Category Archives: Professional Development Question Banks

What signals indicate engagement or disconnection? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore what Sarah discovered about reading signals — not in her own breakthrough moment, but in the three leadership situations that followed. The acquisition. The Tom conversation. The leadership development programme. Each one taught her something more precise about what engagement and disconnection actually look like.

How do you bring your story full circle? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore what Marcus discovered about circular story structure — not just in his own story, but in the three client stories he helped bring full circle. The ending isn’t a return to the beginning. It’s the recognition of how far the journey has travelled.

How do you create emotional connection? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore what Emma discovered about emotional connection — not in her opening, not in her close, but in the middle of three pitch conversations where the right question changed everything. Not through performance. Through making space for what people actually needed to say.

What makes your first sentence compelling? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore what David discovered about opening sentences — not through theory, but through three specific moments where the difference between a compelling opening and a forgettable one determined whether his expertise shaped the decision or was quietly set aside.

What does this passion reveal about who you are? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I stay with Lisa and the question — exploring what her passion revealed about who she was, not in one moment, but over months of living it more consciously. The answer she found went deeper than sustainability. It went to the heart of who she was.

How did this failure redirect your path? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore the deeper failure inside James’s story — not the project that went wrong, but the eight months of silence that followed — and the three moments that show where naming it finally took him.

What accomplishment reveals who you are at your best? In this episode of The WorkLife Question, I explore the question through Aisling — a character from The Art of WorkLife Storytelling programme — and what her success story reveals about the difference between an achievement that impresses and one that truly defines you.

Which narratives do you return to repeatedly — and what do they tell you? In this first episode of The WorkLife Question, I return to the story of how this work found me — a success story, a failure story, and a passion story that are never really separate — and what each return has revealed over time.

From May, a new series joins WorkLife Stories from School of WorkLife.The WorkLife Question.
A weekly question to ponder what matters in your WorkLife.
Every Friday — one question.
Drawn from the five question bank collections at School of WorkLife:
Self-Discovery. The Art of WorkLife Storytelling. Book Club Books.
Character Traits. Mental Health and Wellbeing.
One question to sit with.
To return to.
To see what it tells you.