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 — someone going through what you're going through right now — can be one of the biggest accelerators for your career – How to spot a sponsor and what you need to do before they'll advocate for you – Why a coach doesn't have to be a qualified one, and what to look for instead – What to do if you're lucky enough to have one person who plays all four roles 📚 Resources Mentioned Episode 215 - How to find a career sponsor with Sylvia Ann Hewlett: https://www.amazingif.com/listen/how-to-find-a-career-sponsor/ For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 different dimensions of distance, from how well they know their own strengths and feelings, to how much feedback they really get from their team, to how close they are to the people they're there to help.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Post-it® Brand. If today's episode sparked an idea, stick it down - find out where to buy Post-it® products at go.3M.com/squiggly

🎯 What You'll Learn

– What zero distance means and why brands like e.l.f. Beauty have made it their entire philosophy

– How to use the zero distance framework across three areas: distance from yourself, your team and your customers

– Why knowing your strengths isn't enough if you're not spending time on them

– What Helen's "I'm fine, it's fine" taxi moment reveals about emotional distance at work

– How to make feedback unmissable rather than occasional, and why rhythm matters more than quantity

– What zero distance from your customers or learners actually looks like in practice (including a story about a credit card in a glass of orange juice)

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

Need some more squiggly career support?

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

2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/

3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod

4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 to help you zoom out and reflect on how you learn – Why asking one "why" question every day is one of the simplest ways to slow down your thinking – How to take a more intentional (and less overwhelming) approach to learning AI – A slow reading idea for Learn Like a Lobster that makes one chapter feel very doable over seven weeks 📚 Resources Mentioned SlowLearning.com Episode 524 - Spaciousness: https://www.amazingif.com/listen/spaciousness-how-to-manage-your-attention-not-your-time/ For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 ever felt stuck waiting for the perfect plan, this episode will give you possibilities you'll be energised by.

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why a linear mindset is like climbing a ladder, and why an experimental mindset is a loop that keeps moving you forward

– What makes a tiny experiment "tiny", and why keeping the duration short is the whole point

– How to use the PACT framework (Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous, Trackable) to design experiments that actually teach you something

– Why you should only track outputs while running an experiment — and save the outcome reflection for the Plus Minus Next tool afterwards

– How to apply tiny experiments to career change, team culture, and the moments when you feel most stuck

📚 Resources Mentioned

Tiny Experiments — Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Ness Labs Newsletter

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

Need some more squiggly career support?

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

2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/

3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod

4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 difference – How to make the ask in a way that's low pressure and easy to say yes to – Three questions to structure the conversation: one to get people talking, one about strengths, and one about future-proofing your skills – What to listen out for in each answer, and how to use it to work out whether an opportunity is actually a good fit for you For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 on your own terms. Helen has curated the statements most relevant to squiggly careers, and Sarah hasn't seen them in advance. What follows is honest, at times uncomfortable, and occasionally results in a rewrite.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Post-it® Brand. If today's episode sparked an idea, stick it down, find out where to buy Post-it® products at go.3M.com/squiggly

🎯 What You'll Learn

– Why guilt might actually be a useful signal (and when it isn't)

– What "you can do all things, just not all at the same time" really means for how you prioritise at work

– Whether an extraordinary career always requires extraordinary effort, and why the word "extraordinary" is more personal than you think

– Why pushing off difficult conversations is costing you more than you realise

– The difference between networking and actually building a network

– Why you can't build anything of value by yourself (and where Helen respectfully disagrees)

📚 Resources Mentioned

Start With Yourself: Emma Grede

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

Need some more squiggly career support?

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

2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/

3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod

4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 about why great communication has never been more human, and what you can do to make yours more so. 🎯 What You'll Learn – Why AI making generic communication universally available raises (not lowers) the value of human storytelling – Why the most important story you'll ever tell is the story of yourself – How clarity fits into communication, and why speaking simply doesn't mean thinking simply – Two practical things you can do right now to make your next presentation more human: add a story or make an analogy – Why the future of communication comes down to four words: speak human, be human 📚 Resources Mentioned Open to Work: Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 what it means to be more human at work, starting with yourself. 🎯 What You'll Learn – Why compassion wasn't valued in the industrial age (and why that's changing fast) – Why compassion for yourself has to come first, and what that looks like in practice – How to show genuine (not performative) compassion for the people you work with – Why phone calls and walk-and-talks might be better than video calls for building real connection – One simple exercise to anchor yourself in your own strengths, without listing a single job title or degree 📚 Resources Mentioned Open to Work: Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 change how you think about your own creativity, and how to bring more of it to your team. 🎯 What You'll Learn – Why AI making generic creative content widely available actually raises the premium on human creativity – What the neuroscience of flow tells us about when we're at our creative best (and what gets in the way) – Why creativity is a team sport, and what that means for how you design your working week – A simple question to ask in your team: when are you at your creative best and what contributes to it? – One practical thing anyone can do right now to build their creative muscle, even if they don't feel creative at all 📚 Resources Mentioned Open to Work: Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky Creativity Inc.: Ed Catmull Peak: Anders Ericsson For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 at the heart of how humans do anything worth doing. The good news? You don't have to start with a giant leap. 🎯 What You'll Learn – Why courage is necessary for curiosity (and why being told to be compliant at work has made courage harder than it should be) – Why if you aren't failing, you aren't doing enough in this new world of work – How micro courage compounds over time (and why small, uncomfortable actions build to bigger leaps) – What companies and leaders need to do to create environments where courage is actually possible – One thing you could do tomorrow that feels uncomfortable today 📚 Resources Mentioned Open to Work - Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky Email Helen and Sarah to share your moment of courage and get an accountability partner: [email protected] For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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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 AI: curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion and communication. Today, they start with curiosity - and why it might be the most important career advantage you can build right now. 🎯 What You'll Learn – Why AI raises the value of human skills rather than replacing them (and what that means for your career) – What real curiosity looks like at work (hint: it's not just reading more, it's finding a thread and pulling on it) – Why outsourcing your curiosity to AI creates cognitive debt, and what to do instead – How to use AI as a starting point for building curiosity, not an ending point – How to create more curiosity in your team through debate, discussion and the willingness to say "I don't know" 📚 Resources Mentioned Open to Work - Aneesh Rahman and Ryan Roslansky For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected] Need some more squiggly career support? 1. Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 2. Sign up for our Skills Sprints: https://www.amazingif.com/squigglysprints/ 3. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/squigglynewsletter_pod 4. Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

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