Squiggly Careers

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 (think: the passive aggressive Canva comment, the "I'll just do it" default, or the unexpected tears in a meeting), and how to master your ability to succeed — including how elite athletes think about risk and failure in a way that's surprisingly useful for anyone with an ambitious goal.

🎯 What You'll Learn

How to move from a default response to a deliberate decision — and why that space in between is everything– What elite athletes do differently when things go wrong (and how to apply it to your own goals)– Why naming your version of success — and stress-testing the risks — makes you more likely to actually get there– How to reframe failure as a data point rather than a verdict on you

📚 Resources Mentioned

The Big Think newsletter

The Big Think — Mastery collection

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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 repeating back the words someone uses can unlock a whole new conversation
– What a no-interruption meeting feels like — and why it's worth trying with your team
– The simple summarising habit that will make you a noticeably better listener overnight
📚 Resources Mentioned
Episode 319 — Listening with Kate Murphy
You can also find Kate Murphy's book I Never Said I Was a Good Listener via your usual bookshop.
For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email: [email protected]
Need some more squiggly career support?
Download our free career tools
1.Sign up for our Skills Sprints
2.Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools
3.Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster
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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 exploration of how to get more from your reading. Helen also unveils her new Post-it® Note system, and there's a genuine debate about whether folding a page corner is an act of ownership or an act of disrespect.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with 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 an anti-library is and why reading outside your comfort zone changes how you think
– How to read with a pen and Post-it® Notes in a way that actually sticks
– Why rereading a book you love can be more valuable than picking up a new one
– The five rules for reading nonfiction more intentionally — plus Helen and Sarah's personal additions
– Books Helen and Sarah would both reread and recommend right now
📚 Resources Mentioned
How to Read Like a Pro — Ryan Holiday (please swap in direct link if you have it)
Unreasonable Hospitality — Will Guidara
Right Kind Wrong — Amy Edmondson
Uncharted — Margaret Heffernan
The Wonder Box — Roman Krznaric
Mash-Up — Ian Sanders
How to Have a Good Day — Caroline Webb
The First 90 Days — Michael D. Watkins
Essentialism — Greg McKeown
Toby Sinclair on LinkedIn
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
2.Sign up for our Skills Sprints
3.Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools
4.Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 use uncertainty as a trigger for learning — and how to build a simple learning list that puts you back in control
– Why "mental time travel" — fast forwarding 12 months into the future — can help you get unstuck and decide what to do differently right now
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
2.Sign up for our Skills Sprints
3.Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Newsletter, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools
4.Order our new book Learn Like a Lobster
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 them into simple, actionable tools for your working week.
From spotting where you might be waiting rather than creating, to eliminating wasted effort, to building in better reflection habits, Helen and Sarah share how to move from intention to action in a way that actually sticks.
If you’ve ever felt busy but not progressing, unsure where to focus your energy, or stuck in cycles of overthinking, this episode will help you take small steps that lead to meaningful change.
🦞 Learn Like A Lobster:
🇺🇸PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn
🇬🇧 Amazon UK - https://bit.ly/46lj8Av
Episode 547
(00:00) Introducing Kaizen for careers
(02:00) What Kaizen actually means (and why it works)
(06:30) Gemba: why observation beats speculation
(11:15) Muda: eliminating waste in your work
(17:45) Are you busy… or actually productive?
(22:10) The risks of “waiting” in your career
(25:10) Hansai: the power of reflection
(29:00) Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) explained
(34:00) Why reflection is often overlooked
(38:00) Standardising what works
(41:00) Small changes that create big impact
📚 Resources Mentioned
Kaizen: The Japanese Method for Transforming Habits by Sarah Harvey - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kaizen-Japanese-Method-Transforming-Habits/dp/1529005353#:~:text=Kaizen%20by%20Sarah%20Harvey%20brings,working%20style%2C%20preferences%20and%20personality.
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/
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