What does it mean to have a career calling? Where does such a thing come from? How is it shaped by our work environments? Is it always positive, or is there also a dark side?

This episode, I talk with Sophie Gerdel about the concept of a career calling. We discuss what it means, how it can be of use, and its potential in the Future of Work.

Follow Sophie and her work on her LinkedIn. Also, consider taking her short assessment on Calling to reflect on your current role!

For more of my work, visit my blog.

Further Reading

LSE Business Review article: The Many Ways to Make a Meaningful Career Out of a Calling

Gerdel, S., Bergner, S., & Vianello, M. (2025). Fostering calling in the leader–member exchange: individual and team-level effects. Career Development International, 30(3), 309–325. https://doi.org/10.1108/cdi-12-2023-0446

Zhou, S., Aitken, J. A., & Kuykendall, L. (2023). Callings can take different shapes: Scope, proximity and duration as new complexifications of calling. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 97(1), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12459

Will humans be replaced by robots in the near future?

Is AI something that ought to be thought of as a colleague?

These are some of the questions for my guest today as we discuss the Future of Work!

I talk to Professor Tiziana C. Callari from the University of Turin who pursues these themes in her research.

In an effort to separate hype from reality, we discuss what the Future of Work actually looks like based on her years of research and insights. Our conversation covers themes like: Industry 5.0, human-robot integration, meaningful work, re-skilling, craftsmanship, and so much more!

Share this episode and follow this podcast for future conversations with scholars who study various aspects of work.

Find my work > Professional Development Designs

How is it that so much resource is spent on training, and yet behaviour remains unchanged?

We can look to the extensive research done on the topic of training transfer and find several reasons why. And, even better, find recommendations for potential ways to make that transfer have more of an impact.

If you would like to read some of the academic articles referenced in this episode, here they are:

- Making soft skills stick: a systematic scoping review and integrated training transfer framework grounded in behavioural science

- 100 Years of Training and Development Research: What We Know and Where We Should Go

- Work factors influencing the transfer stages of soft skill training: A literature review

- The differences between hard and soft skills and their relative impact on training transfer

- Transfer of Training: A Review and Directions for Future Research

Also, here's a way to improve the interactive nature of your online check-ins with your team -> Mentimeter

Good luck, Professionals!

The relationship between attitudes and behaviours is complex. Perhaps you can immediately bring to mind some examples of how attempts to implement change at work were a major flop.

So.

How do we engage in the process so that change does in fact come?

How do we avoid putting good resources in bad places and then have a collective panic when the same old problems persist?

This episode features references to the following:

- The Role of Attitudes in Work Behavior

- Intervention Preparedness Tool- VIA Character Strengths Survey

- Reflected Best Self exercises

- Feedforward Interviews (follow Table 1 for instructions)

Getting people to change their behaviour(s) is difficult - but communicating well, creating a space for concerns, identifying shared goals, promoting autonomy, and having a Before, During, and After plan for the change will greatly improve its viability.

Good luck, Professionals!

It's time to circle back. We've put a pin in it and we're circling back!

Actually, to be completely honest, your organisation failed to put a pin in it to begin with and that's half the problem. You became a manager one day and everyone moved on with their lives. No training, no development, no new skill set. Eek!

We shall right that wrong on today's episode as we go back to The Basics and talk about four good working habits that will stand you (and your team) in good stead for future challenges.

What are The Basics, you ask? Being composed, kind, clear, and conscientious. Let's get those right, Professionals.

My dearest Managers, would you like to hear the good news or the bad news first?

The bad news is: you're missing a powerful component from your tool kit.

The good news: you've got a tool kit! And you've got me.

Yes, we've been doing Learning a real disservice, I'm afraid. We've limited it to inadequate spaces, left it for someone else to deal with, and not sharpened our skills to make better use of it on our teams. Dear, oh, dear. Let's fix that, shall we?

In this episode, I'll outline common pitfalls we encounter when engaging with the concept of Learning and set you on the path to righteousness. How am I going to do that? With our best friend, evidence-based practice from that light in the professional storm - Organisational Psychology.

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How, exactly, does one make a team work?

It turns out - common assumptions that have been allowed to fester in the ol' organisational spaces aren't exactly super duper. You may be well aware of that if you look at your particular crack squad of slightly less than savvy, motivated personnel and think, "Oh, dear." Never fear, though - help is on the way!

In this episode, I'll outline some common errors we make as managers and why they are less helpful. After that, I'll share some evidence-based solutions to these problems in the shape of real, practical changes you can start making today.

Here are some promised links:

(Lacerenza et al., 2018) Teamwork Development Interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork

(Woolley et al., 2010) Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups

The Recruitment Show - Attract and Retain People with Psychology with Dr Susie Phillips-Baker

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time

I'm sometimes here:

@butimaprofesh

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This mini mini series is for the managers out there who are confounded, bemused, and perplexed at the state of affairs within their motley crew.

The basics of solid, non-trend-chasing manager skills is still something we get wrong - despite having a large amount of evidence to help us get it right.

So let's do that in this series - let's get some of the major wrongs right and let science lead the way.

This episode is about resilience and how our language, perceptions, and work design is standing in the way of making it happen. I'll offer you some ways to make small but effective changes to your team so that they can develop and deploy resilience, rather than succumbing to burnout and exhaustion.

Sorry for the background noises. Can someone send me a soundproof recording booth, please? Thanks.

The artist formerly know as Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Substack: nancyelizabeth

Either passively or intentionally, we mere overworked and underpaid mortals consume a fairly consistent feed of extraordinary claims from one day to the next.

"Social media is a great place to connect with others!" - Is it?

"We're reducing our carbon footprint and making real changes around here!" - Oh, are you?

"We need to raise your heating/electric/food bill!" - Do you now? Sorry, you'll have to speak up - I can't hear you over the CEO banking his bonus.

At the risk of upsetting the ghost of Carl Sagan, sometimes extraordinary claims are made without extraordinary evidence to back them up. Other times, extraordinary evidence inexplicably does not seem to beget extraordinary claims - even when well deserved. What are some claims you hear at work and see no evidence to support it?

In this episode, I'll give you some examples of claims that do not match their evidence with a desperate imbalance on one side or the other. I'll also give you some considerations for work that are bizarrely not extraordinary claims.

The citation for the article I quote is: Julian Decius, Michael Knappstein & Katharina Klug (2023): Which way of learning benefits your career? The role of different forms of work-related learning for different types of perceived employability, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/1359432X.2023.2191846

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What would you say your character strengths are?

Do you have any idea or does that question lead to a lot of blinking, frowning, and random adjectives spewing forth from your unsure self?

Fear not, dear Professional. In today's episode, I'm going to talk you through the very useful work done by some psychologists who were interested in developing a list of good character traits (24 of them, in fact!) that we all possess to varying degrees. I'll tell you how you can learn about your traits, why it's useful to apply in the workspace, and some practical ways you may be able to do so.

We're talking self-reflection, introspection, goal setting, job crafting and much much more. Come along, Professionals - we've got some wellbeing to foster!

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Substack: /nancyelizabeth

Email: butimaprofessional@gmail.com

Did you have to do a personality test on your last Team Building Exercise day? Ew.

Are you in the habit of saying the phrase, "I'm a ___(zodiac sign)___, I'm no good at ___(skill)___"? Sigh.

Does your Org hire, manage, and lead people by putting a lot of weight on their personalities being an issue rather than doing the much more useful work of building a learning culture? Boooooo!

Labels are usually unhelpful and limiting. They hold back growth and perpetuate phenomena that is often entirely constructed. We can do better as colleagues, managers, leaders, and humans by dropping the labels and applying an evidence-based understanding of ourselves and others.

Your 'personality' is a complex blend of environmental influence, learned behaviour, cultural norms, habits... and on and on. So, rather than adhere to the fixed mindset of a limiting label - let's learn how we can grow and evolve within the complex continuums we encompass.

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Substack: nancyelizabeth

Are you a woman who has the audacity to exist in a professional space? Well. You'll be all too familiar with interruptions and being 'mansplained' to on a regular basis, no doubt.

Why does this happen?

How does it negatively impact your professional development?

What can you do about it?

In this episode I'll give you some potential reasons why we experience this type of behaviour at work. Research on this topic suggests that we perceive women in a way that doesn't always match the reality. While that is unfair and further complicates the issues, we mustn't despair. It is our collective responsibility to do better and to reshape how we communicate with each other in our professional spaces.

Please enjoy this episode featuring a lot of me sighing because women having to find ways of functioning in the face of micro-aggressions is some tedious bullshit. *sigh* Many thanks to a listener in Australia for requesting this topic!

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Substack: /nancyelizabeth

Email: butimaprofessional@gmail.com

In season five, I'll talk to scholars and experts who study the world of work.

Tune in to hear what evidence-based recommendations they have on topics like resilience, leadership, wellbeing, ageism, AI, dignity, and much much more!

This episode I shall talk - at some length - about where I think the future of leadership is headed. Namely, into the welcoming bosom of positive psychology.

I know... you got a lot of questions. Questions like, what's positive psychology? What's it got to do with leadership? Why is this episode so long?

All will be revealed, dear Professional. I'll give you some background on the research surrounding positive leadership, how you can take those research outcomes and apply them to your work, and to formulate an action plan to set yourself up for improved leadership efficacy!

Please enjoy my guest speaker, the washing machine, as it vibrates through my home office floor and into your headphones.

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Substack: nancyelizabeth.substack.com

This week's episode is about the F word... yep. Failure. *gasp*

Do not worry - this is not one of those podcast episodes where I'm going to explain how you need to 'fail fast' or 'forward' or some such trash.

No, no.

Over here in BIAP Land, we're more interested in considering how the shame and fear of failure negatively impacts our professional development. Let us consider some of the following questions:

What impact does outside pressure have on our inner relationship to failure?

How does it impact our ability to lead well or for our Orgs to learn?

In what ways does it impact our interactions and exchanges at work?

What can we do to develop a more useful relationship with failure?

Tune in to learn some useful steps you can take to have a more skillful relationship with failure and see its value.

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Substack: nancyelizabeth.substack.com

Last episode was about meta-narratives, big beliefs, and overarching ideas as they relate to storytelling and how we understand our world (of work). This week we're considering the nuts and bolts of stories - how do we ultimately shape structure for effective delivery and reception?

We'll talk a bit about narrative paradigm theory - my degree in Literature finally being put to good use!

We'll talk about literal storytelling application in the professional space, and how to execute that well.

And finally, we'll talk stealth storytelling - what is that, you wonder??? Well, I guess you'll just have to tune in to find out.

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This is part one of a two part-er ... which means it's a topic so large and in charge, I needed two rounds with it - storytelling!

What are the stories you tell yourself, and what are the ones you tell others? How do we construct and participate in narratives that impact how we engage with our work? Big thoughts to think, dear listener, but well worth your time.

This episode I'll offer you some insight into how narratives shape your experience, why this plays a role in how we work, and how we can use storytelling to develop our understanding of self, connection to others, and chart a course for a happy ending.

Don't forget to share this episode with others so that we may spread the learning around!

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

In today's episode we shall discuss how our loneliness is killing us. Well, no killing per say - but definitely not making life any easier. 

In the Context section, I'll share some stats about loneliness in the US and the UK where (fairly consistently) 50% of the listeners tune in - and talk about some differing perspectives on what adds to our loneliness more broadly in society. 

In the Connect section, I'll share some reasons why loneliness may have a negative impact on your ability to do well in your professional life.

And finally, in the Coach section I'll go through some actions you may consider putting into place in an effort to reduce feelings of loneliness for you and your colleagues. 

There are some surprise sonic appearances in this episode as well like my washing machine - which was making a break for it during most of the recording.. so, enjoy that. 

Twitter: @butimaprofesh  

Who are you, professionally speaking? What group do you belong to? How do you know you belong? 

What motivates you? What are you interested in? What makes you feel capable and competent? 

Where are you going and where have you been?

If these types of questions make you draw a blank and/or teeter close to an existential crisis, an inquiry into your Professional Identity may be of some use. 

To better understand what your professional identity is and why you should engage with it (and how!) - listen to this week's episode. I'll give you some context, draw some connections to your professional development, and coach you through some actions to help you on your learning journey. So, the next time your boss asks who you are - you've got a well-developed answer!

Follow me on Twitter @butimaprofesh

Hello Professionals!

We are back for Season 3 of your favourite Professional Development podcast with me, Nancy Elizabeth (your perspicacious pathfinder), in our unending pursuit of learning and improving so that we may be well while we work well. No small feat. But if anyone can do it, you can. And if anyone can help you along the journey, I can. And I shall! 

Season 3 will continue with a range of topics fresh from the zeitgeist, a critical breakdown on why we should care, and an evidence-based collection of actions we can take to improve in that area.

Set your notifications and go find a notebook. 

It's time to get Professional.  

Follow on the twitter @butimaprofesh

Because I have no doubt that the very word 'teamwork' makes you hit replay on all the times it hasn't, in fact, made the dream work for you - I offer you this final episode on Relationship Management. 

Perhaps it hasn't worked because either it wasn't designed in a way to apply it in real-life spaces. Perhaps it hasn't worked because instead of actually training you and your colleagues on the foundational skills you need, a consultant was brought in to give everyone a personality test instead. Ugh. This is not how we're going to improve our teamwork competency. 

I offer you something much more useful, practical and evidence-based. Listen to this episode for ideas on how we can stitch better teamwork approaches into the very fabric of our working practice in the interest of building foundations, making changes, and engaging a little bit each day until our teams resemble what we hoped they could be. 

Come along, Professionals - let's get down to business. 

Do you aspire to inspire? Perhaps you're wondering why you should bother. Shouldn't everyone just listen to your brilliant ideas? 

Good points all - but if you were interested in learning more about why inspirational leadership is an approach worthy of developing, and how much crossover the skills have in one's ability to manage relationships more broadly - this is a good place to start. 

I'll talk about the traits that are helpful in building up your abilities in this area, how to apply them in the workplace, and why this may be of benefit with your overall professional development. 

You're the meaning in my life... you're the in-spir-a-tion! (is what your team will be singing to you, once you adopt these practices)

Twitter: @butimaprofesh  

Continuing on the road toward improving the ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions - we set our sights on Conflict Resolution in this episode. If you happen to work with humans, a bit of conflict resolution practice will help make your professional life a little easier. 

In this episode I'll talk about rethinking conflict, some potential causes for it, and why you shouldn't leave it to fester. Whether you're an individual who is simply interested in improving your EI toolkit or you're a manager who's at sea with how to deal with bickering teams, I've got some useful steps to help you along. 

Our goal is not to run from conflict, but to navigate it more skillfully and to make it work for us. Let's get ready to rumble! 

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Patreon: www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth 

In this episode, I attempt to cut through the AI hype and focus instead on practical workplace applications. I explore how professionals can actively incorporate AI into their workflow to reduce hindrance stressors rather than create new ones.

Neither 'doomerist' nor overly optimistic, this episode examines the concept of "Human-AI Task Fit" through an Organisational & Occupational Psychology lens. Learn a three-step approach for evaluating where AI can enhance your work:

Tools Assessment

Task Assessment

Collaborative Effort

I'll discuss the research behind successful AI implementation, common pitfalls including bias, errors, and allure - and how to ensure these technologies serve as resources rather than demands in your work.

Join me to discover how mindful AI integration can free you up for what makes work meaningful: autonomy, collaboration, and demonstrating your uniquely human competence.

If you are concerned about the potential stress of using more technologies in your work, please read my article on AI as a Techno-stress, and make use of the free resources linked within.

Good luck, Professionals!

Works Cited:

Bondanini, G., Giorgi, G., Ariza-Montes, A., Vega-Muñoz, A., & Andreucci-Annunziata, P. (2020).

Mollick, E. (n.d.). 15 Times to Use AI - and 5 Not To. One Useful Thing.

Raisch, S., & Krakowski, S. (2021)

Scholze, L., & Hecker, S. (2024).

Wang, Y., & Siau, K. (2019).

In this episode, I'll return to our investigation into Emotional Intelligence and how we can apply and utilise it in work spaces. A while back on the podcast we looked at the EI domain of Self Management. Now, we'll shift our learning to Relationship Management. Under this domain, there are several competencies we can develop and this episode will focus on Coaching. 

What is it? Who is it for? How can we make it effective? Well, it's a training intervention that's not just for executives and there are a few key factors to consider if we're going to expedite its success. What do you say we learn about those factors, hmm?? Yes.    

Grab your sweatbands and gym socks! It's time for a little bit of coaching.

Follow me on Twitter @butimaprofesh

What is it that you fear, dear Professionals? Is it failure? Is it change? Is it just a vague, all-encompassing fear of the Great Unknown???

Before you enter another day at work with the burden of fear heavy on your mind, listen to this episode. I'll talk about when fear is useful and when it isn't. I'll discuss how it potentially (negatively) impacts your professional development. And, as always, I'll go through some activities you can engage in as you attempt to make your brain work for you. 

I disagree with Roosevelt - we do, in fact, have things to fear beyond fear itself. We just need some practice at organising them into better (more useful) categories. So, listen in and let's work on developing that practice.

Please enjoy the occasional hum of my AC unit, the intervals of a tram vibrating by, and the odd thud from an upstairs neighbour as I help you be well in your working self. 

Tricky conversations at work have their own special flavour of challenge, wouldn't you say? Whether you have to take someone on a journey of why-did-you-do-that-stupid-thing-you-did or you're the one who did the thing, we're not very well equipped to navigate these spaces skillfully. 

Let's change that. 

Let's go through some different types of hard conversations we're likely to encounter in work spaces. Let's address what makes them hit harder than the equivalent in our personal lives. And, let's get some practices in place to make them less awful. 

We're talking about power struggles, parasympathetic systems, and perspective shifts - all in the name of a little more peace in your professional existence. We can make these hard conversations a little less heavy, I assure you.

Have you been suffering a bout of disengagement recently? Perhaps you or your team hasn't exactly been exemplifying the savvy motivated personnel practices you once did. What's wrong? Probably a couple of things - as is usually the case with anything that involves humans. 

Let's get things sorted into digestible chunks. First, let's remember why we care about engagement in the first place (hint: it's not only about productivity). Next, let's think about how we can improve it using top down + bottom up approaches. And finally, let's think of the actions that blow holes in the tank where we keep the reserves. 

Also, I'm not talking about employee satisfaction nor am I referring to that 'fun' event you planned last month where everyone wore a silly shirt. No, we're interested in people being engaged in what they're actually doing at work - not distracting themselves from how crap it is. 

For notes and references used in this episode, go to www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

To enjoy my brilliant insights on Twitter, follow @butimaprofesh

Should I go after that promotion? Do I tell my employer to stick it and go join a different organisation? Should I take on a qualification course right now? Is this the right time? Decisions, decisions! 

Decision needs come at us quick and hard in various shapes and sizes. In fact, the sheer magnitude of unrelenting requirements to yay or nay something can often overwhelm and paralyze us. So, how can we cope? 

Well. A very good place to start is by becoming better at categorizing decisions in the first place, then learning how to examine the varying factors in each of those categories, and finally combining that knowledge with a solid understanding of risk - all in the hopes of consistently firing off the best possible response in any given situation. Oh, and doing that in an appropriate time frame. Easy peasy, non???

This episode we're learning how to overcome barriers that negatively impact our personal decision-making at work so that you might get a little closer to feeling confident in this process.     

I'm sure by now you've considered (and hopefully have developed some skills on) how you can build trust in your romantic and your friendship-focused relationships. May I ask if you've done the same in your professional life? Whyever not?? 

There has been a noticeable shift in the recognition of how impactful trust is to an organisation, and those who work within them. We are not speaking about trust between company and customer - that is a different can of worms. No, no... we are setting our sights on how important trust is between you and those with whom you work. 

Why do we need to build trust? What makes a person trustworthy? How can we hone these fundamental interpersonal skills to make our professional lives easier? I've got all the answers you need in this episode. 

Trust me. I'm a professional.  

The past few years have been a whirlwind of change and chaos in our working lives. We've lost old habits, formed new ones, and are still dragging along some things we probably should not have added to the cart. Whoops. 

Never fear - it's nothing we can't change with a bit of unlearning and relearning. Not sure what I mean by all that? Well, let me walk you through it. Bring come brightly coloured pens because there will likely be a mind map involved. Bloody love a mind map on this channel. 

What habits are not serving us? Which ones are close but not quite getting it right? How do we stop them and what do we put in their place? The answers you seek are right this way, Professionals...

p.s. Won't you answer the poll question for this episode? I'm dead curious about where you're working from these days. Much appreciated!

Continuing on with our sub-theme of leadership development, we turn our attention to decision-making. The skill to make decisions well is incredibly important to your team, your organisation, the bottom line, and - last but most certainly not least, you sanity. If there is anything more maddening than the email 'conversation' that never ends, I have yet to encounter it. All talk, no action. No thank you. 

Tune in to this episode to learn a few steps you can take to diversify your decision-making skills, and how to make sure you hard work sticks. Also, at the end of this episode I go through how to use the message function to see if we can get some of your professional interests addressed. Remember to include: Your name, your region, your profession, what you're currently interested in developing. 

https://anchor.fm/nancy-elizabeth/message

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Patreon: www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

This episode is an acknowledgement that there is a gap in most organisations around adequate leadership training and development versus an ever-growing need.

Surely you've been on some sort of 2 day training programme and it may have even been useful! However, that pesky transfer gap haunts many of our organisations whereby we learn something and think it's fab (and it is) but when we get back to work it suddenly becomes less important than all the other issues that require your attention and so you just put it on the back burner for the time being.. and before you know it, you've forgotten everything you learnt on those colourful post-it themed activities. 

So, how can we participate in our own development (in conjunction with that workshop you've been on if it was any good) but in ways that are more incremental, actionable, and easily monitored through your own reflection? 

We can start by identifying the types of traits effective leaders have - the traits that research backs up and modern demands in the workplace cannot function without. We can also investigate our personal responsibility in the honing of those traits and look for ways to set that firmly into our professional practice.

Does this sound like something you could use some help with? Good! Let's jump in and see what we can do, dear leader...

Have you ever found yourself starting the process of taking on a professional opportunity only to hear a voice in the back of your head asking, "Are you the right person for this?" Did you listen to that voice and not bother with the application first nor last?

Self selecting isn't just a case of you taking yourself out of the running - it's also a phenomenon that comes out of people's fear of responsibility and change. Because fear can lead to a whole host of other issues down the line, we want to nip them in the bud early on.

So let's get better acquainted with the tendency for people to self-select out of an opportunity and let's get to know our collective fears better so that we can put them to good use.

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Patreon: www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

What EDI initiative will produce meaningful change in your organisation? Good question.

"Of the hundreds of studies we examine, a small fraction speak convincingly to the questions of whether, why, and under what conditions a given type of intervention works," (Paluck and Green, 2009, p.339).

That was a review published 15 years ago. Surely, things are different now!

"The past decade has seen rapid growth in research that evaluates methods for reducing prejudice," (Paluck et al., 2021, p. 533).

Yay!

"However, 76% of all studies evaluate light touch interventions, the long-term impact of which remains unclear," (ibid. p. 533).

Oh.

So, what does work? For practical (middle-manager layer) applications of a recent meta-analysis by Costa (2024), listen to this episode.

References

• Costa, E. (2024). Examining the effectiveness of interventions to reduce discriminatory behavior at work: An attitude dimension consistency perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001215

• Guillaume, Y. R., Dawson, J. F., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2015). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276–303. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2040

• Shea, C.M., Malone, M.F.F.T., Young, J.R. and Graham, K.J. (2019), "Interactive theater: an effective tool to reduce gender bias in faculty searches", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 178-187.  https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0187

In the final installment in this itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny mini series on Emotional Intelligence, we bask in the warm sunlight of having a Positive Outlook.

If you fear this is going to turn into a parade of cliches and a strong appeal to make you feel guilty for not having 'manifested' a senior leadership position yet - put those fears down. This is not me telling you the grass is always greener on the other side - no, sometimes that other side is an abandoned building with no windows and an awful lot of pigeon poo.

Positive Outlook is a competency that, when strengthened, will help us to improve our resilience and determination in the face of obstacles and setbacks. It helps in being able to find possibility and opportunity (where possible) in difficult circumstances. It's also key in working better with others (whether leading or following) and seeing challenges for what they are - challenges not catastrophes.

Grey skies are gonna clear up...

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Patreon: www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

Do you work with someone who just always seems to get stuff done? Doesn't do the drama, nor the emotion - just cracks on. Have you ever looked at your flaming pile of an inbox and thought, "I could never." Rubbish! You absolutely can - you just need a better approach.. a better orientation to achieving your goals, you might say. 

In this 3rd episode of our mini series on Self Management, we go through the competency of Achievement Orientation. Like the others, this competency is best applied in tandem with other skills in the domain - like Emotional Self Control. It's a practice that encourages us to meet a standard of excellence, seek out feedback, and to learn from the process.

How do we do that? Listen in to find out!

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Patreon: patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

This is the second in a mini-series of episodes focussed on developing our Emotional Intelligence. The previous episode talked about Emotional Self Control - of course it would help to go back and listen, but no need to worry about playing these in any order. Just make sure to listen to all four episodes to get the full benefit.

This series will look at the four domains of Emotional Intelligence, and the twelve competencies that fall under them. In this episode, we'll think about how we can work on flexing, stretching, and building our Adaptability muscles.

Change is inevitable - pull up a pew and let's learn how to use it to our advantage.

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Patreon: www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

This is the first in a mini-series of episodes devoted to the very important business of developing our Emotional Intelligence. Why are we trying to be more emotionally intelligent? Because it improves our focus, our decision-making skills, and our sense of well-being at work. Also, for those of you more concerned with bottom lines, it improves employee turnover numbers and boosts productivity. Yay, everyone's a winner!

This series will look at the four domains of EI as outlined by Daniel Goleman, and the 12 competencies that fall under them. In this particular episode, we'll discuss how we can work on Self-Management and more specifically, just how we can do that via more demonstrable emotional self-control.

All emotions are valid, but do not let them loose like a toddler having a tantrum in the supermarket.

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

Do you find yourself losing it at work - either via a shouting match with a colleague or seething quietly behind a screen as you fantasize about logging off and cartwheeling out of that hideous office, never to return again? We've all been there.. several times. Anger is a basic emotion that is triggered by a very long list of work-related stimuli and unfortunately, not having a developed ability and varied toolkit with which to use that anger in a skillful way can lead to weakened relationships at work. So, what do we do? Do we meditate our way out of this? No! You need anger - but you need to know how to not let it take the wheel. So let's learn how we can be more skillful when we encounter situations where anger wants to run us off the road. 

Twitter: @butimaprofesh

What is driving our current obsession with productivity? Why are there so many articles telling me how to get more done in less time, and other ones telling me it's exploitative and harmful? Which is it - purposeful or problematic? And how does it relate to my ability to stay well at work? 

Those are a lot of questions for an innocent bystander. Let's press on and parse what we ponder about the paradox of being productive as we attempt to better understand ourselves and how we navigate tricky areas of our professional lives. 

Feeling burnt out and a little all-over-the place at the office? Here are four habits that you can immediately start to action in your professional life. There are no superlative-filled promises here, just some achievable ways to make your working hours work better for you. To get the accompanying notes to this podcast, along with bonus episodes and other additional content, become a Patron at www.patreon.com/nancyelizabeth

Normally stress is something we try to avoid at work. In fairness, some days it feels everlasting. However, are all stressors made alike? Is there any use in some? Does it ever help in our work function?

In this episode, I highlight some of the research on something called 'hindrance stressors' and 'challenge stressors'. I give you examples of both, and discuss how challenge can be helpful in our professional development. As always, I highlight some practical actions that may put those challenge stressors to good use - for managers and for individuals.

References in this episode include:

• Laying the Foundation for the Challenge-Hindrance Stressor Framework 2.0
• Oliver Burkeman's Inconvenient Truth
• Bob Sutton, Huggy Rao - The Friction Project
• Prof Arnold B. Bakker - various publications
• Differences among a satisfied, a meaningful, and a psychologically rich working life
• Dispositional effects on job and life satisfaction: The role of core evaluations
• Bad is Stronger Than Good
• Evaluation of the “rethink stress” mindset intervention: A metacognitive approach to changing mindsets
• Rethinking Stress Toolkit

Good luck, Professionals!

Dear Manager, how can you notice performance gains, increase learning, engagement, information sharing, and improve commitment?

I'll give you a hint... the answer does not involve shouts, rants, rages, screams, humiliation, nor punishment.

It happens in spaces where a team feels safe enough to share problems, mistakes, and concerns - and rely on interpersonal exchanges to overcome them.

Tune in to define Psychological Safety beyond the buzzword (buzzphrase?) and back to the brainstorming session, where it belongs.

References in this episode include:

• Personal and Organizational Change Through Group Methods: The Laboratory Approach (Schein & Bennis, 1965).
• Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work (Kahn, 1990)
• The Fearless Organization (Edmondson, 2018)
• Psychological Safety survey

Good luck, Professionals!

Contemporary careers come with a lot of change. Sometimes we seek out the change ourselves when, for example, we pursue promotion and are successful. Sometimes change happens to us - we're made redundant or the organisation shifts direction and is no longer a good fit.

Changes, shifts, and transitions in a career are challenging. So how do we cope? How do we remain that captain of our ship even in stormy weather?

In this episode I'll take you through three areas of focus:

1. Career mapping
2. Network crafting
3. Resilience building

Cited work in this episode include:

- Protean Careers at Work: Self-Direction and Values Orientation in Psychological Success (Hall, Yip & Doiron, 2018)

- Online identities in and around organizations: A critical exploration and way forward (Barros, Alcadipani, Coupland & Brown, 2022)

- Crafting networks: A self-training intervention (Wang, Demerouti, Rispens & van Gool, 2024)

- Enhancing job seeker self-efficacy, use, and benefits: Effects of an online training program (Wanberg, Van Hooft, Liu & Csillag, 2020)

- Cultivate Self-Efficacy for Personal and Organizational Effectiveness (Bandura, in "Principles of Organizational Behavior: The Handbook of Evidence‐Based Management 3rd Ed., 2023)

- Building Relationships and Improving Opportunities (BRIO) online course- Goal setting frameworks

- Developing Career Resilience Open Uni course

Good luck, Professionals!

According to a recently published report in McKinsey on Women in the Workplace (2024), men continue to significantly outnumber women at the manager level, making it difficult for companies to support sustained progress at more senior levels like the C-Suite.

In a bizarre twist, research tells us that Organisations with women in leadership positions are more likely to be innovative and to have improved firm performance (Joecks et al., 2023; Sieweke et al., 2023).

How do we make changes to shift away from this illogical incongruity in order to bask in fulfilling our potential?

What are some practices we can put into place to evolve our future and current space for Women in Leadership?

This episode features references to:

- "Which organisational context factors help women to obtain and retain leadership positions in the 21st century?" (Gierke, Schlamp & Gerpott, 2024)- "Validation and Measurement Invariance of the German and Spanish Gender Bias Scale for Women Leaders" (Algner, Fay & Lorenz, 2024)

- Gender Bias Scale for Women Leaders by Amy Diehl, PhD

- World Economic Forum - Global Gender Gap Report 2022- "How Women Manage the Gendered Norms of Leadership" (Zheng, Kark & Meister, 2018)- Guardian article on Eindhoven University of Technology

- A meta-analysis on gender and leadership with findings on agentic traits (Bandura et al., 2018)

- The Authenticity Paradox (Ibarra, 2015)

Don't worry, there is no management guru snake oil here. This is a broad topic with many facets. It also turns out it's a topic rife with paradox. Not a great surprise, I will say. I imagine this is not the final episode I shall create on Women in Leadership.

Good luck out there, Professionals!

p.s. 1943 Guide to Hiring Women

Employees working later into life (and as a result, teams becoming more age-diverse) may be something you're seeing more of in your Organisation. If you haven't yet, you will before too long.

So, how do we create environments and improve teamwork to benefit the best from this diversity?

In this episode, I'll take you through some practical ways you can help an inter-generational team thrive. Some of the following are referenced:

- A Multimethod Examination of the Benefits and Detriments of Intragroup Conflict (Jehn, 1995)

- Fostering intergenerational harmony: Can good quality contact between older and younger employees reduce workplace conflict? (Drury & Fasbender, 2024)

- Knowledge Sharing in Times of a Pandemic: An intergenerational learning approach (Singh, Thomas & Numbudiri, 2021)

- Age Diversity Training

Good luck, Professionals!