Career & Leadership Real Talk

Career planning is one of those things most of us know we should do and keep putting off. In this episode, we explore why it feels so much harder than it should be, and why the version most people have in their heads doesn't actually count as a plan. Pam shares the simple, one-page approach she uses with her clients that takes an hour (or 10 minutes a day across a week) and turns vague ambition into something you can actually act on.
If you've ever thought "I'll do that when things settle down" or "I wouldn't even know what to put in a career plan," this one's for you.
Access Pam's Career Plan on a Page resource to work through it after listening
Key points from this episode
Why keeping your career plan in your head is costing you opportunities, even if you think you've got it figured out
The biggest misconception that stops ambitious people from starting: it doesn't have to be a big formal exercise
Why good career planning starts with looking back, not forward, and what that unlocks
How a career plan becomes a compass when you're in a role you're not loving or you're wondering "is this it?"
What Pam's Career Plan on a Page actually contains, and how to use it to keep moving forward

00:00 Introduction and why career planning keeps getting put off
01:00 The problem with keeping your plan in your head
03:00 What stops ambitious people from committing it to paper
05:00 The clarity gap: not knowing what to even put in a plan
06:30 Where to start: reflection before direction
08:00 Looking back to move forward, and what the career mapping exercise reveals
11:00 Using your plan as a compass when things feel hard
12:00 When a career plan leads somewhere unexpected: client stories
14:00 Pam walks through the Career Plan on a Page process
19:00 What the completed plan looks like and how to keep it live
21:00 Final thoughts: treating it as an experiment, not a commitment

Useful Links
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/
Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/
Interested in working with us?
Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website

In this episode, we explore a pattern Jacqui sees regularly in her coaching practice — capable, high-performing professionals who are inadvertently stalling their own careers by the way they talk about their work. Using a real client story (shared anonymously), we unpack what underselling looks like in practice, why it happens, and what you can do differently.
If you've ever described something you achieved and immediately wondered why it didn't land the way you hoped, this one's for you.
Key points from this episode
Why competence alone won't get you to director level — and what needs to change in how you communicate your contribution
The visibility paradox: how the people doing the most impressive work are often the least visible
How deep-seated discomfort with self-promotion shows up in the language you use every day
The difference between describing what happened and articulating what you made happen
A simple practical exercise to reframe how you talk about your work, and where to use it

00:00 Introduction and the client story behind this episode
01:00 The pattern: capable professionals who let their contribution go unnoticed
05:00 The visibility paradox and why senior leaders need to be seen, not just effective
10:00 Why "selling yourself" creates resistance — and a more useful way to think about it
13:00 The cost of invisibility: a real example from a Deloitte partnership decision
19:00 Comfort zones, default behaviours, and what's really driving the pattern
21:00 Tara Mohr's Playing Big and the language habits that keep people small
23:00 Active versus passive framing — and why it matters beyond the interview room
25:00 The practical exercise: write two versions and find the opportunity to use one
Useful Links
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/
Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/
Follow the Catalyst Careers LinkedIn page for career tips and advice
Interested in working with us?
Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website

If you expected imposter syndrome to ease off as your career progressed, you're not alone, and you're probably wondering why it's doing the opposite. In this episode, we dig into why imposter syndrome so often intensifies at senior level, and what's actually going on in your brain when it does.
We share practical strategies for working with imposter syndrome rather than trying to outrun it, because working harder and delivering more isn't the answer, and most people find that out the hard way.
Key points from this episode
Why becoming more senior makes imposter syndrome worse, not better and the brain science behind it
The identity gap: why your internal reality struggles to keep pace with your external success
How self-judgment fuels imposter syndrome and what to do instead
Why positive feedback doesn't land and a simple technique to change that
How to borrow belief from the people who already have it in you

00:00 Introduction and Topic Overview
00:26 Why Imposter Syndrome Intensifies With Seniority
02:29 The Trap of Trying to Outwork It
05:00 Your Brain, Evidence and the Confidence Gap
08:00 Navigating Uncertainty: The Board Meeting Example
11:00 The Identity Gap Explained
13:30 The Self-Judgment Cycle
16:30 What Actually Helps: Reducing Self-Judgment
21:00 How to Internalise Positive Feedback
24:30 Borrowing Belief From Others
26:30 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Useful Links
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/
Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/
Interested in working with us?
Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website

Receiving negative feedback is something every leader faces — but nobody really teaches you how to handle it well. In this episode, we talk about why your reaction to negative feedback matters more than you might think, and how developing the skill of receiving it well can genuinely change the trajectory of your career.
We share real examples, including a story from Pam's own career where one piece of feedback held her back from presenting confidently for years — and what she wishes she'd done differently in that moment.
Key points from this episode
Why how you respond to negative feedback creates either a vicious or virtuous cycle in your career
The mindset shift that separates feedback from your sense of identity
Why asking more questions after difficult feedback is more powerful than going away to stew on it
Longer-term strategies to make feedback easier to receive — and less likely to sting
How regularly asking for feedback desensitises you and builds trust with the people around you

00:00 Introduction and Topic Overview
00:26 Why Negative Feedback Hits So Hard
02:59 The Vicious and Virtuous Cycle
05:37 Separating Feedback from Identity
09:00 Unpacking a Real Listener Example
13:00 What to Do in the Moment
16:37 Creating Distance and Regulating Your Emotions
18:00 Pam's Personal Story: The Presentation That Set Her Back
23:00 Longer-Term Strategies: Feedforward and Seeking Input
25:30 Making Feedback a Regular Habit
26:37 Closing the Loop: Acknowledging What You've Done With Feedback
28:00 Close and Call to Action

Useful Links
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/
Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/
Follow the Catalyst Careers LinkedIn page for career tips and advice
Interested in working with us?
Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website
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If you've ever found yourself completely overwhelmed, running on empty and wondering how you got here, this episode is for you. We're exploring why so many leaders struggle to say no. Not because they're weak or disorganised, but because saying yes is what got them where they are. Understanding how this pattern forms is the first step to changing it.
We get honest about what this really looks and feels like from the inside, including the gap between how capable you appear to everyone else and how stretched you actually feel. If any of this sounds familiar, you're not alone, and there are things you can do.

Key points from this episode
Why saying yes early in your career works against you later — and how it stops being a strategy and becomes your identity
The "invisible yes" — work that lands on your plate that you never actually agreed to
What it really costs you to keep saying yes to everything, including your career progression
Why pushing back feels so hard when you've always been the reliable one
First steps to take if you recognise yourself in this episode

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
00:47 Why Saying Yes Feels Good Early in Your Career
03:00 When Yes Stops Being a Strategy and Becomes Your Identity
06:00 What This Really Looks Like Day to Day
09:00 High Achievers Don't Give Themselves Permission to Struggle
11:00 The Cost of Always Finding a Way Through
14:00 The Invisible Yes — and Why It Matters
16:00 Practical First Steps: Pause, Reflect and Reassess
19:30 Why Asking for Help Is Part of the Solution
22:30 When It's Time to Consider Coaching
23:30 Link to Episode 82 and Close
Useful Links
Episode 82
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/
Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/
Follow the Catalyst Careers LinkedIn page for career tips and advice
Interested in working with us?
Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website