For
You're good at the work. Now you want the next thing.
You can ship. What's less obvious is how careers actually move: who notices, what to say, and which of the thousand things people tell you is worth acting on.
Drawn from these themes
The leadership shift nobody prepares you for.
Why do so many engineers struggle after becoming Tech Leads? Former N26 CTO Pat Kua explains the mindset shift from maker to multiplier, with practical advice for Software Engineers, Tech Leads and Engineering Managers who want to lead with greater impact.
Practical advice for handling difficult conversations at work, at home, and in life.
Learn how to handle difficult conversations with confidence. Tom Day shares practical strategies for building trust, preventing conflict, and creating stronger teams through better communication at work and at home.
How to explain technical ideas to anyone.
Former Microsoft leader Ben Pearce explains how engineers and technical teams can communicate complex ideas clearly, influence stakeholders, gain buy-in, and accelerate career growth using practical communication frameworks.
And the mindset that takes you further than you were trained to go.
The career advice you were given may be limiting your future. Discover why rigid career paths no longer work and how a shift in mindset can help you adapt, stay relevant, and go further in a world where roles and industries constantly change.
The operating model for consulting, fractional, and NED success.
Build a consulting, fractional, or NED business you can rely on. Dan Gwalter shares a proven operating model for predictable clients, sustainable income, and confidence beyond corporate life.
How to build something of your own without risking everything.
If you have the seed of a business idea, this episode shows how to explore it safely. Learn how to turn a side hustle into a real business, build momentum, and create an exit from corporate life without quitting your job too soon.
A more human way to interview as a candidate and get better results.
Get practical job interview tips to boost your interview confidence. Marylin Schlamkow shares how dating principles help you prepare, build rapport, and show your best self. A fresh approach for anyone wanting to ace an interview.
See exactly where you stand, and what to do next.
Meri Williams explains the six core skills for technical leadership. Learn how to assess your capabilities, map role expectations, and plan your career toward engineering director or CTO roles.
Why hard work stops working, and what high-impact leaders do instead.
Learn the five levels of high-impact leaders and how to break the effort ceiling. Giorgos Ampavis explains why hard work stops working—and the shifts that help you increase your impact, progress faster, and avoid burnout.
How to build a career with direction and purpose.
Build a deliberate career with Bruce Pannaman’s framework: define outcomes, map strengths, pick the right roles, and plan long-term growth. Tech career strategy you can use today.
Interview secrets to help you get hired and hire the people you want.
Sam Grill reveals how candidates show impact and how managers run faster, fairer interviews. Great questions, better decisions, less bias—hire and get hired.
You don't get promoted for effort. You get promoted for impact.
Dan Ashby replaces checkbox careers with impact-based growth: evidence, outcomes, and tools you can carry between roles. Get promoted for results, not effort.
Find your voice and build your presence on LinkedIn.
Creator Jack Ralph on beating posting fear, finding ideas, and making standout LinkedIn videos without fancy gear. Grow reach, win clients, and build a personal brand that converts.
How to sell yourself and land the role you want.
Marylin Schlamkow turns job search into a sales pipeline: target lists, tailored outreach, storytelling, follow-ups, and CRM discipline to win interviews and offers faster.
Want to get promoted faster? Do this.
Kevin McDonnell’s system for choosing what to learn, turning skills into confidence, and sharing to get noticed. Continuous learning tips to accelerate promotions and career growth.
You'll wish you'd heard this five years ago.
Aaron Norris’ method to clarify your future, define success, and take daily action. Move from goal-setting to goal-getting with a structured plan you can start today.
You've achieved everything. So why aren't you happy?
Ellinor shares science-backed habits for happiness now—clarity, choices, daily practices—so success is sustainable. A practical wellbeing guide for ambitious professionals.
Free, ungated, and written by the guests themselves.
Assess your leadership mindset with Pat Kua’s free Tech Lead worksheet. Five practical questions to help engineering leaders move from writing code to multiplying team impact, improving delegation, coaching and technical leadership.
Pat KuaPDF · 110 KB
AI survival guide: 8 tips to stay ahead in an AI-driven world. Learn how to use artificial intelligence safely, avoid bias, protect your data, improve critical thinking, and stay relevant without losing your human edge.
Eloisa ToveePDF · 994 KB
How to Stay Relevant in Your Career is a practical guide to navigating change, building adaptable skills, and future-proofing your professional growth. Learn how to stay valuable, confident, and resilient in a fast-changing world of work.
Kieran CornwallPDF · 1.5 MB
Boost your interview confidence with this dating-inspired guide. Learn how to prepare, build rapport, answer clearly, and show up as your real self. Download the guide and listen to the episode for practical job interview tips that get results.
Marylin SchlamkowPDF · 1.6 MB
Map your technical leadership skills, identify development areas, and compare roles with Meri Williams’ Career Vectors Framework — a clear tool for engineers, managers, directors, and CTOs.
Meri WilliamsPDF · 3.1 MB
A practical self-assessment tool to break the “effort ceiling” and boost your impact. Discover the five levels of high-impact leaders and learn how to work smarter, lead better, and accelerate your career without burning out.
Giorgos AmpavisPDF · 1.5 MB
Build a deliberate career path with this framework for defining goals, choosing the right routes, and developing the superpowers to reach them. Turn your tech career from chance into choice.
Bruce PannamanPDF · 17.1 MB
Learn five pro editing techniques from retoucher Beth Perkins to make every photo look sharp, consistent, and credible. Perfect for LinkedIn, personal brands, and business profiles.
Beth PerkinsPDF · 5.4 MB
Ace your next interview with real questions, model answers, and hiring insights. A must-have guide for both candidates and managers who want better interviews and smarter decisions.
Sam GrillPDF · 2.2 MB
Engineer your career around impact, not titles. Learn Dan Ashby’s framework for mapping skills to results, planning growth, and proving your value through visible impact.
Dan AshbyPDF · 13.7 MB
Jack Ralph’s bold guide to creating LinkedIn posts that stand out. Learn how to start strong, show your human side, and build authentic visibility that leads to opportunity.
Jack RalphPDF · 3.9 MB
Transform your job search into a sales pipeline with Marylin Schlamkow’s 10-step framework. Prospect smarter, tell your story with impact, and close the role you want.
Marylin SchlamkowPDF · 118 KB
Advance your career by taking action. Learn how to grow through side projects, public learning, and sharing progress — a hands-on guide to building skills that stick.
Kevin McDonnellPDF · 97 KB
A guided template to define your goals and values by writing a letter from your future self. Build clarity, motivation, and purpose through reflection and visualisation.
Aaron NorrisPDF · 161 KB
Boost self-awareness and joy with this reflective questionnaire. Evaluate your happiness, clarify what you want next, and rediscover a sense of direction and contentment.
Ellinor GlesnerPDF · 2.9 MBMost people sit between two of these. Have a look at the others.
Your job is now other people's decisions, not just your code.
Above senior, the work stops being what you build and starts being what you can get a room to agree on. Nobody hands you the authority to go with it.
You're leading the team you were recently part of.
The skills that got you here are not the ones that keep a team healthy. Most of the job is now conversations nobody trained you for.
You set the direction, and own it when it doesn't land.
At this level the hard part isn't deciding. It's getting an organisation to act on the decision, hire against it, and keep going when it becomes inconvenient.
You're building the thing and running the business around it.
Nobody sets your priorities and nobody covers for you. The work is deciding what to raise, what to build, who to sell to, and how to keep going.
New episode every other Tuesday. Follow on the platform you already use — it's the only thing we ever ask.