Shows
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Build Sustainable Wellbeing by Developing Internal ValidationSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeEpisode: How to Build Sustainable Wellbeing by Developing Internal ValidationLearning how to build sustainable wellbeing by developing internal validation begins with recognising that the search for reassurance protecting your confidence may be quietly exhausting the clarity that makes your best work possible.Josh had exceeded his targets for two years, led a high-performing team, and received consistently positive feedback — and still couldn't shake the feeling that none of it was quite enough. This is th...
2026-06-2312 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Recognise Resilience as a Character Trait to Transform Your Professional ValueSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Recognise Resilience as a Character Trait to Transform Your Professional ValueLearning how to recognise resilience as a character trait to transform your professional value begins with paying attention to what emerges in you when everything around you stops working.Ger had spent five years as a logistics coordinator, maintaining the steady rhythm of shipments, schedules, and supplier relationships. This is the story of the morning everything stopped — and what that revealed about a ch...
2026-06-1614 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Strategic Opening Lines Transform Leadership CommunicationsSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Strategic Opening Lines Transform Leadership CommunicationsLearning how strategic opening lines transform leadership communications is what separates messages that build culture from ones that get politely read and promptly forgotten.Declan had been sending company-wide messages that employees dutifully read and promptly forgot. This is the story of the moment a leadership retreat showed him that the problem wasn't what he was saying — it was how he was opening.RESOURCES ME...
2026-06-0911 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Historical Fiction Strengthens Perspective-Taking and Develops Cultural IntelligenceSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Historical Fiction Strengthens Perspective-Taking and Develops Cultural IntelligenceLearning how historical fiction strengthens perspective-taking and develops cultural intelligence begins with recognising that the coordination problems in your international team may not be coordination problems at all.Andy had been leading distributed software development teams across three continents for years — metrics strong, systems sound, results consistently praised. He was reaching the problems. He wasn't reaching the people. This is the story of the night a novel sh...
2026-06-0210 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Developing Self-Awareness Transforms Defensive Reactions Into Professional GrowthSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Developing Self-Awareness Transforms Defensive Reactions Into Professional GrowthLearning how developing self-awareness transforms defensive reactions into professional growth begins with the moment you hear feedback that isn't an attack — and feel it land like one.Matt had built an eight-year reputation on bold, conceptual design work. But on a Thursday afternoon, listening to a client deliver calm, measured, professional feedback, he felt his jaw clench and his pulse quicken. This is the story of the mo...
2026-05-2614 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Build Sustainable Wellbeing Through Change AdaptationSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeEpisode: How to Build Sustainable Wellbeing Through Change AdaptationLearning how to build sustainable wellbeing through change adaptation begins with recognising that the ability to keep adapting isn't the same as the capacity to keep functioning.Laura had spent eight months as Operations Director absorbing every restructure, system change, and reporting line shift her organisation threw at her. This is the story of the panic attack that finally revealed the true cost of continuous adaptation without recovery — and th...
2026-05-1911 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Recognise Attentiveness as a Character Trait to Transform Your Career ImpactSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Recognise Attentiveness as a Character Trait to Transform Your Career ImpactLearning 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 team for three years, quietly dismissing the one thing she did more precisely than anyone else in the room. This is the story of the moment...
2026-05-1213 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Strategic Opening Lines Build the Trust That Closes the DealSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES:WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Strategic Opening Lines Build the Trust That Closes the DealLearning 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, landed a sales role on a six-month trial, and discovered that the approach that had worked before was no longer enough. This is the story of...
2026-05-0512 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeThe WorkLife Question: CarmelSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTESToday’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 Fundamental Stories That Define Your Identity: Success, Failure and Passion Stories Que...
2026-05-0104 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeThe Fantasy Novel That Unlocked Her CuriositySend us Fan MailSHOW 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 models. Actionable insights. Results that stakeholders could depend on. But the same limitations kept returning — innovation stalling at incremental improvements, promising anomalies clea...
2026-04-2811 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Boundaries Revealed the Vision Her Motivated Abilities Were Waiting to ServeSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Boundaries Revealed the Vision Her Motivated Abilities Were Waiting to ServeLearning 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 what your capabilities are genuinely for.Jean had built exactly the career that demonstrated professional reliability. Sitting in her car outside the office at...
2026-04-2211 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeThe Stories Behind the Stories: Aisling aka CarmelSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTESThe 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 that allows me to go deeper. And shapes the personal into something universal — stories others can find themselves in. This episode is free.
2026-04-1519 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeSomething New is Coming to WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeSend us Fan MailThe 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 MENTIONEDThe Stories Behind the Stories: Episode — Aisling aka Carmel Author’s Note The stories I write are based on real WorkLife challenges, obstacles, failures and successes. Persons and companies portrayed in the stor...
2026-04-1505 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Understanding Your Body’s Stress Responses Builds Sustainable WellbeingSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Understanding Your Body's Stress Responses Builds Sustainable WellbeingLearning 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 nervous system telling you something important you've been too busy to hear.Don had built his reputation as finance manager on delivering under pressure. But what looked like professional resilience to everyone else was quietly dis...
2026-04-1411 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Integrated Leadership Character Traits Build Organisational CapacitySend us Fan MailSHOW 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 prevents them from working as they were meant to.Jon had been head of product development for three years — strong results, respected relationships, a team that delivered. But by Friday afternoons, someth...
2026-04-0714 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Strategic Opening Lines Transform Creative Sessions Into Breakthrough ThinkingSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How Strategic Opening Lines Transform Creative Sessions Into Breakthrough ThinkingLearning 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.Trevor had been running innovation sessions for years — well-organised, professionally facilitated, and producing ideas that were technically competent and entirely predictable. This is the story of the moment a chi...
2026-03-3108 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeThe Historical Fiction Romance That Developed His Systems ThinkingSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: The Historical Fiction Romance That Developed His Systems ThinkingThe 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 on strong numbers, efficient fixes, and resolving problems quickly. But one night, a cluster of seemingly unrelated workplace crises refused to yield to any...
2026-03-3011 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Recognising Your Professional Purpose Transforms the Work You Already DoSend us Fan MailSHOW 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 built exactly the technical career that made professional sense — sophisticated products, millions of downloads, venture capital flooding in. Standing in the cafeteria as champagne flowed...
2026-03-3011 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Protect Your Wellbeing by Protecting Your FocusSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: The Focus Protection Wellbeing FoundationLearning 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 problems. When she could focus, she was exceptional. But increasingly, the conditions that allowed that thinking to happen were disappearing. This is the...
2026-03-3010 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Character Traits Transform Professional Development and Organisational SuccessSend us Fan MailSHOW 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 been someone who designed things methodically — every element considered, every detail purposeful. She had been hired to create transformation. But the conditions she had been given guaranteed mediocrity. This is the story of t...
2026-03-3013 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow Strategic Opening Lines Become the Feedback That Builds BridgesSend us Fan MailSHOW 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 team always knew what needed to change. And yet the work rarely got better than her own thinking. This is the story of th...
2026-03-3008 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeThe Classic Book That Revealed Her IntegritySend us Fan MailSHOW 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 on strong results and respected relationships. But lately, delivering her presentations felt like reading someone else's script. This is the story...
2026-03-2911 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Build Personal Brand Identity When Your Authentic Style Challenges Industry NormsSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Build Personal Brand Identity When Your Authentic Style Challenges Industry NormsLearning 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.Alfie left corporate to do brand strategy his way — culture-focused, values-centred, built from the inside out. Six months into his consultancy, every deliverable he pro...
2026-03-2909 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow To Present Your Whole Self and Find Values-Aligned WorkSend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Present Your Whole Self and Find Values-Aligned WorkLearning 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 demonstrated professional credibility. Twelve years of impressive client work, recognisable names, steady progression. But sitting in her flat one evening, reviewing her CV...
2026-03-2911 min
WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLifeHow to Protect Wellbeing and Team Effectiveness Through Communication ClaritySend us Fan MailSHOW NOTES: WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife Episode: How to Protect Wellbeing and Team Effectiveness Through Communication Clarity Learning how to protect wellbeing and team effectiveness through communication clarity begins with recognising that the stress you're absorbing may not be coming from the workload — but from the ambiguity surrounding it.Mo had built his career on being collaborative and accommodating. His communication was warm, inclusive, and carefully designed to avoid conflict. What he hadn't noticed was what it was doing to h...
2026-03-2908 min