March 19, 2025 • 14 mins
Ever found yourself stuck in the coffee line with your CEO and suddenly forgetting how to form sentences? Or wondering how to ask for feedback without seeming desperate?
Welcome to BIZ Inbox, your new workplace group chat where we answer all the awkward workplace scenarios you've been dying to solve.
Writer and podcaster Em Vernem gets career coach extraordinaire Soph Hirst’s foolproof strategy for making small talk with the big boss. Plus you’ll learn why asking for feedback actually shows confidence and get simple but effective ways to make friends at work.
If you want your work life issue solved, send us a voice note or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au.
Sign up to the BIZ newsletter here and follow the Biz Instagram here.
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Follow Michelle's startup Sunroom and Soph’s career coaching business Workbaby.
HOSTS: Soph Hirst and Em Vernem
EXEC PRODUCER: Kimberly Braddish
AUDIO PRODUCER: Leah Porges
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to a Mother Me podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hello, and welcome to Beers in Box. I'm M ven
M and I'm a Taurus, which apparently means as a
work colleague, I'm patient, reliable, and steady, and I think
all of our producers here can attest that that is
extremely inaccurate.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
And I'm so first.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I know this makes me sound very uncool, but I
actually don't believe in star science.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It is that bad controversial.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We do.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We know, girlies in the office.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I know what makes me uncool, especially like I'm a
gen Z coach Gensey very much into star Science. For
the record, I am a virgo though, and I'm told
in terms of work, we apparently take pride and strongly
identify in our work.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I feel like that's you.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I don't believe it. M our. Other co host Michelle
Batters view.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Is an aries what do the stars say about her
work life?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
It says that she's independent, self asshured and full of ideas,
which I feel like is her in a nutshell? Yeah,
maybe you should believe into star signs.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Okay, So every week for Inbox, we answer your burning
career questions in the simplest way possible because we're busy
and we know you're busy as well. We don't sugarcoat.
We get straight to the answers without the need of
a corporate translator. M.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
This week we're nailing the art of small talk, feeling
more secure in our jobs, and figuring out how.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
To break the work colleague threshold.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So jumping straight into it this week. So if we
received this question from Marli.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
What do I talk about when I find myself standing
next to the big boss in the coffee line?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
On No, This question makes me laugh because m do
you remember the first time I met you?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
And I do Mia Friedman.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Who's the big boss of Mum and Mia. She actually
told this story about how she was in the elevator
with you, and you know, she said, hi, am, how
are you going? And she, you know, asked you some
questions and then she stopped and she waited and she
stayed silent, and she waited for you to say something
because it was your turn to talk, and you didn't
say anything, and then the doors opened.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
You got how the elevator walked off And I was like,
that's such a boss move, because if that was me,
I would have been, you know, taking every opportunity to
ask a million questions, sort of sucking up to the
big boss of it.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
So I'm keen to hear what's your approach to this?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh my god, she loves telling the story. What she
forgets to say is that I was extremely hungover that
morning and they physically could not say any words. Well actually,
which I feel like I'm throwing myself under the bus,
because I actually do have another small talk story with
other co founder Mom and Mia Jason. It was during
(02:57):
a MoMA mea Christmas party and I think the attire
of the party was like we're out of lawn bowls
and he was wearing a cricket hat and we found
ourselves like it was just me and him waiting in
line at the bar, and I was like, oh, we
probably have to make conversation. How do I do this?
He was fine, just not talking to me, by the way,
So I really put myself in this situation. He was
(03:18):
wearing the cricket hat and that's all I could think about.
So I was like, hey, Ja, so I really like
your cricket hat and he was like, thanks, Sam. I
had no idea what to say next, so I just
started listing cricketers that I knew, and I don't know
that many, so I just started saying, yep, Adam Zampa
throughout Coli pat Commons, and he was like, yep, yep,
they're all cricketers. And then I was like, it's shame
(03:39):
about Shane Warn. He was like, yep, it's a shame.
And then I got my drink and I ran out
of there. It was a little wor I think about
this moment like at least once a month.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
See, that's funny because I actually rate what you just did.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Oh let me no, I rate that.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Let me tell you why. First of all, the worst
thing that you can do is feel so nervous to
talk to a big boss that you actually just don't
do it at all. So a lot of people will
kind of not take that opportunity. But don't make the
mistake that I always made in my career, which is
you're so desperate to talk to them that you just
come across as really fawning and like trying way too hard.
I like to sort of say, you know, this boss
(04:17):
is a human and it actually helps them to get
to know younger people in the company, and anyone in
the company so it's not just like they're this amazing
person and you're just trying to not screw it up
and just like ask the right questions. It's like it's
in their interest to get to know you as well.
So I always just like to take a pretty simple
approach to this, which is, if you do find yourself
(04:39):
standing next to the big boss in the coffee line
and you've got this opportunity to talk to someone number one,
just like try to get a little bit of a
vibe with them, try to create some kind of connection.
And so I've got a couple of go tos that
I use, but it is helpful to introduce yourself and
remind them of your name. Depending on how big your
company is, they might not know who you are. So like,
you know, I'm Sophie. I work in marketing, and my
go to question I just love to say, you know
(05:00):
what's big for you this week and just kind of
drive funny yeah, because then you get just like a
little piece of little nugget of information from them, and
just remember that they might tell you something about their
personal life or something work related.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Try and remember that for next time you chat to them.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
And then the other thing that I love doing is.
You know, often they will say what are you working
on right now?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And it's a weirdly hard question to answer.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Because you're like, I'm working on forty things. Which of
these things do I say? And like you won't even understand,
So I.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Like, don't laugh at me, but I say this. I
used to practice on my way to work, and I.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Would always just have like a couple of bullet points
in my head of like things that I'm working on
that kind of relate to something bigger that's going on
in the company.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Working at a bier.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Company like Google, I did find that was helpful because
if you do have these opportunities in the lift or
in the coffee line with senior leaders, you can speak
confidently about what you're working on, and you can show
up as someone who's working on important things and really
got it together.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's smart. Okay, I'm going to adopt that because that
was way better than my strategy of talking about a
sport that I have no idea about and our a
co founded things. I'm a massive cricket fan. I'm spending
all my spare time researching cricket things. In case he
asks me about it.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Again, No, you created connection with him, which is why
I think it was so brilliant.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
A fake one.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
So so we got this next question straight to our
biz instagram. We are Beerz by Mama Mam make sure
you follow us, and it said, how do I ask
for feedback from my manager to help me improve without
giving off the vibes that I'm insecure about my role?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
You know, the opposite is true.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So asking for feedback actually shows power and as much
as you can lean in and embrace it, that's going
to help you so much in your career. It's just
a massive unlock. So I managed a lot of people,
and the ones that proactively came to me and asked
me for feedback about how they're doing in their role,
they came across as the ones who are actually more
(06:57):
confident and more secure in themselves. So I think this
feedback loop that you can create, particularly with your manager,
because your manager is probably the closest to seeing you,
you know, do your job, and so creating this feedback
loop with them is so important. The thing is, it's
really hard, and I think people have this thing of
(07:19):
like feedback's a gift.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Ask for feedback.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It is actually so hard to do consistently and so
just something I think might be interesting for you them.
Do you know that seventy percent of managers are actually
uncomfortable communicating and forty percent are uncomfortable giving feedback at all,
So just remember like it's hard as a manager to
give feedback. It's hard for you to hear it, it's
(07:42):
hard for you to ask for it, but it is
really important. So the one thing that I found has
worked in my career and then also with the people
that I manage, is it's not just a once off
thing where you, you know, once a year you have
your performance review and they either give you feedback, you
ask the feedback and it's like set and forget feedback.
(08:02):
And having a feedback loop is actually an going conversation
and you have to constantly remind your manager that you
want feedback. So I would start really simple and try
to be specific. So I would pick a couple of
things that you want to work on. So maybe it's
like I want to work on my presentation skills at meetings,
So I'd say to my manager, I'm really trying to
(08:23):
work on my presentation skills right now in this next
meeting that we're doing. The team meeting, Can you give
me some feedback on how I go and just try
to be a bit more specific about what you're asking
for feedback on. I had a really cool system with
one of my managers where he knew I was working
on presentation skills.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Every time we were in a room.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Together and I was speaking in a meeting, he would
just write one thing on a post it note and
just hand it to me as we walked out the door.
He didn't even have to tell me the feedback, and
it was always just one thing I did well and
one thing that I needed.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
To work on or I could work on oh so good,
and it would just helped so much.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It just like took all the pain out of it
was just like this very casual kind of ongoing thing.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
That would be my.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Advice is like ask for feedback on specific things and
just know it's not something you ask for once. You
sort of have to keep asking for it because it's
quite hard for managers sometimes to give feedback to.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Is there such thing as kind of overdoing it, because
obviously your manager probably manages other people, they have their
own work to work on, Like, is there a such
thing as just being too much and being annoying when
you're constantly asking them for feedback or asking them for
like a raise or like a promotion, or like can
I work on this new project? Is there such thing
as doing too much?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Definitely, Really ask yourself, like is it feedback you're looking
for or is it some kind of recognition that you're
doing a good job from your manager and sort of
separate like validation validation exactly. So it's cool that you
have enough awareness that you realize that remembering that your
manager probably has other people that they're looking after and
not overdoing it for sure, specifically with feedback, your manager
(09:51):
is not the only person that you need to be
asking or like that you can ask for feedback or
go to to help you when it comes to things
like you know, your career, getting better at your job.
You should be leaning on other leaders in the company, peers,
like ask other people feedback. You don't need to be
going to your manager for everything. And I think it's
actually really helpful to start building relationships with people other
(10:13):
than your manager as well.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
So after the break, we are going to be tackling
the social side of work. So our final question for
this week comes from Dylan.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
This feels like such a weird question, But how do
I make friends at work?
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I just started a new job and don't know anyone yet.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Ah, Dylan, I know we'll hang out with you.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I would love to hear your answer on this too. M.
I think it's funny, isn't it something like making friends
at work? Should I make friends at work? There's this
amazing study that I read recently that actually said when
it comes to sort of how you feel about your job,
beyond the salary you're getting or your manager, it actually
came down.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
To do you have a work bestie? Do you have
a best friend at work?
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And this had actually so much in fluence on people's
experience in the workplace. So it sounds like a cute question,
but it actually is really important. So I think it's
also been made so much harder with hybrid work and
work from home. Especially for young people coming in, it
can feel really intimidating. You're coming into this organization where
it feels like everyone's already friends, and you're like, how
(11:24):
do I actually break into this?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I'm keen to hear what would be so your tips.
I feel like.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's very situational and I've been very lucky with my
workplace a Mummia, because we're all women, we all have
the same passions, we're all very similar age, and a
lot of the friendships I made with women who don't
work in Mummy anymore, but they become like my closest,
closest lifelong friends was mainly because we were all from
(11:50):
either different parts of Sydney or different parts of Australia,
and we didn't really have anyone else, like, we didn't
have a close friendship group, and we just kind of
came together. Because workers in the city, it was easy
to hang out. But I think the main reason why
I was able to make friends at work was because
I always kind of said yes to a lot of
things like after work drinks, like hanging out someone started
(12:15):
team sport, things like that, going for dinners, putting your
hand out for doing like extra work like out of
hours if it's like something fun to do. I think
it's those little things that made my friendships kind of form,
as well as just being super interested in people not
just for the work they do in the company, but
their personal lives as well, and remembering things I've told you,
(12:38):
like I know, I'm lucky because a lot of us
are the same age, but I know there's so many
workplaces where a team could be made up of some
people in the twenties, some people in their fifties. And
I think the like genuine interest you have in people
is the thing that makes friendships form. Things like, oh,
how is your son's birthday on the weekend? Did you
end up getting him that present? Like little things like that.
I feel like I really appreciate when people remember things
(13:00):
like that from my personal life, and I think that
goes two ways.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I don't even need to answer this question because I
think that was for Hex.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
You're the career coach now, No, I totally.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Agree the promotion for me.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Dude took the words out of my mouth.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Those would be my two points to like say yes
to stuff, actually do things, and follow up.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So go and do the sewing.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Class, do the K pop dance class, Like actually hang
out with people and take an interest in people, ask
some questions, remember the answers, and just like be interested
in their life. Even before you're at the point where
you're starting to do things with people at work, maybe
a really simple way that you can start building that
initial connection is just noticing when your peers and coworkers
(13:45):
are doing stuff that you think is great, actually take
the time to send them this like message to say like, hey,
I thought your presentation in the meeting today was really cool.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
This is what I liked about it.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I think so often you'll think your peers have done
something good and you're kind of like, ah, they know it.
You just like don't take the effort to actually tell them.
So tell your coworkers when they do something good, and
you'll be surprised how much that can form a little
connection or bond with them that you can build on
from there.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
That's so good. It's also so simple. It's basically like,
just be a nice person. Yeah, and people want to
be your friend.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Just be cool. Thanks for helping us clear the biers inbox.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
If you've got to work questions, send it our way.
You'll find a link to submit your questions in the
show notes.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And if you missed it earlier this week, Miss and
soph answered the question that we've all asked ourselves at
one point or another, should we be starting our own business?
Head back in the feed to check it out, and
we will also put a link in our show notes.
We'll be back here in the biz Inbox next week.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Bye see ya.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Mamma Maya acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on
You're listening to a Mother Me podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hello, and welcome to Beers in Box. I'm M ven
M and I'm a Taurus, which apparently means as a
work colleague, I'm patient, reliable, and steady, and I think
all of our producers here can attest that that is
extremely inaccurate.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
And I'm so first.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I know this makes me sound very uncool, but I
actually don't believe in star science.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It is that bad controversial.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We do.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We know, girlies in the office.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I know what makes me uncool, especially like I'm a
gen Z coach Gensey very much into star Science. For
the record, I am a virgo though, and I'm told
in terms of work, we apparently take pride and strongly
identify in our work.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I feel like that's you.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I don't believe it. M our. Other co host Michelle
Batters view.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Is an aries what do the stars say about her
work life?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
It says that she's independent, self asshured and full of ideas,
which I feel like is her in a nutshell? Yeah,
maybe you should believe into star signs.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Okay, So every week for Inbox, we answer your burning
career questions in the simplest way possible because we're busy
and we know you're busy as well. We don't sugarcoat.
We get straight to the answers without the need of
a corporate translator. M.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
This week we're nailing the art of small talk, feeling
more secure in our jobs, and figuring out how.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
To break the work colleague threshold.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So jumping straight into it this week. So if we
received this question from Marli.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
What do I talk about when I find myself standing
next to the big boss in the coffee line?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
On No, This question makes me laugh because m do
you remember the first time I met you?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
And I do Mia Friedman.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Who's the big boss of Mum and Mia. She actually
told this story about how she was in the elevator
with you, and you know, she said, hi, am, how
are you going? And she, you know, asked you some
questions and then she stopped and she waited and she
stayed silent, and she waited for you to say something
because it was your turn to talk, and you didn't
say anything, and then the doors opened.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
You got how the elevator walked off And I was like,
that's such a boss move, because if that was me,
I would have been, you know, taking every opportunity to
ask a million questions, sort of sucking up to the
big boss of it.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
So I'm keen to hear what's your approach to this?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh my god, she loves telling the story. What she
forgets to say is that I was extremely hungover that
morning and they physically could not say any words. Well actually,
which I feel like I'm throwing myself under the bus,
because I actually do have another small talk story with
other co founder Mom and Mia Jason. It was during
(02:57):
a MoMA mea Christmas party and I think the attire
of the party was like we're out of lawn bowls
and he was wearing a cricket hat and we found
ourselves like it was just me and him waiting in
line at the bar, and I was like, oh, we
probably have to make conversation. How do I do this?
He was fine, just not talking to me, by the way,
So I really put myself in this situation. He was
(03:18):
wearing the cricket hat and that's all I could think about.
So I was like, hey, Ja, so I really like
your cricket hat and he was like, thanks, Sam. I
had no idea what to say next, so I just
started listing cricketers that I knew, and I don't know
that many, so I just started saying, yep, Adam Zampa
throughout Coli pat Commons, and he was like, yep, yep,
they're all cricketers. And then I was like, it's shame
(03:39):
about Shane Warn. He was like, yep, it's a shame.
And then I got my drink and I ran out
of there. It was a little wor I think about
this moment like at least once a month.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
See, that's funny because I actually rate what you just did.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Oh let me no, I rate that.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Let me tell you why. First of all, the worst
thing that you can do is feel so nervous to
talk to a big boss that you actually just don't
do it at all. So a lot of people will
kind of not take that opportunity. But don't make the
mistake that I always made in my career, which is
you're so desperate to talk to them that you just
come across as really fawning and like trying way too hard.
I like to sort of say, you know, this boss
(04:17):
is a human and it actually helps them to get
to know younger people in the company, and anyone in
the company so it's not just like they're this amazing
person and you're just trying to not screw it up
and just like ask the right questions. It's like it's
in their interest to get to know you as well.
So I always just like to take a pretty simple
approach to this, which is, if you do find yourself
(04:39):
standing next to the big boss in the coffee line
and you've got this opportunity to talk to someone number one,
just like try to get a little bit of a
vibe with them, try to create some kind of connection.
And so I've got a couple of go tos that
I use, but it is helpful to introduce yourself and
remind them of your name. Depending on how big your
company is, they might not know who you are. So like,
you know, I'm Sophie. I work in marketing, and my
go to question I just love to say, you know
(05:00):
what's big for you this week and just kind of
drive funny yeah, because then you get just like a
little piece of little nugget of information from them, and
just remember that they might tell you something about their
personal life or something work related.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Try and remember that for next time you chat to them.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
And then the other thing that I love doing is.
You know, often they will say what are you working
on right now?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And it's a weirdly hard question to answer.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Because you're like, I'm working on forty things. Which of
these things do I say? And like you won't even understand,
So I.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Like, don't laugh at me, but I say this. I
used to practice on my way to work, and I.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Would always just have like a couple of bullet points
in my head of like things that I'm working on
that kind of relate to something bigger that's going on
in the company.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Working at a bier.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Company like Google, I did find that was helpful because
if you do have these opportunities in the lift or
in the coffee line with senior leaders, you can speak
confidently about what you're working on, and you can show
up as someone who's working on important things and really
got it together.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's smart. Okay, I'm going to adopt that because that
was way better than my strategy of talking about a
sport that I have no idea about and our a
co founded things. I'm a massive cricket fan. I'm spending
all my spare time researching cricket things. In case he
asks me about it.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Again, No, you created connection with him, which is why
I think it was so brilliant.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
A fake one.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
So so we got this next question straight to our
biz instagram. We are Beerz by Mama Mam make sure
you follow us, and it said, how do I ask
for feedback from my manager to help me improve without
giving off the vibes that I'm insecure about my role?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
You know, the opposite is true.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So asking for feedback actually shows power and as much
as you can lean in and embrace it, that's going
to help you so much in your career. It's just
a massive unlock. So I managed a lot of people,
and the ones that proactively came to me and asked
me for feedback about how they're doing in their role,
they came across as the ones who are actually more
(06:57):
confident and more secure in themselves. So I think this
feedback loop that you can create, particularly with your manager,
because your manager is probably the closest to seeing you,
you know, do your job, and so creating this feedback
loop with them is so important. The thing is, it's
really hard, and I think people have this thing of
(07:19):
like feedback's a gift.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Ask for feedback.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It is actually so hard to do consistently and so
just something I think might be interesting for you them.
Do you know that seventy percent of managers are actually
uncomfortable communicating and forty percent are uncomfortable giving feedback at all,
So just remember like it's hard as a manager to
give feedback. It's hard for you to hear it, it's
(07:42):
hard for you to ask for it, but it is
really important. So the one thing that I found has
worked in my career and then also with the people
that I manage, is it's not just a once off
thing where you, you know, once a year you have
your performance review and they either give you feedback, you
ask the feedback and it's like set and forget feedback.
(08:02):
And having a feedback loop is actually an going conversation
and you have to constantly remind your manager that you
want feedback. So I would start really simple and try
to be specific. So I would pick a couple of
things that you want to work on. So maybe it's
like I want to work on my presentation skills at meetings,
So I'd say to my manager, I'm really trying to
(08:23):
work on my presentation skills right now in this next
meeting that we're doing. The team meeting, Can you give
me some feedback on how I go and just try
to be a bit more specific about what you're asking
for feedback on. I had a really cool system with
one of my managers where he knew I was working
on presentation skills.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Every time we were in a room.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Together and I was speaking in a meeting, he would
just write one thing on a post it note and
just hand it to me as we walked out the door.
He didn't even have to tell me the feedback, and
it was always just one thing I did well and
one thing that I needed.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
To work on or I could work on oh so good,
and it would just helped so much.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
It just like took all the pain out of it
was just like this very casual kind of ongoing thing.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
That would be my.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Advice is like ask for feedback on specific things and
just know it's not something you ask for once. You
sort of have to keep asking for it because it's
quite hard for managers sometimes to give feedback to.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Is there such thing as kind of overdoing it, because
obviously your manager probably manages other people, they have their
own work to work on, Like, is there a such
thing as just being too much and being annoying when
you're constantly asking them for feedback or asking them for
like a raise or like a promotion, or like can
I work on this new project? Is there such thing
as doing too much?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Definitely, Really ask yourself, like is it feedback you're looking
for or is it some kind of recognition that you're
doing a good job from your manager and sort of
separate like validation validation exactly. So it's cool that you
have enough awareness that you realize that remembering that your
manager probably has other people that they're looking after and
not overdoing it for sure, specifically with feedback, your manager
(09:51):
is not the only person that you need to be
asking or like that you can ask for feedback or
go to to help you when it comes to things
like you know, your career, getting better at your job.
You should be leaning on other leaders in the company, peers,
like ask other people feedback. You don't need to be
going to your manager for everything. And I think it's
actually really helpful to start building relationships with people other
(10:13):
than your manager as well.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
So after the break, we are going to be tackling
the social side of work. So our final question for
this week comes from Dylan.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
This feels like such a weird question, But how do
I make friends at work?
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I just started a new job and don't know anyone yet.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Ah, Dylan, I know we'll hang out with you.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I would love to hear your answer on this too. M.
I think it's funny, isn't it something like making friends
at work? Should I make friends at work? There's this
amazing study that I read recently that actually said when
it comes to sort of how you feel about your job,
beyond the salary you're getting or your manager, it actually
came down.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
To do you have a work bestie? Do you have
a best friend at work?
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And this had actually so much in fluence on people's
experience in the workplace. So it sounds like a cute question,
but it actually is really important. So I think it's
also been made so much harder with hybrid work and
work from home. Especially for young people coming in, it
can feel really intimidating. You're coming into this organization where
it feels like everyone's already friends, and you're like, how
(11:24):
do I actually break into this?
Speaker 3 (11:25):
I'm keen to hear what would be so your tips.
I feel like.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It's very situational and I've been very lucky with my
workplace a Mummia, because we're all women, we all have
the same passions, we're all very similar age, and a
lot of the friendships I made with women who don't
work in Mummy anymore, but they become like my closest,
closest lifelong friends was mainly because we were all from
(11:50):
either different parts of Sydney or different parts of Australia,
and we didn't really have anyone else, like, we didn't
have a close friendship group, and we just kind of
came together. Because workers in the city, it was easy
to hang out. But I think the main reason why
I was able to make friends at work was because
I always kind of said yes to a lot of
things like after work drinks, like hanging out someone started
(12:15):
team sport, things like that, going for dinners, putting your
hand out for doing like extra work like out of
hours if it's like something fun to do. I think
it's those little things that made my friendships kind of form,
as well as just being super interested in people not
just for the work they do in the company, but
their personal lives as well, and remembering things I've told you,
(12:38):
like I know, I'm lucky because a lot of us
are the same age, but I know there's so many
workplaces where a team could be made up of some
people in the twenties, some people in their fifties. And
I think the like genuine interest you have in people
is the thing that makes friendships form. Things like, oh,
how is your son's birthday on the weekend? Did you
end up getting him that present? Like little things like that.
I feel like I really appreciate when people remember things
(13:00):
like that from my personal life, and I think that
goes two ways.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
I don't even need to answer this question because I
think that was for Hex.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
You're the career coach now, No, I totally.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Agree the promotion for me.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Dude took the words out of my mouth.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Those would be my two points to like say yes
to stuff, actually do things, and follow up.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So go and do the sewing.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Class, do the K pop dance class, Like actually hang
out with people and take an interest in people, ask
some questions, remember the answers, and just like be interested
in their life. Even before you're at the point where
you're starting to do things with people at work, maybe
a really simple way that you can start building that
initial connection is just noticing when your peers and coworkers
(13:45):
are doing stuff that you think is great, actually take
the time to send them this like message to say like, hey,
I thought your presentation in the meeting today was really cool.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
This is what I liked about it.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I think so often you'll think your peers have done
something good and you're kind of like, ah, they know it.
You just like don't take the effort to actually tell them.
So tell your coworkers when they do something good, and
you'll be surprised how much that can form a little
connection or bond with them that you can build on
from there.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
That's so good. It's also so simple. It's basically like,
just be a nice person. Yeah, and people want to
be your friend.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Just be cool. Thanks for helping us clear the biers inbox.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
If you've got to work questions, send it our way.
You'll find a link to submit your questions in the
show notes.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And if you missed it earlier this week, Miss and
soph answered the question that we've all asked ourselves at
one point or another, should we be starting our own business?
Head back in the feed to check it out, and
we will also put a link in our show notes.
We'll be back here in the biz Inbox next week.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Bye see ya.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Mamma Maya acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on
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