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As I sat there drawing up a FAQ document, I couldn’t help but wonder: what would 2019 me say if she could see me now? Back then I was working 9 to 5 as a Customer Care consultant but on the side I was doing Marketing for a small business, Fast forward a few years and it has been a crazy ride. From corporate to startup to freelance and back to corporate.

Back then I was working in small businesses where time and money were always tight. No budget meant no team of ten. You were the team of ten.

You wrote the copy, scheduled the campaigns, answered the emails, fixed the problem, and then figured out how to report on it afterwards.

It turns out that experience makes you wildly versatile. When you’ve had to touch almost every part of marketing, you start seeing the whole picture instead of just one piece of it.

You don’t just think outside the box.

Half the time you’re building the box.
And if there’s no time for that… you just get on with it without the box.

And that changes how you work forever.

Because once you’ve had to do it all, you stop waiting for ideal conditions.

You start working with what you have.

And you make it work anyway.

Being a team player is a wonderfully noble thing. It’s helpful. It builds relationships. It makes you that person everyone relies on in a crisis.

Until one day you realise… you’re not just being a team player anymore.

You’re quietly absorbing work that has nothing to do with your actual job description while smiling through WhatsApp messages like “happy to help”.

Somewhere along the way, “collaboration” turned into:
“Hey, you’re good with computers right? Can you just quickly fix this code thing?”

Quickly.

Right.

Because nothing says “quick” like being roped into debugging something you didn’t build, don’t own AND were never trained for.

It rarely starts dramatically.

It’s usually something small like:

• “Can you just take a look at this?”
• “You’re so good at figuring things out”
• “It’ll only take a minute”

And because you’re competent and helpful, you say yes.

Then suddenly you’re:

• Balancing your own workload
• Managing deadlines that were never yours
• Trying to decode systems you were not introduced to
• And somewhere in there… accidentally becoming unofficial IT support

Not your job. Not your department.

But somehow, here you are.

There’s a big difference between:

• “I can help you with this once”
  and
• “This is now also your responsibility”

And when that line disappears, your actual work doesn’t shrink.

It just… waits for you.

Patiently.

Judging you.

There’s nothing wrong with being helpful.

But there’s a difference between being a team player…

And becoming the unofficial solution to everything that breaks, glitches or confuses someone else.

One builds a career.

The other builds burnout with a smile.

And if you’ve ever found yourself coding something that was absolutely not in your job description while thinking “how did I get here?”…

Yeah.

You’re not alone.

Before asking why your team isn’t performing, ask whether they feel safe enough to perform.

Psychological safety isn’t about being “nice.”

It’s about creating an environment where people can:

• Ask questions without feeling incompetent
• Raise concerns without fear
• Clarify expectations without being labelled difficult
• Make mistakes without being shamed

When psychological safety is missing, you don’t always see dramatic conflict.

You see:

• Delayed questions
• Silent confusion
• Overworking to avoid criticism
• Talent shrinking instead of stretching

High performance doesn’t come from pressure alone.
It comes from clarity + consistency + trust.

If people are constantly bracing for feedback instead of growing from it, something in the system needs attention.

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers.
It’s about creating the conditions where others can do their best work.

And that starts with safety.

It’s a Saturday morning and while I would LOVE to be playing Pokopia, I am hunched over my laptop working on something I do not get paid for.

My neck hurts. My back hurts. But I am so pleased with myself because this is something that has been on my list for a while and it is FINALLY DONE!

This made me think of the importance of showing up for yourself. IDK about you but I fall into the habit of putting aside my wants and needs. I can be there for family and friends but when I need to do something for me, I always seem to have an excuse as to why I can’t do it or why I’ll do it later.

It feels good to show up for myself. I made me a promise. I drew me a list of things to do today and the list is finally done.

(It didn’t even take that long so I’m kinda disappointed in myself for procrastinating).

And honestly? That feeling of crossing it off my list… priceless. It’s a reminder that showing up for yourself doesn’t have to be dramatic or time-consuming- it just has to happen. So here’s to keeping promises to ourselves, even the small ones. Now… maybe I’ll reward myself with a little Pokopia time.

Culture Isn’t What You Say in Onboarding

Culture is not:

• your values slide

• your mission statement

• the branded hoodie

Culture is what happens when:

– something breaks

– someone makes a mistake

– a deadline is missed

If people are scared to ask questions, your culture isn’t “high-performance.”

It’s high-anxiety.

And no amount of pizza Fridays can fix that.

This week tested me in ways I didn’t see coming.

I started the week full of excitement and fresh energy
Twenty-four hours later, it hit me-I had seriously overbooked myself.

I hadn’t accounted for personal obligations when I stacked my professional calendar.

Cue: 12 straight hours in front of a screen, wondering how I could’ve been so reckless. My head hurt. I was nauseous. Were the words DANCING in front of me???

But somewhere in the chaos, a spark.

A little while back, I met a friend for lunch- mostly because I needed to get out of the house. He mentioned a business idea, and just for fun, we started throwing around names. One hour later: a brand, brand kit, and tagline. (I can’t help it-I love Canva.)

At the time, it felt like a fun creative distraction.

Today, he messaged me to say he’d wrapped up his first week in business. And he thanked me for the help.

Seeing the brand we dreamed up displayed so proudly? That warmed my heart.

This week reminded me:
Sometimes it’s not about you. It’s about showing up for someone else.

(Also I will now be booking everything in my calendar).