Squiggly Careers
Squiggly Careers is a weekly podcast that helps you take control of your career development. Hosted by Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, founders of Amazing If, the show covers topics like managing stress, overcoming confidence gremlins, micro-aggressions, and discovering your strengths. Each episode provides actionable ideas, hints, and tips. The podcast also features interviews with experts such as Dame Stephanie Shirley and Bruce Daisley.
Episodes
#572 The Listening Habit That Changes Every Conversation
Are you a conversational narcissist? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah introduces a deceptively simple idea from Celeste Headlee that will change how you listen, and make you notice everyone else's conversations differently too.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– What a shift response is, why we all do it, and why it matters more than you might think
– What a support response sounds like in practice, and how i
#571 How to Get Better at Holding Uncertainty at Work
Uncertainty isn't going anywhere. So what if the goal wasn't to get rid of it, but to get better at holding it?
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from a feeling and dive deep into one of the most relevant topics in work and careers right now.
Drawing on Margaret Heffernan's Embracing Uncertainty, Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar-Lewis's Uncertainty Toolkit, and a brilliant
#570 The Four People Every Squiggly Career Network Needs
Your career doesn't need a bigger network, it needs a better one. In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares the four roles that matter most for your career community, and why focusing on just these four makes building your career relationships feel a lot more doable.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– What a mentor actually is (and why they don't need to be senior or long-term to be valuable)
– Why a peer — som
#569 Why zero distance will make you better at your job
How close are you to yourself, your team and the people you serve? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from the concept of zero distance, a philosophy championed by brands like e.l.f. Beauty, and turn it into one of the most honest and practical self-reflection exercises they've done on the podcast.
Using Post-it® Notes and a simple scale, they plot themselves live on six differe
#568 Why Slowing Down Makes You a Better Learner
In a world that keeps telling you to learn faster, what if slowing down was actually the smarter move?
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah makes the case for slow learning, and shares three questions and three actions to help you get started.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why slow learning and fast learning aren't competing, they're complementary
– Three questions from the beautiful Slow Learning website
#567 How to use Tiny experiments to make progress at work | Tiny Experiments
What if the key to navigating uncertainty wasn't a better plan - but a better experiment?
In this episode, Sarah borrows brilliance from Anne-Laure Le Cunff, author of Tiny Experiments. Together they explore what it means to have an experimental mindset, how to design a tiny experiment using the PACT framework, and why the only experiments that fail are the ones you don't learn from. If you've
#566 The Only Script You Need for Curious Career Conversations
Most people wait until they're ready to make a career move before having career conversations.
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares the only script you need to make curious career conversations feel less daunting and a lot more useful.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– What a curious career conversation actually is, and why having them regularly (not just when you're ready to move) makes a real differen
#565 Networks, Progression and Guilt: Six Career Opinions From Emma Grede | Start With Yourself
Emma Grede has some strong opinions about careers, and not everyone will agree with all of them. In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from Start With Yourself, Emma's new book, picking out six of her most provocative statements and asking the question: do we agree?
Emma Grede, co-founder of Skims and Good American, is refreshingly unfiltered about what it takes to build a career o
Communication and how to use it to create opportunity in your career (Day 5) | Open to Work
In a world full of words, the people who communicate with clarity, humanity and story will stand out.
In the fifth and final episode of this special series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman close out Open to Work with the last of the five Cs, communication, and why it might be the skill that ties everything together.
From Martin Luther King to Pixar to the pressure of a TED Talk, this is a conversation
Compassion and why being more human is becoming a career advantage (Day 4) | Open to Work
What if compassion isn't just a nice-to-have, but one of the most important skills for the future of work?
In day four of this special five-part series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman explore the fourth C, compassion, and why the new world of work demands something the industrial age actively discouraged.
From quietening your inner critic to really listening to a colleague, this is a conversation about
Creativity and the human skill AI can't replicate (Day 3) | Open to Work
Creativity isn't a talent some people have and others don't, it's a skill. In day three of this special five-part series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman explore the third C, creativity, and why it's becoming one of the highest-value human skills in an age when AI can generate generic content at scale.
From Pixar's science of storytelling to the neuroscience of flow, this is a conversation that will chan
Courage and why playing it safe in your career is becoming riskier (Day 2) | Open to Work
Even if you're not changing jobs, your job is changing. In day two of this special five-part series, Helen and Aneesh Rahman explore the second C, courage, and why it's becoming one of the most important skills you can bring to work right now.
From Polynesian wayfarers to Apollo 13 to leaving a high-profile CNN career to become an unpaid intern on a presidential campaign, courage has always been
The Careers Skills AI can't replace (Day 1) | Open to Work
What if the future of work isn't less human...but more human? In this special episode, Helen kicks off a brand new five-part series borrowing brilliance from Open to Work, a brilliant new book by Aneesh Rahman, Chief Economic Opportunity Officer at LinkedIn, and former Obama speechwriter.
Over the next five days, Helen and Aneesh will explore the five human skills that matter most in the age of A
#564 Why Slowing Down Makes You Better at Solving Problems
Are you a fix-it-fast problem solver?
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen makes the case for slowing down before you jump to solutions.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why surface-level fixes create ping pong problems that just keep coming back
– How to use two simple questions "why is this a problem?" and "why is this an issue?" to get to the cause
– How to turn your answers into better, more targeted solut
#563 Finish Line Focus: How to Build Momentum Towards Goals That Matter
Have you ever noticed how much more you get done in the week before a holiday?
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from the goal gradient effect; the research-backed finding that the closer we are to a finish line, the harder and faster we push, and turn it into something genuinely practical for your career.
Sarah introduces Finish Line Fridays: a simple way to use the psych
#562 The 24 Hour Rule: Why Waiting Makes You Better at Work
Ever sent a reply you immediately regretted, or said something in the heat of the moment you wish you hadn't?
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah makes the case for the 24 hour rule, and shares the research that backs up why waiting is almost always worth it.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why giving yourself 24 hours moves you beyond fight, flight or freeze (and why sleep is doing more work than you think
#561 How to Spend More Time in Your Zone of Genius at Work
How much of your working week are you spending on things you're genuinely great at, and how much is quietly draining you?
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from Gay Hendricks' Zone of Genius framework, sparked by Emma Grede's book Start With Yourself, and turn it into one of the most practically useful exercises they've tried in a while.
They work through all 4 zones live, c
#560 4 Ways to Stop Self-Sabotage at Work
Does your inner critic get loudest exactly when you need it to be quiet? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen unpacks what self-sabotage actually looks and feels like at work, and shares four simple things you can do to start turning the volume down.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why self-sabotage tends to show up hardest in the moments that matter most (and what that costs you over time)
– How to spot the s
#559 What to Do When Your Work Feels Pointless
Have you ever finished a week at work and wondered what you actually did that mattered? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from David Graeber's book Bulls*it Jobs...and find it uncomfortably relatable.
Helen and Sarah explore what pointless work actually looks like, why it's more common than most of us admit, and, crucially, what you can do if you find yourself in it.
🎯 What You
#558 Where to Start When You Feel Overwhelmed at Work
Feeling overwhelmed at work? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah shares three strategies that got her through a particularly full-on week, starting with something most of us don't do nearly enough.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why signalling early to the people around you is one of the most useful things you can do when you're overwhelmed (and how to tell them what kind of help you actually need)
– Why emp
3 Frameworks That Could Change How You Work (And How to Use Them)
Could a framework change the way you think about your time, your strengths, or your team? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from three tried-and-tested strategic models, and put them to the test with AI prompts, Post-it® Big Notes, and a live coaching conversation to see how useful they actually are.
From a classic time management matrix to a strengths development tool to a team
Should You Stay or Should You Go? A Simple Matrix to Help You Decide
Should you stay or should you go? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares a simple matrix to help you think more clearly about one of the most common career questions she gets asked, and move beyond gut feeling alone.
🎯 What You'll Learn– How to use a two-by-two matrix to work out where you are right now in your career– What to do if you love where you work but aren't learning (and why this isn't
Could Gamifying Your Work Week Make You Better at What You Do?
Are you a "track everything" person or a "just do the thing" person? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from the world of gamification — and have a genuinely fun debate about whether it actually works for your career.
Helen comes in as a convert (she gamifies her sleep, her deep sleep, her exercise, her steps, and possibly her vegetables). Sarah comes in as a sceptic. What unfolds
Mentor with Your Talents, Not Your Title
What if mentoring had nothing to do with seniority — and everything to do with strengths? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah makes the case for a more inclusive, more accessible approach to mentoring that every team can make happen straight away.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why strengths-based mentoring is more useful than traditional senior-to-junior mentoring
– Three ways to make it work: one way,
Draw Your Way to a Better Workday
When did you last draw something at work? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from the science of drawing — and make a surprisingly strong case for why picking up a pen (or a Post-it® Note) could be one of the most useful things you do this week.
From boosting your mood to supercharging your memory, drawing does things for your brain that writing simply can't. Helen and Sarah put t
3 Ways to Be More Persuasive at Work
How do you get people to actually listen — and say yes — more often? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares three simple, research-backed ways to become more influential at work. Whether you're trying to get an idea across, shift an outcome, or build stronger working relationships, this episode will give you practical things you can do both in the moment and over time.
🎯 What You'll Learn
Why
The Difference Between Working Hard and Getting Better | Big Think
What does it actually take to go from good to great at work — and is "mastery" even the right word for it?
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from The Big Think's collection of articles on mastery, and make it feel a lot more relevant to everyday squiggly careers than the word itself might suggest.
They explore two big ideas: how to master your response to tricky situations (th
Squiggly Shortcut: Listen Like You Mean It (5 Ways to Improve)
90% of us think we're good listeners — but we retain about 20% of what we hear. In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah shares five practical ways to close that listening gap, starting with the one thing most of us never even notice.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why listening isn't just about words — and what to pay attention to instead
– How the pressure to respond is the biggest enemy of good listening
– Why
How to read with a learning mindset
What if the way you read could transform how much you actually learn, remember and use? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from Ryan Holiday's video How to Read Like a Pro — and add a few rules of their own.
From building an anti-library (the books you'd never normally pick up) to treating your books like they're meant to be used, not preserved, this is a practical and personal exp
Squiggly Shortcut: 3 Ways to Feel Less Stuck When Work Feels Uncertain
Does work feel a bit knotty right now? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares three practical ways to find your footing when everything around you feels uncertain — whether that's a restructure, a shifting role, or just the general noise of a complicated economic moment.
🎯 What You'll Learn
– Why focusing on what you do know is the best antidote to feeling overwhelmed by what you don't
– How to u
Kaizen: The Japanese Method That Turns 1% Improvements into Career Growth
In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore how to 'Kaizen your squiggly career', borrowing brilliance from the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement.
They discuss why big career changes can feel overwhelming and how focusing on small, manageable improvements can help you build momentum without triggering fear or overthinking. Along the way, they introduce four key Kaizen ideas and translate
Squiggly Shortcut: Small Ways to Make Play Part of Your Team Day
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah shares how to bring small, low-pressure moments of play into team days, without falling into the trap of forced fun. She shares why play matters for learning, connection, and wellbeing, and offers simple, practical ideas that teams can try in just a few minutes.
Episode 546
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How to Stop Cynicism from Stalling Your Career Growth
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from a talk by Lord Michael Hastings at the London Interdisciplinary School about leading responsibly in an uncertain world. The conversation sparks the question: what happens when cynicism creeps into our careers?
They explore how everyday thoughts like “there’s no point applying", ” “the system is rigged,” or “nothing will change anyway” can qui
Squiggly Shortcut: How to Boost Your Motivation in a Knotty Career Moment
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares three simple ways to boost your motivation when you’re stuck in a “knotty moment” at work. Whether it’s unexpected feedback, a tricky project, a difficult relationship, or even feeling stuck in the wrong role, these situations can quickly drain your energy and momentum. This episode gives you practical, in-the-moment ideas to help you reset, regain a sense o
The 4 Attachment Styles and How They Show Up at Work
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from the psychology of attachment styles and explore what this concept can teach us about working relationships. Sparked by a Harvard Business Review article on managing insecure leaders, they unpack the four main attachment styles and what they might look like in the workplace: secure, anxious, avoidant-dismissive, and fearful-avoidant.
If you’ve
Squiggly Shortcut: How to ask for feedback in a way that puts learning first
Asking for feedback can feel uncomfortable. What if you hear something you don’t agree with? What if it confirms your worst fears? And how do you ask without it feeling formal or awkward? In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah shares 3 simple ways to ask for feedback that actually helps you learn and grow.
Episode 542
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A Practical Guide to Prototyping at Work
This week’s episode comes to you from a very snowy New York, where Sarah and Helen are launching the US edition of Learn Like a Lobster - in the middle of the biggest blizzard in ten years. Despite battling icy steps and snowy conditions, they’re diving into a topic that could transform how you approach ideas at work: prototyping.
Borrowing brilliance from Nesta, Sarah and Helen explore a practica
Squiggly Shortcut: Give to Gain - The Career Strategy Nobody Talks About
If networking feels awkward or transactional, this Squiggly Shortcut offers a simpler starting point: give to gain. Helen explores why focusing on what you can contribute, rather than what you can get, makes building relationships easier and more effective. Generosity strengthens connections and creates reciprocity, a concept backed by research from Adam Grant. To make it practical, she shares thr
How to Change Behaviour at Work
In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from a powerful Harvard Business Review article by James Elfer, Siri Chilazi, and Edward Chang on the science of behaviour change at work.They unpack the “Four T’s” model, a practical framework used in big organisations to drive measurable behaviour change. But instead of keeping it theoretical, they apply it to real team challenges like:
- Reduci
Squiggly Shortcut: How to Influence People Who Disagree With You
If influence sometimes feels uncomfortable or awkward, this is a fresh take that reframes it as collaboration rather than persuasion. In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah shares a practical, three-step approach to influencing with curiosity rather than control. Using the example of someone challenging the idea of squiggly careers, Sarah explores why pushing harder rarely works and why listening first
3 LinkedIn Top Voices to Follow for a Smarter, More Future-Proof Career
How do you make your LinkedIn feed work harder for your career instead of just scrolling past the same ideas on repeat? In this episode, Helen and Sarah are Borrowing Brilliance from LinkedIn’s Top Voices list. They share three people worth following right now and why. This episode is all about curating smarter inputs, breaking out of echo chambers, and learning faster from the right voices.
Episo
Squiggly Shortcut: 3 Self-Awareness Habits That Increase Your Career Growth
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares why self-awareness is one of the most important skills for your career and how to build it in small, practical ways. Rather than relying on reflection alone, she explains how self-awareness also means understanding how others experience you and offers three simple exercises to help you spot blind spots, manage your energy, and support your growth.
Episode 53
Deck of Brilliance: 3 Ways to Think Differently When You’re Stuck at Work
Do you ever find yourself going round in circles with the same problem or struggling to come up with fresh ideas at work? In this episode, Helen and Sarah are borrowing brilliance from the Deck of Brilliance - a creative thinking tool packed with prompts to help you break out of your default patterns and see things differently. Together, they explore three simple techniques that help you reset you
Squiggly Shortcut: An Introverts Guide to Networking
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Sarah shares practical, low-pressure ways to network when you’re more introverted than extroverted. Rather than forcing yourself into energy-draining events or awkward small talk, Sarah reframes networking as learning, connection, and curiosity and offers simple strategies that feel more natural and sustainable.
Episode 529
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Squiggly Careers Live: How You Can Keep Learning at Work (Even When It Feels Hard)
In this special live episode of Squiggly Careers, Helen and Sarah take to the stage to explore one of the trickiest parts of career growth - learning through the uncomfortable, uncertain, and messy moments. Borrowing brilliance from lobsters, they share the idea from their new book Learn Like a Lobster of 'shell shedding' — the vulnerable transitions we all go through when we outgrow old roles, id
CEO Shell-Shedding Moments: Learning How to Let Go & Lead Differently with TEDs Logan McClure Davda
This is the fifth and final episode in our Shell-Shedding Moments series, a series where CEOs and leaders share the vulnerable moments, the challenges, mistakes, and personal revelations that most people never see. In this episode, Logan McClure Davda, CEO of TED, reflects on stepping into leadership at one of the world’s most influential idea-sharing organisations and the personal shifts that cam
CEO Shell-Shedding Moments: Purpose, Perspective and Learning from Mistakes with Nick Bent
This is the fourth episode in our Shell-Shedding Moments series, a series where CEOs and leaders share the vulnerable moments, the challenges, mistakes, and personal revelations that most people never see. In this episode, Nick Bent, CEO of UpReach, opens up about the moments that tested him, from handling technology mishaps to resetting organizational culture. He shares how embracing challenges,
CEO Shell-Shedding Moments: Kill or Continue? Making Hard Decisions with Fight Story's Georgie Holt
This is the third episode in our Shell-Shedding Moments series, a series where CEOs and leaders share the vulnerable moments, the challenges, mistakes, and personal revelations that most people never see. Today's episode is with Flight Story CEO Georgie Holt, who shares why great ideas are rarely obvious or easy, why comfort is the enemy of growth, and the necessity of experimentation to drive rea
CEO Shell-Shedding Moments: How to Fix Friction at Work Fast with Helen Tupper
In this special CEO Shell-Shedding Moments episode, Sarah interviews Helen, about the uncomfortable moments that help us grow. From difficult interviews to co-founder friction and communication challenges, Helen shares what happens when things feel hard at work and how to fix friction fast before it festers. If you’ve ever replayed a mistake, avoided an awkward conversation, or felt stuck in a wor
CEO Shell-Shedding Moments: Opening Up about Mental Health at Work with Zaid Al-Qassab
Welcome to Shell-Shedding Moments, a series where CEOs share the vulnerable moments, the challenges, mistakes, and personal revelations that most people never see. Today's episode is with CEO Zaid Al-Qassab who opens up about his experiences with depression, the challenges of leading while managing mental health, and the power of vulnerability in the workplace. Zaid shares how embracing these mome
How to ask for help at work (without feeling awkward)
In this Squiggly Shortcut episode, Helen shares a practical, step-by-step framework for asking for help at work in a way that feels confident, clear, and effective.
Many of us struggle to ask for help because we fear looking incompetent, don’t want to burden others, or try to push through on our own. Helen breaks down how to neutralize that anxiety, identify what kind of help you need - support, s
5 formulas for a high impact introduction
How do you introduce yourself in a way that turns a polite “nice to meet you” into a genuine “tell me more”? In this episode, Helen and Sarah are Borrowing brilliance from Rebecca Okamoto’s TED Talk How to Introduce Yourself and Get Hired. They unpack five simple formulas you can use to make high-impact introductions — whether you’re meeting someone new, speaking at an event, or kicking off a meet
Skills Sprint: How to Lead Your Own Learning by Sharing It
In this fifth and final episode of the Learn Like a Lobster skill sprint, Helen and Sarah introduce "Helpful How-Tos" - a simple, fun way to share knowledge that helps you learn faster and helps your team too. You'll discover why sharing makes learning stick, how to overcome confidence gremlins, and a practical (and fun) format you can use immediately with your team to keep learning and growing.
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Skills Sprint: How to Lead Your Own Learning with Adaptability
When it comes to learning at work, it’s easy to wait for permission - from managers, organisations, or “the right moment.” In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore how to lead your own learning, even when time, money, or support feel limited. This is Day 4 of the Learn Like A Lobster skill sprint, and the focus is on adaptability — the skill that helps you keep learning when things don’t go to pla
Skills Sprint: How to Learn in Hard Moments (Without Spiralling)
This is Day 3 of the Learn Like a Lobster skill sprint, and today Helen and Sarah share a simple way of reflecting on hard moments at work so you can learn faster, avoid recency bias, and take control in tough situations.
Because when work feels messy, reflection is often the first thing we skip - or overdo. In this episode, you’ll learn practical tools, including the 5:1 formula and the WWW/EBI f
Skills Sprint: How to Learn From Feedback (Even When It’s Uncomfortable)
This is Day 2 of the Learn Like a Lobster skill sprint, and today Helen and Sarah focus on one of the hardest - and most important - career skills: how to give and receive tough feedback. Learning doesn’t just happen after the difficult moment has passed - some of the most powerful development happens while things feel uncomfortable. In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore how to learn in the har
Skills Sprint: How to Learn as You Go (Without Finding More Time)
Today, Helen and Sarah are kicking off the Learn Like A Lobster skill sprint with Day 1: Learn As You Go.
In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore how you can keep learning as part of your everyday, without having to find more time. They share practical ways to collect data for your growth - including understanding your strengths, tracking your listen-talk ratio, and optimising your productivity -
Squiggly Shortcut: 5 Questions That Will Transform Your Career Conversations
January is always a good moment to pause, think about the big picture and zoom out when we're thinking about the future and direction of our career. In today's shortcut, Sarah shares 5 questions to help you have useful career conversations whether that's with your manager, a friend or with yourself.
Episode 525
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Spaciousness – How to manage your attention, not your time
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In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore the idea of spaciousness at work — a powerful alternative to constant busyness that’s less about managing time and more about managing attention. Borrowing brilliance from Megan Reitz and her research on spaciousness, they unpack why doing more isn’t always the answer, and how creating space can
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How To Reset Your Team To Achieve More Together
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I In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore how to reset your team so you can achieve more together. Borrowing brilliance from Colin Fisher and his book Collective Edge, they unpack what really makes teams outperform, and why having lots of smart people isn’t enough on its own.
This episode is all about practical resets you can do with
Part 2: 6 Squiggly Careers Trends in 2026 – Redundancy, Accountability & Why Learning Matters More Than Promotions
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In this episode, Helen and Sarah share part two of their career trends and themes for 2026, focusing on what’s most likely to shape how you work, grow, and stay resilient in the year ahead. This conversation tackles some of the tougher (but very real) topics at work — from restructures and redundancies, to the tension between autonomy
Part 1: 6 Squiggly Career Trends in 2026 - AI Agents, Disconnection & Employee Influencers
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In this episode, Helen and Sarah kick off a two-part series exploring six Squiggly Career trends for 2026 — not as distant predictions, but as realistic changes that are already shaping how we work and build our careers.
Rather than watching trends happen to you, this conversation is about anticipating what’s coming and choosing how to
End of Year Review: What Our Highs & Lows Taught Us In 2025
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In this episode, Helen and Sarah do something they’ve made a tradition at Squiggly Careers: a year in review. This year they're sharing honest reflections using a simple but powerful framework: high–low learning. This chatty, behind-the-scenes episode is designed to help you reflect too. Whether you do this solo, with a learning buddy
Squiggly Shortcut: How to Feel More in Control of Your Career (Even in Uncertain Times)
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Sometimes your career can feel unclear, uncertain, or hard to navigate — especially in a squiggly world where linear paths don’t really exist. If you’re feeling stuck, unsure of your next step, or craving more direction, these simple clarity-creating strategies will help you find focus, feel more in control, and move forward with confi
How to Reduce Work Stress and Anxiety With Simple Breathing Techniques
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Sometimes work (and life) can feel full-on — especially at this time of year when deadlines, expectations and emotions all seem to intensify. Whether your mind is racing before a meeting, you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything on your plate, or emotions are getting in the way of what you want to say, these simple and science-backed b
Squiggly Shortcut: How To Move From Complexity To Clarity
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Sometimes work can feel messy, complicated, or simply “a lot”. Whether you’re drowning in tasks, unsure where to begin, or struggling to make sense of something hard, these small-but-mighty strategies help you pause, prioritise and move forward with more confidence.
Episode 517
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3 Hard Work Conversations & How To Handle Each One with Confidence
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This week, Helen and Sarah revisit insights from three podcast guests—Amy Gallo, Celeste Headlee, and Dr. Sunita Sah—to tackle a topic many of us shy away from: difficult conversations.
From team conflicts and moments of defensiveness to speaking up when something feels off, these everyday challenges can shape how we collaborate, grow,
Squiggly Shortcut: Discover Hidden Career Opportunities in 5 Minutes a Day
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In this Squiggly Career Shortcut, Helen shares five simple, everyday ideas that can have a big impact on your development—no long courses or huge time commitments needed. These micro-habits take just minutes but build confidence, clarity, and resilience over time.
Episode 515
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The Power of Mattering: How to Feel Valued and Valuable in Your Career
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This week on the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from Dr. Zach Mercurio’s book The Power of Mattering. They talk about how mattering goes beyond belonging, why it boosts motivation and wellbeing, and what happens when we feel invisible or replaceable at work. From personal reflections on high and low matteri
Squiggly Shortcut: Why We Need To Ban The Word Busy
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When people describe their week at work in one word, pretty much 90% of people use the word busy. By swapping this vague default for a more specific and honest word, you can understand your week more clearly, make better choices, and create more meaningful momentum in your squiggly career. From feeling overwhelmed to making progress, S
7 Types of Rest to Recharge and Do Your Best at Work
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This week, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, who writes about the seven types of rest that everyone needs.
Rest is far more than sleep — it’s a set of rituals that help you restore energy, creativity, and motivation in your squiggly career. From physical and mental rest to creative, emotional, and social
Squiggly Shortcut: How To Be a Speed Learner in 5 Minutes
🦞 Join our Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://bit.ly/4oZzJ3F
In this Squiggly Shortcut, Helen shares five practical ideas to help you become a speed learner at work — so you can keep growing, adapting, and learning even when time is tight. From instant inspiration to everyday experiments, these quick and simple strategies will help you learn faster, stay curious, and build learning into your day
The Marshmallow Test: How to Master Delayed Gratification for Career Success
🦞 Join our Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://bit.ly/4oZzJ3F
This week on the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from a sweet source — the marshmallow experiment — to explore how the science of delayed gratification applies to our work and career choices.
Inspired by the famous psychology study, they unpack what it means to make one marshmallow versus two marshmallow dec
Squiggly Shortcut: You Don’t Need a Perfect Plan to Change Careers — Here’s What to Do Instead
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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Team Emotional Intelligence: The Secret to High-Performing Teams
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 perfor
Squiggly Shortcut: 3 Ways To Stand Out To Senior Stakeholders
✨ 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,
The Psychology of Seats: How To Boost Your Impact & Influence At Work
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
Squiggly Shortcut: How to Quieten Your Inner Critic
✨ 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,
Map Your Career: 5 Visual Tools to Find Clarity and Direction
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 mappin
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