Career Development, Leadership and Workplace Culture blog

Career Development

Leadership and Workplace Culture

Annabel Smith, career and leadership-development coach, in red sweater sitting at a desk holding a mug, with a decorative wall hanging behind and a vase of red berries on the table.

Insights, data, case studies

This blog is where I share insights from my coaching practice—stories, ideas, reports, and reflections on the evolving world of work and our responses to it. Whether you’re a leader developing your own style and vision, a professional seeking a sense of purpose or an employee navigating a challenging workplace culture, I hope you find something of value here.

My clients come from a wide range of sectors, backgrounds and cultures, each facing unique challenges. Their stories shape my thinking and inspire much of what I write. Beyond coaching, this is a space for exploring big ideas - outdated leadership models, systemic workplace barriers or how we respond to crises with humanity and creativity.

You’ll find posts prompted by global trends in leadership, career development, and organizational change. Some will offer practical strategies to tackle universal challenges and some will simply reflect on the human experience of work. I write about the injustices that infuriate me, the progress that excites me, and the conversations that shape my approach to coaching and leadership development.

Wherever you are in the world of work, I hope you find something of interest here.

What’s New

Featured
Are you in an identity void?
Are you in an identity void?

Just 3 words - but you can say them three different ways:
Who are you?
Who are you?
Who are you?

Our focus is on understanding how your relationship with work shapes and influences your overall sense of identity - and vice versa. It takes time - but from the very first session you’re in charge. This is your subject: you’re the world expert on you.

Are you a chameleon - or an Indonesian mimic octopus??
Are you a chameleon - or an Indonesian mimic octopus??

We humans are incredibly good at adapting.

But our desire to fit in can also lead to us getting further and further away from our comfort zones and from ourselves.

I've been that chameleon, and I've been the mimic octopus. I've learned that no amount of adapting and contorting yourself will ever make you happy if you're in the wrong place for you.

What’s stopping you?
What’s stopping you?

Many of the people I work with people look successful and strong on the outside - but something inside is holding them back and stopping them from being the person they know they can be, and living the life they truly want.

That's the work we do together.

What do you have inside you that’s struggling to get free?

Don’t be kind or I’ll cry!
Don’t be kind or I’ll cry!

One more rubbish thing happens, we double-down, take the hit and carry on. Someone says something kind - the tears flow.

I build supportive, professional partnerships with my clients and create a place where tears are a natural part of our work, particularly in our first few sessions.

Our relationship with work is one of the most significant relationships of our adult lives. If it breaks down, our health, our wealth and all our other relationships suffer.
Getting work right is a game-changer.

Would you like to chat - or maybe you have a question?

Send me a message!