Career Espresso

In this week's episode of Career Espresso, I'm talking about influencing the performance of people who don't report to you, otherwise known as managing sideways. Think for a moment about the last time you needed to pull in a favour at work. Who was it that came to your rescue? I'd put money on it being one of your peers. The relationships we form at work help us to get stuff done when it counts mo...

Micromanagement can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stuck and unable to do your work without constant interference and criticism. Many of us have had a tough boss in our careers, but how do you work with a boss who micromanages your every move? In this episode of Career Espresso, I'll be taking a look at the psychological effects of micromanagement, how to spot a micromanager, and three steps for s...

Accepting praise can make many of us feel really uncomfortable, often because even when we feel proud of what we've achieved, we don't want to appear egotistical. Rather than accepting the hard won praise with polite grace, we'll often sheepishly reject the compliment or even deny it entirely, changing the conversation as quickly as we possibly can. In this week's episode of Career Espresso, I'll...

For many people, just hearing the word 'networking' is enough to make them run for the hills! The idea of approaching strangers, engaging in small talk and forging connections can be overwhelming and depleting, especially for those who would rather not bother. In this week's episode of Career Espresso, I'll be taking a look at why networking can be really beneficial for your career development and...

In this episode of Career Espresso, Amanda discusses the misconceptions around confidence and how it affects women in their careers. She explores the four building blocks of confidence and provides actionable steps for women to take in order to build their self-confidence at work. Don't forget to take a look at this week's podsheet to support and encourage further learning and exploration of the p...

On this week's episode of Career Espresso, I'll explore the concept of career envy and how it can hold you back from making progress in your own career. If career envy has got you firmly stuck in a rut, the first thing to know is that you don't have to stay there. Owning the envy is the initial push and then knowing you don't have to be a prisoner, nor are you trapped in your current career. You m...

In this weeks episode of Career Espresso I'm sharing six tried and tested self-coaching techniques that I use with my clients that you can adapt to be your very own career coach. This was inspired by the main reasons that clients get in touch to work with as a career coach. More often than not they are feeling stuck, in need of motivation or they need to be held accountable to get the important st...

Feeling stuck at work is a very common experience and a main reason that clients reach out for help to a career coach, but it's important to figure out what to do next. Listen to this week's episode where I'll be covering seven ideas to help you get unstuck: 1) The activity removes doubt principle 2) Asking 'what' instead of 'why' 3) Avoiding excuses that keep you stuck 4) Evaluating your career s...

Lately, I've been doing a bit more mentoring, and this has involved working with women who tend to be earlier on in their career journeys. As ever, I started a session recently by asking if my mentee had anything specific in mind for our meeting, which is what I'd always do to begin. To which the response was,  "I'd like to hear more about your career journey and if you would do anything diff...

In this weeks Career Espresso I'm talking about something we can all be guilty of at times, and that's procrastination. We love to procrastinate, putting off those big tasks until we've crossed something much less pressing, but somehow satisfying off our to-do list. We all procrastinate with 88% of us admitting to doing it for at least an hour a day, but why? And how can you stop procrastinat...

This week I'm talking about what to do when you disagree with your manager or someone more senior than you. Do you voice your opinion, or do you choose to keep quiet? Let's be honest, staying quiet or nodding your head in disagreement, even when you really disagree, definitely feels like the safer option. It doesn't require fighting your fears or going against your instincts. It's the easiest opti...

In this episode, I'll explore the impact of office housework on women's career progression and share how organising a seemingly innocent Christmas dinner nearly tipped me over the edge... Office housework refers to the non-promotable tasks and emotional labour that women often find themselves responsible for in the workplace. While these tasks are crucial for maintaining a positive work environmen...

In this week's episode of Career Espresso, I'll explore the concept of finding happiness at work and share four science-backed ways to help you be happier in your job. As ever these are simple strategies that can be implemented without making major changes to your working day and can have a significant impact on your overall happiness and productivity. Plus as always I'll end the episode with a co...

In this week’s episode I’ll be taking a look at how to handle career setbacks and the importance of normalising conversations about personal struggles as we navigate our career growth.  I'll share my experience of when my career didn't go according to plan and how this gave me insight into the need to be honest about career struggles and not present an overly positive view.  The episode...

In this week’s episode I’ll be taking a look at why it can be hard to admit that we can’t succeed in our careers on our own and how looking for a sponsor rather than another mentor could be the secret to success.  I'll explore how sponsors and mentors have different roles in your career progression and why women can find themselves over mentored and under sponsored. And if you are looking for...

If you've ever been the recipient of the words, "Well, actually..." swiftly followed by some condescending advice telling you everything you already knew about a subject and some, then odds are you've already stumbled across a mansplainer. In this episode, I'll be looking at how you can spot mansplaining and I share some tips from my training and mentoring work with female leaders to help you chal...

In this episode, I'll be taking a look at the concept of 'Good Enough Mondays' and how they can help reduce the pressure and stress associated with the start of a new working week and the Sunday Scaries that gatecrash your weekend I'll explore the different ways to adapt the concept so you can find a formula that works best for you. As ever, we'll finish up with a career coaching question and a re...

This week I'm talking about feedback at work and why new managers in particular find this the hardest part of their role. For first-time managers, giving feedback can feel like the hardest part of their job. Even if you set aside the fact that critiquing someone's performance can be an emotional and stress-inducing experience, things feel twice as bad for new managers who, let's face it, might be...

This week, I'm tackling head-on the five pieces of bad career advice that women should ignore. Women can find themselves inundated with career tips to help them succeed. Although most of this advice is probably really well intended, it doesn't necessarily make all of it helpful. In fact, many suggestions are more likely to perpetuate rather than reduce gender bias, focusing on fixing women rather...

In the first episode of Season 3 of Career Espresso, I'll share four achievable and research-packed ideas designed to build habits that will help you grow your career in 2024 and beyond without the guilt of failed New years resolutions Takeaways Taking time for reflection to think about what you've learned and how you can improve Carving out time for learning new skills and upskilling Reconnecting...

Welcome to a bonus episode of Career Espresso to support my 12 Days of Christmas, The Career Edit which is taking place from 4th to 19th December.  Have you ever experienced a state of complete flow while working on a project, where time seemed to fly by, and you felt a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment? This state of flow is known as the  Zone of Genius . Coined by Gay Hendrick...

This week sees the second episode in a two-part series exploring 24 realistic and actionable ways to develop your career in 2024. If you're determined to make 2024 your best year yet, let's ditch the whole new year, new you thing and focus on developing from where you already are. In this episode, I share 12 more tips tips to get you thinking and ready to take action and as always I end the episod...

This week's episode is the first in a two-part series, exploring 24 realistic and actionable ways to develop your career in 2024. January can be a funny time of year. It's simultaneously the most depressing month of the year, according to statistics and what you read in the press, but it's the one month every year in which millions of us vow to start transforming our lives. Ironically, the most ho...

In this episode, I'm taking a look at the benefit of doing an end-of-year reflection and why doing it now can help you get ahead in 2024. But why is it so useful to reflect on the last 12 months?  Careers are a big and important part of our lives. In terms of the time spent at work, we're talking nearly 2000 hours in every year. When you think of it like this, your career deserves the sa...

This week I'm taking a look at why women over-apologise and the impact that this can have on our careers and self-esteem. Despite what the song says, sorry really isn't the hardest word. In fact, it's something many women say far too often, particularly in situations that don't actually warrant an apology.  Think back to the last time you apologised. Was it a sorry to bother yo...