Squiggly Careers

The Squiggly Career

Squiggly Careers is a weekly podcast that will help you take control of your career development. Hosted by the founders of Amazing If (https://www.amazingif.com/), Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, together they cover all things work: from how to manage stress and overcome your confidence gremlins to micro-aggressions and discovering your strengths. Each episode is full of ideas, actions, hints, and tips that you can put into practice straight away.

Every so often they take a break from talking to each other to interview other people who are leading the way in making work better. Past guests include entrepreneur and philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley, author of The Joy of Work Bruce Daisley, and neuroscience expert Amy Brann.

The Squiggly Careers podcast has been recommended by Harvard Business Review, Stylist, Marie Claire and Management Today.

For more ideas, tools and inspiration every week, you can also sign up to their newsletter Squiggly Careers in Action.

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601 episodes
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Episodes601

Newest first

Feb 21, 2023 · 43 min
#319 How to upgrade your listening
This week, Helen talks to journalist and author of 'You're not listening' Kate Murphy. Together they discuss why distractions are affecting our ability to listen and simple ways you can upgrade your listening skills including team improvision exercises and some propmts to reflect on the quality of your conversations. To learn more about Kate and her work head to https://www.journalistkatemurphy.com/ More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers Po
Feb 14, 2023 · 32 min
#318 Achievement Overload
This week, Sarah and Helen talk about how a need to achieve can get in the way of your growth. They help you to assess whether you are an overachiever, explore the implications for your development and discuss how to gain more perspective and increase your performance. For more on this topic, pre-order Emma Gannon's new book The Success Myth now: <a href="https://bit.ly/TheSuccessMyth" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/TheSuccessMyth</a> More ways to
Feb 7, 2023 · 49 min
#317 Doing by Learning
In this Ask the Expert episode of the squiggly careers podcast Sarah has a conversation with author and founder David Erixon about the topic of Doing by Learning. Together they discuss what learning through experiences really looks like, what the challanges are and the practical actions we can all take to make learning part of our day to day. David's article: https://medium.com/hacker-maker-teacher/doing-by-learning-by-david-erixon-c0f1fb4b9446 More ways to learn about S
Jan 31, 2023 · 49 min
#316 Stress Tolerance
In the final episode of the Squiggly Soft Skills Series, Helen and Sarah talk about the topic of Stress Tolerance. They borrow insights from 2 books to support the conversation. Helen reads Widen the Window by Elizabeth A. Stanley PHD and Sarah reviews When the Body Says No by Gabor Mate. Together they share insights, ideas and actions to support your stress tolerance at work. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https:
Jan 24, 2023 · 40 min
#315 Social Influence
In this week's episode Helen and Sarah talk about the skill of social influence as part of the four-part soft skills series. Helen reads Techniques of Social Influence by Dariusz Dolinski and Sarah reviews Invisible Influence by Jonan Berger. Together they share insights, ideas and actions to develop your skills of social influence at work. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.gy/orb0n5 2. Sign-up for
Jan 17, 2023 · 45 min
#314 Critical Thinking
This is the second episode of a four part series of the soft skills we need to succeed in our squiggly career. This week Helen and Sarah take on the topic of critical thinking and review two books to learn more. Helen reads Framers by Francis de Véricourt, Kenneth Cukier, and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Sarah reads Harvard Business Review's brand new book THE HBR Guide to Critical Thinking. Together they share insights, ideas and actions to develop your approach to critical thinkin
Jan 10, 2023 · 45 min
#313 Originality
Helen and Sarah are back with another squiggly skills series and this time they are focusing on the soft skills we all need to succeed. Over the next 4 weeks they’ll be exploring originality, critical thinking, social influence and stress tolerance. For each episode, they will read and review 2 books on the topic to understand more about the skill - what it is, why it matters and how we can all develop and demonstrate it at work. This episode of the soft skills
Jan 3, 2023 · 29 min
#312 What's holding back your career development?
Helen and Sarah's most recent article for Harvard Business Review is now live and in this episode, they bring it to life! Listen and learn about creative ideas to overcome the most common career challenges, such as; not having enough time to learn, not having people who can help you, not knowing what to focus on for your development and not having progression options in your organisation. You can read the full article here: https://hbr.org/2022/12/whats-holding-back-your-career-deve
Dec 27, 2022 · 1 hr 1 min
#311 2022 in Review - How to look back to look forward
In the final episode of the year, Helen and Sarah reflect on a series of questions to support awareness and action. You'll get behind-the-scenes insight into the reality of Helen and Sarah running a company together and having their toughest year yet in a 20-year long friendship. You'll also be able to take the questions they use to reflect on your own year and think about what you might do differently in 2023. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Download our Squ
Dec 20, 2022 · 32 min
#310 10 ideas for action from the top 10 episodes
Helen and Sarah have reviewed the most downloaded podcast episodes and shared an idea for action from each of them in this week's Squiggly Careers podcast. Listen and learn about: 1. Improving your work/life fit 2. Getting the most from your 121’s3. How to stop being a people pleaser4. Exploring your progression possibilities5. How to be a good manager 6. Increasing your assertiveness7. How to ask better questions8. How to negotiate f
Dec 13, 2022 · 51 min
#309 Ask the Expert: Networking with Sharmadean Reid, MBE
In this weeks podcast you can hear Sarah in conversation with Sharmadean Reid, MBE, founder of The Stack World. Sharmadean shares her perspective and practical advice on networking, and explores the power of creating connections by asking curious questions. Together they also discuss the difference between networking and community and why friendship is fundamental part of our careers. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https:/
Dec 6, 2022 · 33 min
#308 How to create your career cushion (aka increase your career resilience)
Have you come across the term 'career cushioning'? It's essentially about how you protect your career from changes that might feel out of your control and actively invest in yourself to keep your options open. This week, Helen and Sarah talk through 3 ideas for action to help to create your career cushion and increase your role resilience. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.gy/orb0n5 2. Sign-up for PodMail, a
Nov 29, 2022 · 36 min
#307 How to improve your presence at work
Presence can seem like a tricky topic, so this week Helen and Sarah are making it practical. They talk about the 3 principles of presence and how language, your body and your use of power can all play a role. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.gy/orb0n5 2. Sign-up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools https://rb.gy/2xyo8i3. Read our books 'The Squiggly Career' and 'You Coach
Nov 22, 2022 · 36 min
#306 How to start a portfolio career
This week, Helen and Sarah are talking about portfolio careers and how they can help you find more flexibility and freedom, increase your career resilience and stretch your strengths. They share lots of practical ideas for action to get you started including portfolio plotting. planning your pattern and balancing risk vs. reliability in your roles. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.gy/orb0n5 2. Sign-up for Po
Nov 15, 2022 · 26 min
#305 How to approach your first 90 days
This week, Helen talks to the author of 'The First 90 Days' Michael D. Watkins about how to start a new job well. Together they discuss common transition traps, actions to take regularly in your role and how to make sure that you leave a job without burning your bridges. Read the First 90 Days: https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Days-Updated-Expanded-Strategies/dp/1422188612 More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.g
Nov 8, 2022 · 42 min
#304 How to change your pace and perspective
When work feels out of control or a bit overwhelming, it can be a flag that we need to reassess our pace and perspective. This week, Helen and Sarah share practical ideas for action to slow down or speed up your work. They also help you to understand whether the perspective you're working with is helping you to do your best work. If you want to feel more in control of how work is making you feel, then this is the epsiode for you. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:
Nov 1, 2022 · 43 min
#303 How to bust the career myths that hold you back
Are career myths holding you back? This week, Helen and Sarah are in myth-busting mode talking about the most common assumptions that get in the way of people's growth and sharing ideas for action to overcome them. So if you've ever felt that asking for help is a sign of weakness, or that going back means going backwards in your careers then this week's episode might be a useful listen for you. More ways to learn: 1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.gy/orb
Oct 25, 2022 · 28 min
#302 How to make your job application stand out
Job applications are an important part of a recruitment process, however it can feel hard to work out how to stand out when there is so much you need to say. In this week's Squiggly Careers podcast episode, Helen and Sarah go back to basics and focus on the most important factors that often get overlooked. They also share their ideas for 'even better if' when you're looking to make a positive impression with your CV, covering letter or LinkedIn profile (or hopefully all three!). Mor
Oct 18, 2022 · 35 min
#301 How to give and get fast and frequent feedback
Feedback is a brilliant source of data for our development but too often fear and formality get in the way. This week, Helen and Sarah share 5 ideas for action for you to give and get faster and more frequent feedback. Listen for ideas on quick questions to action, hwo to be a strengths spotter and lots more. More ways to learn: 1. Download our Squiggly Careers PodBook: https://rb.gy/orb0n5 2. Sign-up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career t
Oct 11, 2022 · 46 min
#300 How to take a coaching approach
Everyone faces knotty moments in squiggly careers and needs support to get unstuck. Learning how to take a coaching approach means that you can help people to help themselves, so they can navigate their way through tough times today and feel more confident about how they approach career challenges in the future. In this episode, Sarah and Helen talk through the mindset, skillset and toolkit to help you take a coaching approach. It's an episode full of practical tips and tools, so don't forget