Choose Work

#010: Stepping into the Swamp: Psychological Flexibility & ACT for Career Transitions with Dr. Rachael Skews

How do you navigate career transitions when things feel uncertain and uncomfortable? In this episode in English, I’m joined by Dr. Rachael Skews — behavioural scientist, psychologist, coach, and internationally recognised expert in Acceptance & Commitment Coaching. We take a deep dive into career transitions and psychological flexibility & ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy),exploring why uncertainty, fear, impostor thoughts, and self-doubt often show up when our work really matters — and how ACT can help us move forward. * TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction to Choose Work 01:05 Career transitions, psychological flexibility, and why this episode matters 01:30 Meet Dr. Rachael Skews and her work in Acceptance & Commitment Coaching 03:10 What Acceptance & Commitment Coaching really is (and what it isn’t) 06:45 Impostor thoughts, self-doubt, and why high performers experience them 08:30 Why the goal isn’t to get rid of difficult thoughts and feelings 10:30 Rachael’s non-linear career journey: consultancy, academia, health tech, and entrepreneurship 15:10 Moving from academia to Headspace and working in behavioural science 18:10 Entrepreneurship, uncertainty, and psychological flexibility as a resource 20:00 Rest, recovery, and treating yourself like an elite performer 22:20 Self-criticism, overworking, and building self-compassion at work 23:40 Redundancy, career inflection points, and conscious career choice 25:10 Starting a business: loneliness, creativity, and stepping into the swamp 27:30 Values, meaning, and designing work that actually fits you 30:10 The “swamp” metaphor: discomfort as the price of meaningful work 33:00 Fear, uncertainty, and speaking outside your comfort zone 35:10 ACT in action: focusing on what’s on the other side of the swamp 38:00 Risk tolerance, uncertainty, and how personality shapes career choices 42:20 Case example: supporting a senior leader considering entrepreneurship 45:00 Scarcity mindset, money fears, and responsibility during career transitions 48:00 Why fear makes sense — and why it shouldn’t make the decision 50:30 Is it ever too late to build psychological flexibility? 53:10 Psychological flexibility as “conscious evolution” 54:20 Rachael’s upcoming book on Acceptance & Commitment Coaching 56:00 A practical reflection exercise for listeners navigating career transitions 58:10 Where to find Rachael and her work * Resources mentioned: - Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) [https://contextualscience.org/] - ACBS World Conference 2026 [https://contextualscience.org/wc2026] * Contact Dr. Rachael Skews and learn more about her work: - Website: https://www.rachaelskews.com/ - The Coaching UnpACT podcast [https://www.coachingunpact.com/] * For show notes, please visit ⁠heididelanghe.com/podcast⁠ [https://www.heididelanghe.com/podcast] For feedback or suggestions for topics or guests, email me atcontact@heididelanghe.com Contact Heidi - Evidence-based Coach & Trainer: Book a free discovery call at ⁠heididelanghe.com/contact⁠ [https://www.heididelanghe.com/contact] Linkedin: ⁠linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe⁠ [www.linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe] Instagram: ⁠⁠instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/]

#009: From Corporate Climb to Impact-Driven Entrepreneurship - Building Diverse, Innovative & Inclusive Tech Teams with Sharmin Reehman

In this episode in English, I’m joined by Sharmin Reehman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharminreehman/⁠] — CEO and Founder of Elev8te — a company dedicated to building partnerships that drive a more diverse, innovative, and inclusive tech industry. Sharmin is also the City Leader for Founders Live Singapore [⁠https://shorturl.at/hXfdE⁠], where she regularly hosts free pitching competitions for founders. Half Indian and half Iranian, Sharmin has called Singapore home for the past 16 years. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience across banking, consulting, and government — and her bold transition into entrepreneurship — she shares candid lessons on failure, neurodiversity (including ADHD and dyslexia), and building companies that genuinely align withlife goals. We also dive into why diversity, innovation, and inclusion in tech matters. *  TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction to Choose Work 01:00 Meet Sharmin Reehman and why diversity, innovation, and inclusion in tech matter 02:00 Sharmin’s career journey across banking, consulting, government, and entrepreneurship 03:00 Core career lessons: mentors, neurodiversity as strength, and falling forward 06:00 Shifting from proving yourself to making an impact and delivering value 09:00 Navigating bias, identity, and being an outcast in male-dominated environments 13:00 From corporate roles to founding Elev8te and embracing entrepreneurship 14:18 The steep learning curve—and fulfillment—of building something from scratch 16:46 Purpose, impact, and why entrepreneurship feels different from corporate work 22:00 Flexibility, productivity, and designing work around energy—not hours 23:30 The loneliness of entrepreneurship and how to cope with it 25:00 Building support systems and finding validation beyond titles and salary 36:00 Neurodiversity, ADHD, dyslexia, and big-picture thinking 41:55 How diversity fuels innovation—and why inclusion sustains it 43:16 Diversity, innovation and inclusion to build high-performance teams 49:43 Five-year vision: learning, travel, wellness, and global impact 52:54 Where to find Sharmin and how to connect * For show notes, please visit heididelanghe.com/podcast [https://www.heididelanghe.com/podcast] For feedback or suggestions for topics or guests, email me at contact@heididelanghe.com Contact Heidi - Evidence-based Coach & Trainer: Book a free discovery call at heididelanghe.com/contact [https://www.heididelanghe.com/contact] Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe [www.linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe] Instagram: instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/ [https://www.instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/]

#008: Person-Environment Fit, The Big Five, Holland's RIASEC Model & Career Lessons - Professor Filip De Fruyt

I had the privilege of speaking with Professor Filip De Fruyt, who brings over 35 years of expertise in academic research and international business consultancy. 🎓 Filip is a Senior Full Professor of Differential Psychology and Personality Assessment at Ghent University and serves as International Relationships Officer at Low Lands Assessment Systems. This episode in English is a deep dive into Person-Environment Fit (P-EFit) - and why it’s central to understanding careers, performance, and employee retention. 💡 Key insights from our conversation: 🔹 For over three decades, Filip has studied the intersection of how people work and perform (Big Five personality model) and what they do (Holland’s RIASEC vocational interest model). 🔹 Fit can be supplementary or complementary — a crucial consideration when hiring. 🔹 Fit is dynamic, not static: your role at 28 may no longer be the right fit at 32. 🔹 Organisations often over-focus on performance, but should also align employees’ learning and development with their vocational interests - critical in today's fast-changing job market. ---  Resources Referenced: - Low Lands Assessment Systems: https://lowlandsassessmentsystems.com/en - Lola-test: https://lowlandsassessmentsystems.com/en/explore-your-passion- The Big Five or Five-Factor Model: dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness - John Holland's theory of vocational interests, the "RIASECmodel": interest domains of Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional --- Contact Filip De Fruyt:  - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filip-de-fruyt/ - Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aqL24tgAAAAJ&hl=en --- Contact Heidi De Langhe - Evidence-based Coaching & Training: - Book a free discovery call here: www.heididelanghe.com/contact - Instagram: www.instagram.com/heididelanghe/ - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe - Website: www.heididelanghe.com #CareerDevelopment #PersonEnvironmentFit #Psychology #FutureOfWork #BigFive #RIASEC #EmployeeEngagement

From Science Communicator to Solopreneur: The Bright Moments and the Challenges | Dr. Isabelle François | Entrepreneurship [007] (EN)

Meet Isabelle François - PhD in Bio-Engineering, science communicator for 15+ years in various sectors, and now the founder of Bright Star Coaching. In 2022, Isabelle made a bold career switch to follow her passion: supporting gifted children ánd their families in rediscovering their strengths and shining with confidence. Isabelle also teaches at SPRING-STOF, a non-profit offering tailored education to cognitively talented children. In this episode in English, Isabelle opens up about her entrepreneurial journey in Belgium - the bright moments ánd the challenges. 💡 Highlights from the episode: 🔹 Even as a coach and expert in giftedness, Isabelle still finds it hard to say out loud that she is gifted. 🔹 Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, so having a tribe to support you is important. 🔹 Her favorite quote? "Everyting is an experiment." It doesn't need to be perfect, it needs to be good, just try it. 🔹 Despite the challenges of being an entrepreneur, it's worth it. The overall balance? Positive.  ---  Organisations, Programme and Podcast Referenced: - Hoogbloeier: www.hoogbloeier.be - Spring-stof: https://www.spring-stof.be/ - Springplank: https://www.vlaanderen.be/springplank-naar-zelfstandige - FastForwardAmy Podcast-Amy Vandeputte --- Contact Isabelle François: - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snelle_hoofdjes_coach/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabellefrancois/ - Website: https://brightstarcoaching.be/ --- Contact Heidi De Langhe - Evidence-based Coaching & Training: - Book your free discovery call here (EN/NL/FR): www.heididelanghe.com/contact - Instagram: www.instagram.com/heididelanghe/ - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe - Website: www.heididelanghe.com #Entrepreneurship #Coaching #Giftedness #Career #CareerGrowth #Podcast #Solopreneur#ChooseWork #Hoogbegaafdheid #Carrière

Building and Exiting a Multi-Million Dollar Business - My Lessons Learned | Bruno Lowagie | Entrepreneurship [006] (EN)

Many people dream of starting their own business. Not that many people do it. And few people... manage to build a multi-million dollar business. Bruno Lowagie (55) is one of the few who achieved this. As the original developer of iText, an open-source PDF library, he built a multi-million dollar business alongside his wife, growing it from a startup to a successful exit. Bruno is also co-founder of the Wintercircus in Ghent and an author of both fiction and non-fiction books. This 6th episode in English marks the start of a new theme we will explore in several episodes: Entrepreneurship. 🔎 What will you discover in this rollercoaster episode? ✅ Bruno's top entrepreneurial lessons ✅ What he would change if he were running Belgium   ✅ His "superpower" ✅ His ambitions for the future --- Books and Hub Referenced: - Lowagie, B. (2025). Onvoltooid toekomstige tijd. - Lowagie, B. (2024). Entreprenerd. Building a Multi-Million-Dollar Business with Open Source Software. - Thoreau, H.D. (originally published in 1854). Walden: or, Life in the Woods. - Wasserman, N. (2013). The Founder's Dilemmas. - Wintercircus: https://www.wintercircus.be/en ---  Contact Bruno Lowagie: - Website: https://lowagie.com/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blowagie/ --- Contact Heidi De Langhe - Evidence-based Coaching & Training: - Book your free discovery call here (EN/NL/FR): www.heididelanghe.com/contact - Instagram: www.instagram.com/heididelanghe/ - LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe - Website: www.heididelanghe.com