your best self vs whole self at work

👉🏻 defining friendship

👉 Shell's thoughts on work friendships

Connect with Steph on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-clarke/

Subscribe to Steph's Substack, How To Friend: https://howtofriend.substack.com/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

Shell gets vulnerable in this special episode as Rohan Dredge interviews her about her business origin story and how feeling boxed in at work sparked a complete reset in her career. Shell's journey and learnings touch on:

👉 facing stuckness and high anxiety in her career before starting Boldside

👉🏿 quitting her job with nothing to go to

👉🏼 saying yes to an opportunity even when she didn't feel like it

👉🏾 following her personal values

👉🏻 how strengths in her childhood are being reflected in her career now

👉🏼 knowing what lights you up at work

👉 navigating scarcity mindset & imposter syndrome

👉🏿 facing the fear of emotional exposure as took up more space

👉🏾 navigating loneliness, mum guilt + confronting social norms

👉🏻 and challenging limiting beliefs

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

If you lead or are part of a senior leadership team, this episode is for you. Shell sits down with leadership expert Rohan Dredge to unpack what a high-performing executive team actually looks like and how to navigate the unique challenges that come with leading at the top. They talk about:

👉🏼 high personal responsibility

👉🏾 harnessing ego without letting it run the show

👉🏽 shifting from silo'd thinking to circle thinking

👉 creating a culture of real accountability

Connect with Rohan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohandredge/

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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

Shell and Em Bowen are back with more underrated career skills and this time they're talking about:

👉🏻 emailing like you speak

👉 being hard to offend

👉🏼 being able to communicate tough messages without being offensive

👉🏽 showing your working 

👉🏿 and owning your strengths

Connect with Em on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilybowen26

If you lead teams, check out Shelley’s business, Boldside: https://www.boldside.com.au/

Shell & Glen’s book 'Sort Your Career Out & Make More Money' is available here: https://amzn.to/4k3YSrr

We hate email spam so we don’t create it! Sign up to our newsletter to get only the valuable money, careers and property info you need.

To get help, and to check out our online courses, books, resources and downloads (+ our disclaimers and warnings), click here.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Boldside's People & Culture Unconference is back on 15 and 16 September at The Calile Hotel in Brisbane, and it's the opposite of a stuffy convention centre day. Think workshops instead of keynotes, real conversations, and a room full of HR leaders who actually get it.

🎟️🎟️🎟️Only 100 spots, so don't sleep on it: https://bit.ly/4fHwqMV

CODE: POD for 10% off!

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