Squiggly Careers

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 quietly stall progress in a squiggly career. Instead of staying stuck in that mindset, Helen and Sarah share practical ways to shift from cynicism to a more proactive and generous approach.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with work, doubtful about opportunities, or tempted to disengage, this episode will help you replace cynicism with curiosity, action, and generosity.

Episode 545

🦞 Learn Like A Lobster:
🇺🇸PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn
🇬🇧 Amazon UK - https://bit.ly/46lj8Av

(00:00) How Cynicism Shows Up in Your Career
(01:54) The London Interdisciplinary School
(06:35) Common “cynical” thoughts at work
(11:34) The danger of the cynicism echo chamber
(13:47) Small actions add up
(17:53) Learning from people who think differently
(25:05) Why generosity matters at work
(29:00) The power of the five-minute favour
(31:41) Finding ways to stay grounded

📚 Resources Mentioned
LIS - https://www.lis.ac.uk/

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

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:
📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
🦞 Join the Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz
📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction
📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 of control, and keep going even when things feel hard.

Episode 544

🦞 Learn Like A Lobster:
🇺🇸PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn
🇬🇧 Amazon UK - https://bit.ly/46lj8Av

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

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:
📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
🦞 Join the Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz
📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction
📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 ever wondered why certain working relationships feel easy while others feel surprisingly tricky, this episode will give you a useful lens for understanding behaviour and adapting in ways that help you work better together.

Episode 543

🦞 Learn Like A Lobster:
🇺🇸PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn
🇬🇧 Amazon UK - https://bit.ly/46lj8Av

(00:00) Attachment styles at work
(01:14) The four attachment styles explained
(09:13) Helen and Sarah reflect on their own styles
(22:20) How secure styles show up at work
(25:06) Managing anxious behaviours
(29:01) Avoidant-dismissive patterns and how to adapt
(34:18) Avoidant-fearful behaviours and building trust

📚 Resources Mentioned
How to Manage an Insecure Leader (Harvard Business Review) https://hbr.org/2026/03/how-to-manage-an-insecure-leader

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

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:
📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
🦞 Join the Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz
📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction
📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

🦞 Learn Like A Lobster:
🇺🇸PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn
🇬🇧 Amazon UK - https://bit.ly/46lj8Av

📚 Resources Mentioned
3 Ways To Give And Get Constructive Feedback #457 - https://youtu.be/XbP49h60XE4?si=ya6IJS1nsJxbDCsC

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

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:
📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
🦞 Join the Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz
📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction
📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 practical 4-part framework to help you move from “this might be a good idea” to something tangible, testable and useful.

Episode 541

🦞 Learn Like A Lobster:
🇺🇸PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn
🇬🇧 Amazon UK - https://bit.ly/46lj8Av

📚 Resources Mentioned
Say the Hard Thing Scenario Planner - https://www.saythehardthing.ai/
Learn Like a Lobster Profiler - https://www.learnlikealobsterprofiler...
Nesta Prototyping Framework - https://www.nesta.org.uk/toolkit/prototyping-framework/

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

More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:
📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/
🦞 Join the Learn Like a Lobster Sprint: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNQl9gsac8BXnWe2qoGuHkLKwsygjP_Ma&si=l7kODG3JpopH0Irz
📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction
📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.