Ep 60 – Reflecting on Top Episodes of 2023

Hello, and welcome to this week's episode.

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So this is the final episode for

this year, because it's the 18th of

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December, and frankly who of you wants

to listen to us on Christmas Day?

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As much as we love podcasting, we think

you've probably got better things to do.

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So what we wanted to do with this episode

is just really reflect back on how the

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podcast has gone for us and share some

of the highlights and share some of the.

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Episodes have been the most

downloaded and the most listened

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to across the course of this year.

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So if you do want to get your fill

of us over the Christmas break, then

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hopefully you'll have some episodes that

might be new ones that are worth you.

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So Pam, before we share those

top ones, what have been.

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Your highlights for this year

in terms of having the podcast.

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Cause this is, we started it at

the start of November of last year.

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So this is the first

full year of podcasting.

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We're still here.

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We're still podcasting weekly and we

still have lots planned to come next year.

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But what have you taken from this

first full year of podcasting together?

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Pam: For me, it's just, it's been such

an amazing experience and the impact

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that we've made through doing the

podcast and recording the episodes, I

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just didn't realise how much impact we

would actually make, and we get so many

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messages from people and we get people

approaching us at events and telling

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us, how much impact the things that

we've shared have had on them, on their

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careers, on their ability to interview.

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There's a whole range of things.

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And for me is, all of this that

we're doing, it just makes it so

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worth it when somebody sends us a

message or when somebody meets us

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in real life and says thank you.

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This is how you help me, that for me,

just every single one of those comments

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makes doing the podcast really worthwhile.

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Jacqui: Yeah, it's, I

think that's the thing.

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It's hard to actually no, when you start

out, whether you put a podcast episode

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out and you hope that it will be useful

and you hope that it will be helpful.

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And we know that we're sharing stuff that

comes up for our clients all the time.

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And I think there's still that kind

of question in your mind of actually

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do other people find it useful?

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Will they want to listen?

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Is it a value?

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And yeah, similar for me getting

those messages and having those

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conversations is just so so incredible.

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It's that aspect of kind of Oh wow.

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Yeah.

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Once we've recorded it and scheduled

it and it's all set up and it's going

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out, you forget that then people can

listen to any episode at any time.

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And so when people tell us that

certain episodes have had an impact

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for them yeah, it really is amazing.

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So in terms of the episodes, then

we've picked out the four and we

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have done this on the basis of

what's had the most downloads.

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So this isn't our favorite episodes in

terms of what we've recorded necessarily.

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It's the things that the listening figures

would suggest have been most popular.

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So we're going to run through them

and just share a bit about why we

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think it might be so popular and

yeah, give you that kind of take

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us to whether or not it might be a

relevant one for you to listen to.

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So the most downloaded episode, which is

good and bad in equal measure is how to

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cope when your boss is a micromanager.

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Yes,

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Pam: This has been obviously it's the

most popular in terms of listen to

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episodes, but the amount of messages

we've had around this and the amount of

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conversations that we've had with people

around their bosses being micromanagers,

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there's a lot of it that goes on out there

and there's a lot of, crap that people

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are putting up with from these managers.

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And it's been a real eye opener

to hear the stories, hasn't it?

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It's unbelievable, some of the ways

that people will allow themselves

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to be treated and how people will

treat other people in the workplace.

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It's just, a lot of it.

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Isn't

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Jacqui: great.

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I think that's the thing.

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I think there's so many, there was

some research recently and it was

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saying something and I don't want to

misquote the figures, but it's ballpark.

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I think it was 81 percent of people

are accidental managers, and they

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use that term to describe people who

either had never particularly had that

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ambition or intended to be a manager.

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or who had wanted to progress and had

got that management responsibility

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but hadn't had the necessary kind

of support that went with it.

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And I think that's why that episode

probably strikes such a chord because

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so many people either on expected to

demonstrate the right behaviors once

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they go into a management or leadership

role, or they have the right intention,

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but they just don't know how to do it.

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So many people are on the receiving

end of micromanagement in one form

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or another, because having control is

something that is really hard to lose.

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If you haven't got another

way when you're promoted of.

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Looking at how to, divvy up roles

and responsibilities of how to

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have oversight of what somebody is

delivering and maintain accountability

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without being in the detail of it.

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There's a skill to that.

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And so if you haven't.

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Being equipped with that, then it is

likely at some point that somebody

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will describe you as a micromanager.

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And so I think it's natural

that strikes a chord and it's

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something that people hate.

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Like when you're an experienced expert or,

specialist in what you do, or, you've got

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that skillset yourself, there's nothing

more frustrating than someone over your

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shoulder constantly wanting to be involved

when you just need them to back off.

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Pam: It is, it's hard, but I think the

worst thing about micromanagement is the

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effect that it has on people's confidence.

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And I think that is one of the

things that we touched on that

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in the episode, but actually the

more people that we've spoken to.

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around micromanagement and people

have listened to the episode and said,

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that sounds exactly like my manager.

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Is that what it is?

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I'm being micromanaged and the

knock on effect on confidence it

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will put people into a situation

where they're feeling like imposter

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syndrome and all of this stuff that

comes with being micromanaged and.

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A lot of the times when we're talking

to people and we're talking about micro

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management, being micro managed, isn't

necessarily a reflection on you it's more

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about that person, that manager and their

insecurities, it's very rarely about you

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and you know what you or they perceive

that you are doing or not doing, at work.

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It's more about them

and their insecurities.

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And I think helping people to

understand that has been a real eye.

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Opener and has helped people

make some huge shifts this year.

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Jacqui: Absolutely.

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So we'll definitely do a follow

up episode because we recognize

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how popular that one's been.

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But in the meantime, if you are feeling

that you are on the receiving end of

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micromanagement some or a lot or all

of the time, then definitely that one

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could be worthwhile for you to listen

to in terms of strategies of how to

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handle it and how to cope and how to

get that person to potentially start

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to give a little trust and a backoff.

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So the second one then in terms of

the most popular episodes was five

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mistakes to avoid at interview.

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And this was one of our

really early episodes.

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In fact, both of those

were quite early episodes.

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So I guess they have had the

full year to, to gain listeners.

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But yeah the five mistakes to avoid

an interview is one that I think

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is most common that we've shared.

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Cause we've had clients who've been

preparing for interviews, who've been,

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wanting to get, whether that be that

internal promotion or, working with you

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on their job search for external roles.

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And again, it's one that we get a

lot of comments and messages in terms

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of how helpful that one has been.

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Is there a particular comment or

client that has stood out that's

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commented to you about that one?

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Pam: I think the best one for me was,

I listened to that episode, I did what

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you suggested, and I got the job offer.

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There's been so many of them this year.

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It's honestly the amount of

messages and everything, like

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when we set up the podcast,

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and this is another question that

someone asked me recently as well.

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Why did you start the podcast?

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And I suppose it's everything that

we wished we would have known.

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Back when we were in our corporate careers

and the interview one is huge because

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it is the difference between getting the

job offer and not getting the job offer.

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So being able to perform in that

interview, avoid those mistakes and stand

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out, that has been a real kind of popular

one and one that people have actually

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messaged and said, thank you, because

I did what you suggested and I avoided

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all of those mistakes and got the offer.

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And, for me that's huge because the

job offer is what we strive for when

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we go into the job search, isn't it?

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So yeah, so that, that's

probably been my most.

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Most popular message that I've

received this year from our listeners

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to say, it is what you said and

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Jacqui: Got the offer.

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And I think from my perspective,

it's been interesting as well

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having done some recruitment

assignments this year to feel like.

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Because sometimes I think we feel like

when we're talking about stuff, we're are

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we just sharing stuff that everyone knows?

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And when I've done recruitment, I'm

Oh, I wish you'd have heard that.

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I wish you'd have known

that before you came.

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So in that episode, we talk

about how to make sure that you

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can handle that all important

question of tell me about yourself.

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Which I know throws a lot

of people into a spin.

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It's a really Seemingly

innocuous question, but

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often takes people off guard.

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You're what do they want to know?

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How much detail should I give?

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So we cover that.

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We also cover the importance

of using the star format with

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competency based interviews and how

you can use that to your advantage.

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So yeah, along with some of

the other aspects, absolutely.

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If you are in interview preparation

mode, that one will give you some

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really tangible proven strategies.

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And even if you only would have been

at risk of making one of those five

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mistakes, then it will increase your

chances of being successful at interview.

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So the third one then was what to do

when you're told to be more strategic.

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And this came about because this

is constantly for my clients,

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something that they recognize.

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And in that episode, we explored a bit

of why do people get given that feedback?

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What does it even mean when you're

told that you should be more strategic?

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And how can you go about it?

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So sometimes those strategies are

showing what you're already capable of.

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And some of it is about

developing those skills.

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And I think, like you said, we want the

stuff that we needed when we were at that

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stage of our career to really come across.

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And I think that's a really

good example of an episode

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that kind of fits that brief.

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Isn't it?

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Pam: Yeah, definitely.

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And again, that is another one that we've

had loads of messages about, isn't it?

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Because so many times people will

start speaking to their managers or

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their leaders about promotion and

what's next for them and they get told.

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It's not the right time for you.

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You need to be more strategic, but nobody

ever seems to provide that information on

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how to become more strategic people will

say it, but they don't always provide

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any context or give you any kind of

action plan behind how you can do that.

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So I think in that episode, like

helping people just to understand.

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What being more strategic

in your role looks like.

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I think that, when people have been

sending messages in that's been the

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most useful thing just being able to

understand that and then allowing people

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to then have the confidence to be able

to push back and ask questions and, probe

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a little bit deeper on what actually

do you want to see from me because it's

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easy to pop somebody off, isn't it?

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And say, you need to be more strategic

without actually giving them the

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detail on how they need to do that.

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So I think that, that was probably

one of my favorite episodes to record

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because that is something that, that

comes up for both of our clients.

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But, that's something that

came up in my own career and.

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Thinking about being strategic

when you're not actually quite

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sure what does that mean?

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And we've shared that episode, haven't we?

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Like with lots of people who have said,

I've been asked to be more strategic

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or something along those lines.

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And we've said listen to this because,

we've already discussed this on the

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podcast and, there'll probably be

some tips that you can take away to

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help you become more strategic or

start to think more strategically.

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So I think that was probably one of my

favorite ones, as well as it being one of

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the most popular downloaded ones as well.

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Jacqui: And I think for me

as well, it's that aspect.

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So many of my clients are in that camp

where they know that they can think

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and operate strategically, but when

you're in a smaller business, so most

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of my work is with founder led SMEs

and leaders within that type of space.

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And even at a senior level there,

You are flitting between strategic

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and kind of day to day business, as

usual, operations, that kind of thing.

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So it's very easy to be pulled

into the weeds and to almost

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forget that you've got that.

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And it's difficult to create the

time and the space where even if

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you've got that capability, that

you're using it and honing it and

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showcasing it to other people.

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So that's.

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another aspect of what

we cover in that episode.

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So the final one then from the

top four is the episode that we

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did on overcoming self doubt.

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And this again is one that just comes

up time and time again, doesn't it?

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And there's so many different ways that

self doubt can strike so many different

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circumstances that can trigger it,

from that micromanaging to getting

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the promotion and being like, yay.

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Oh, now I've actually

got to do this thing.

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So self doubt is just an

inevitable part, I think of being

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an ambitious manager or leader.

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And this absolutely, for me, was one

that I wish like 26 year old, 27 year

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old me had got because I didn't quite

grasp how normal and how necessary self

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doubt was, and when I then did experience

it, there was all that kind of Oh, does

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this mean that I'm not good enough?

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Does this mean that, what's going on here?

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So things had come quite easily to

me in the early part of my career.

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And so when they didn't anymore,

I was kind of like, Oh, I don't

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know what to do with this now.

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Yeah.

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Pam: And it's always

a tough one, isn't it?

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When you get to that point and that

self doubt does start to creep in

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because sometimes a lot of the time.

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You haven't really got anyone to share

that with, or you haven't got anyone

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that can really give you, the advice

that you need or handhold you through

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that and make you see that actually

this is just a natural part of your

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development and you will feel like that

from time to time and, it is about.

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Like really looking into what

is making me feel like that?

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And is there any evidence to, to

show that, why or how I should

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be doubting myself at this point?

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And I think that was a real eye opener.

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I think for some of our

listeners, wasn't it?

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That self doubt is something that

will creep in from time to time.

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And.

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Is something that you will deal with

on your personal development journey,

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but definitely something that you can

overcome that you can, you can start

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almost welcoming in that self doubt

because, on the other side of that is that

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real development and that real progress.

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Jacqui: I think that's the thing,

development is meant to be hard, like

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if you're only ever doing things that

feel easy and you feel comfortable and

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confident with, you are keeping yourself

firmly in your comfort zone and you are

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stuck and you are not achieving to the

potential that you could be achieving.

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And I think it's important to.

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be aware of that and to embrace some

of the discomfort and some of that

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challenge and some of that kind of

recognize it as a sign of growth.

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It's also really important to

have the right kind of support

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network and be able to be.

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yourself and not have to constantly

have a mask on to pretend that

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you don't have self doubt.

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And yeah, we explore some of

that in the episode, but we will

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definitely again be following up.

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So as we round off then for this

year I'm just going to read out.

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So we have had permission

to share this anonymously.

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I think this is.

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Yeah, next year maybe we'll

share our favorite messages.

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So if you want to be a contender for

that, then please do message one of us.

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But yeah, I'm just going to

round off with just this amazing

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message that we received.

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So I just wanted to thank you and

Pamela for the awesome podcast.

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I left my job and d*ckhead

boss in July and felt so lost

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with looking for a new role.

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Your podcast has been my savior

and all your CV and interview tips

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were invaluable to me, securing a

new role, which I start next week.

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I recently listened to your

episode on taking ownership of your

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onboarding and found the template

you provided incredibly helpful.

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Thank you again.

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And I can't wait to get through

the more relevant episodes as

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I need them in my new role.

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Fantastic to hear that somebody has

been able to move away from their

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d*ckhead boss, who potentially would

have been the micromanager, avoid the

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five mistakes interview can clearly

demonstrate their strategic capacity

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and is overcome the self doubt.

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So I feel like that is a perfect example

of a message from someone who's probably

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listened to all of those episodes.

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Thank you all for being with us

during the course of this year.

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Every single download means so much to us.

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Honestly, we were just shrieking as

we were just about to start recording.

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Cause we realized that we have

gone over the 5, 000 downloads mark

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which feels like a real milestone.

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So we really appreciate each and

every time that you listen, that

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you share an episode and that

you tell us that you've got value

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from an episode that's out there.

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will be back in the new year for a whole

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load of more great episodes and value.

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If there are any topics you want

us to cover, then as ever drop us a

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message, but in the meantime, enjoy

the break, feel free to check out

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those other episodes during that

time, if they would be valuable to you

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and we'll catch you early next year.