WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES The Kite Practice: How Fiction Develops Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership is the newest School of WorkLife Book Club online live class. It draws on Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner — and a framework exploring what empathy and emotional intelligence actually ask of us, not in moments of obvious difficulty, but in the everyday moments where something b...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES Today's Question: How did this failure redirect your path? How did this failure redirect your path? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore the deeper failure inside James's story — not the project that went wrong, but the eight months of silence that followed — and the three moments that show where naming it finally took him. RESOURCES Today’s que...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Recognise Attentiveness as a Character Trait to Transform Your Career Impact Learning how to recognise attentiveness as a character trait to transform your career impact begins with paying attention to what feels so ordinary you've never thought to call it a strength. Violet had been managing a marketing tea...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES Today's Question: What accomplishment reveals who you are at your best? What accomplishment reveals who you are at your best? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore the question through Aisling — a character from The Art of WorkLife Storytelling programme — and what her success story reveals about the difference between an achievement that impresses an...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES The Atticus Practice: How to Navigate Difficult WorkLife Situations with Integrity and Courage is the newest School of WorkLife Book Club online live class. It draws on Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird — and a framework exploring what integrity and courage actually ask of us, not in extraordinary situations, but in ordinary ones. It's a class for anyone who...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Strategic Opening Lines Build the Trust That Closes the Deal Learning how strategic opening lines build the trust that closes the deal is what separates sales conversations that create partnerships from ones that end in polite silence and unanswered follow-ups. Deirdre had returned to work after a career break, land...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES Today’s Question: Which narratives do you return to repeatedly — and what do they tell you? In this first episode of The WorkLife Question, I return to the story of how this work found me — a success story, a failure story, and a passion story that are never really separate — and what each return has revealed over time. RESOURCES  Today’s question is from Creating Three...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: The Fantasy Novel That Unlocked Her Curiosity  Learning about the fantasy novel that unlocked her curiosity begins with recognising that the analytical frameworks you trust most may also be the ones quietly limiting what you can discover. Elsa had built her reputation as a senior data scientist on precision. Reliable m...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES From May, a new series joins WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife. The WorkLife Question. A weekly question to ponder what matters in your WorkLife. Every Friday — one question. Drawn from the five question bank collections at School of WorkLife: Self-Discovery.  The Art of WorkLife Storytelling.  Book Club Books.  Character Traits.  Mental Health and Wellbeing. One...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES From May, The Stories Behind the Stories releases every Thursday — free for one week before moving behind the subscriber paywall. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Boundaries Revealed the Vision Her Motivated Abilities Were Waiting to Serve Learning how boundaries revealed the vision your motivated abilities were waiting to serve begins with recognising that saying yes to everything may feel like generosity — but it may also be the very thing preventing you from discovering w...

Send us Fan Mail  SHOW NOTES Episodes mentioned: The Stories Behind the Stories: James - available now  The Stories Behind the Stories: Lisa — Thursday 23rd April  The Stories Behind the Stories: David — Thursday 30th April Free to listen throughout April. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES The Stories Behind the Stories: Aisling aka Carmel  Before going inside anyone else's story, I share my own. My success. My failure. My passion. And Aisling — the character whose three stories carry more of my real experiences than any other I’ve written. Writing myself as a character takes me somewhere I couldn't reach any other way. It creates the distance t...

Send us Fan Mail The Stories Behind the Stories is a weekly bonus episode releasing every Thursday — exclusive content for subscribers. In this first episode, Carmel shares where School of WorkLife came from, the five collections it's built around, and why The Stories Behind the Stories exists. The first episode is free. RESOURCES MENTIONED The Stories Behind the Stories: Episode — Aisling ak...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Understanding Your Body's Stress Responses Builds Sustainable Wellbeing Learning how understanding your body's stress responses builds sustainable wellbeing begins with recognising that the physical symptoms you've been pushing through aren't signs of professional dedication — they're your...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Integrated Leadership Character Traits Build Organisational Capacity  Understanding how integrated leadership character traits build organisational capacity begins with recognising that the exhaustion you're feeling may not be coming from the workload — but from deploying your capabilities in a way that preven...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Strategic Opening Lines Transform Creative Sessions Into Breakthrough Thinking Learning how strategic opening lines transform creative sessions into breakthrough thinking is what separates innovation sessions that produce ideas teams are energised by from ones that produce ideas nobody remembers by Monday morning....

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: The Historical Fiction Romance That Developed His Systems Thinking The historical fiction romance that developed his systems thinking did what no operational training had managed — it showed Mike how to see the hidden connections between problems he had been solving in isolation for years. Mike had built his reputation...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Recognising Your Professional Purpose Transforms the Work You Already Do  Learning how recognising your professional purpose transforms the work you already do begins with a question you can't answer in a room full of people celebrating — and can't stop thinking about once you've asked it. Rick had b...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: The Focus Protection Wellbeing Foundation Learning how to protect your wellbeing by protecting your focus begins with recognising that being constantly busy and being able to think are not the same thing — and that confusing them is what makes the exhaustion invisible. Ellie had built her reputation on solving complex...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Character Traits Transform Professional Development and Organisational Success  Understanding how character traits transform professional development and organisational success begins with recognising that the capabilities being worked around may be exactly the ones the organisation needs most. Annie had always bee...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Strategic Opening Lines Become the Feedback That Builds Bridges  Learning how strategic opening lines become the feedback that builds bridges is what transforms a leader known for clear direction into one whose team develops beyond their own thinking. Ciara had built her reputation on clear, direct feedback. Her te...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: The Classic Book That Revealed Her Integrity — a School of WorkLife Story Lesson. The classic book that revealed her integrity did what no professional framework had managed — it showed Nicole what she already knew but hadn't yet found the courage to act on. Nicole had built her career as Regional Sales Director o...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Build Personal Brand Identity When Your Authentic Style Challenges Industry Norms Learning how to build personal brand identity when your authentic style challenges industry norms begins with recognising that what your field dismisses as the wrong approach may be precisely what makes your work worth finding. Alf...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES:  WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Present Your Whole Self and Find Values-Aligned Work Learning how to present your whole self and find values-aligned work begins with the moment you look at everything you've built professionally — and realise none of it reflects who you actually are. Fiona had built exactly the consulting career that demon...