Share

cover art for #412 Skills Sprint: Problem solving

Squiggly Careers

#412 Skills Sprint: Problem solving

Season 2

This is episode 2 of 20 in the Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint. Today, Helen and Sarah talk about problem solving and how to view problems as an interesting opportunity to do something different and avoid getting stuck.


New to our Sprint? Our Skills Sprint is designed to help you create a regular learning habit to support your squiggly career development. ⁠

Each episode in the series is less than 7 minutes long and has ideas for action and recommended resources on a specific topic. ⁠


1. Sign up for the sprint and receive a free guide to get started: https://bit.ly/skillssprint2024

2. Watch our Sprint on YouTube: https://bit.ly/scss-playlist

3. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/


If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com


More episodes

View all episodes

  • #441 How to fit more play into your day

    33:12||Season 2
    This week, Helen and Sarah are getting playful! They talk about why it's important to prioritise play and work and share practical ways to do it individually and as a team. If you're feeling stretched or stressed fitting in small moments of play into your day is proven to relieve stress and increase connection with colleagues.You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/                Download our playful questions resource for free here: https://bit.ly/playfulquestions-atworkMore ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:     1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’:  https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #440 How to take initiative at work

    31:28||Season 2
    Taking initiative often feels like a nice idea that people don't quite know how to action. In this week's podcast, Helen and Sarah talk about why it's a skill that matters for squiggly careers and practical ways to increase your opportunity to take initiative at work. They share 4 different ideas including the importance of focusing on minimum viable progress and why you need to know the what and own the how. You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr102. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.comListen to our live podcast with Postcards from Midlife: Careers special: second act adventures - how to make the shift & change your life
  • #439 How to be more efficient (and effective)

    39:16||Season 2
    If you ever feel like you're not spending your time well at work then this week's episode will be a useful listen for you. Helen and Sarah talk through practical actions to help you be efficient (doing things right) and effective (getting the right things done). They discuss when a focus on efficiency can go too far and how to get the best balance for you and the people you work with. They share 5 ideas to help you to be more efficient with your time, your tasks, your meetings, your emails and your network. You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #438 How to overcome career complacency

    30:05||Season 2
    Career complacency happens when you're not intentional about improving your skills or exploring your future possibilities. Even when you're happy in your role, it's important to actively manage your development. Without it, we risk losing relevance and being less resilient to change. This week, Helen and Sarah share 5 ideas to action to overcome career complacency. They discuss how resistance goals can counteract a passive approach to your progression and the benefit of spending time with ambition allies. You can find the PodSheet, PodNote and full transcript for the episode at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers:   1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #437 How to plan your pivot

    28:18||Season 2
    This week, Helen and Sarah relook at the topic of career pivots which they first covered on the podcast in 2018. They share a 5 part process to take you from exploring your pivot possibilities to becoming known as someone with pivotability! If you're thinking about doing something different but don't know how to get started, this episode will be a useful listen to help you to action.More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #436 Ask the expert: Success

    35:14||Season 2
    This week, Helen is joined by entrepreneur, author and athlete Jodie Cook to talk about success. They explore how to use your strengths to drive your success, how to create your own success formula (with Helen being a live test subject) and how to reframe the failures you experience along the way.To find out more about Jodie and her work head to www.jodiecook.com or follow her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodie-cook/More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #435 Workaholism watch-outs

    35:30||Season 2
    This week Helen and Sarah are talking about workaholism, what it is, why it's a problem and how to respond if it's affecting you. They share ways to assess how at risk you are and lots of practical ideas for action to take back control.˚For more support, download our Podsheet that supports the episode. You can find all our Podsheets at https://www.amazingif.com/listen/More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #434 How to bring your best to your team

    37:24||Season 2
    This week, Helen and Sarah explore the connection between individual and team success. Discover how bringing your best to work can become an accelerator for team growth, attracting new opportunities and projects that benefit everyone. Helen and Sarah share actionable tips to increase impact: from identifying what makes you unique and sorting out sticking points to strategically offering support and combining team strengths. They dive deeper into how you can add value and connect with your team, even through the knotty moments. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com
  • #433 How to create your post-summer reset

    31:05||Season 2
    This week, Helen and Sarah share their top tips to reset your approach to career development after a summer break. Time-off gives you the space to slow down. Ideally, we come back to work energised and ready to grow. However, returning to daily pressures and demands can result in development being depriotised and the opportunity for learning getting missed. To overcome this challenge, Helen and Sarah share 4 ideas for action to make career development easy and unmissable. From setting growth goals to designing your own skill sprint, they talk through simple solutions that can make a big difference to your career. More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 1. Read our latest HBR article: https://bit.ly/3XmAcki-hbr10 2. Sign up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint: https://bit.ly/skillssprint20243. Sign up for PodMail, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/sc-podmail4. Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’: https://www.amazingif.com/books/If you have any questions or feedback (which we love!) you can email us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com