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Secrets of the Career Game

Secrets of the Career Game

By: Kendall Berg - That Career Coach
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Summary
Do you want to know a secret? The corporate world is a game: one laden with cleverly hidden and unspoken rules that most employees don't know they are playing. On this show, we help you peek behind the curtain to understand the corporate game and set yourself up for accelerate growth and progression.2023 Career Success Economics
Episodes
  • 159. How to Play the Corporate Game When They Underestimate You with Katy McFee
    Nov 2 2026

    Office politics can make speaking up risky, but strategic communication can earn respect when leadership underestimates you.
    Get my FREE Communication Guide Now: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/thatcareercoach_funnel

    Being underestimated in the corporate game is frustrating; being expected to agree with every executive decision is worse. On Secrets of the Career Game, Kendall Berg and executive coach Katy McFee examine managing up and workplace communication. A former VP and EVP, Katy recalls challenging her CEO's misaligned strategy without damaging trust. They tackle executive presence, workplace bias, and how to speak up with authority without changing your personality. Katy's three-step framework shows how to push back professionally, suggest alternatives, and build influence without becoming a yes person.

    What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

    About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

    Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

    ☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
    Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

    Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

    Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

    Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

    Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

    About Katy McFee

    Katy McFee is an executive coach and founder of Insights to Action, dedicated to helping women advance into senior leadership. With 18 years of experience in tech and biotech sales, including VP and EVP roles, she has built commercial teams and driven nine-figure revenue growth. After navigating her own challenges moving from Manager to Director to VP, Katy now helps ambitious professionals develop strategic thinking, executive presence, and leadership confidence. Her mission is to close the gender gap in senior leadership and help women thrive as executives without burning out.
    Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a
    Website: https://insightstoactioncc.com/

    Show more Show less
    36 mins
  • 158. How to Respond to Difficult People at Work (Without Getting Emotional) with Dr. Kate Mason
    Oct 19 2026

    Being right at work doesn't mean you're winning the room. Here's how to build influence without damaging trust.

    You can have the strongest argument in the room and still walk away having damaged your professional relationships. Executive communication coach and Powerfully Likable author Dr. Kate Mason explains why effective workplace communication takes more than confidence or being right.

    Kendall Berg lived this — earlier in her career, she was told she was excellent at her job, but difficult to work with. Together they break down how to be assertive without being aggressive, how to disagree professionally, handle difficult conversations, respond to resistance without getting emotional, and build executive presence with senior leaders.

    You'll also hear why trying to appear confident backfires, what "kill your confidence" really means — focus on value, not performance — and how accountability and owning mistakes protects your reputation and helps you recover faster.

    Because winning every argument won't help your career if nobody wants you in the room.

    Learn more about Dr. Kate Mason and her book Powerfully Likable: https://katemason.co

    What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

    About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

    Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

    ☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
    Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

    Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

    Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

    Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

    Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

    Show more Show less
    34 mins
  • 157. Performance Review Prep: Turn Your Accomplishments Into Evidence
    Oct 12 2026

    Stop listing tasks in your performance review — turn them into evidence for a raise.

    Description: Strong performance can still disappear inside a weak self-evaluation. In this end-of-year performance review guide, Kendall Berg shows how to turn accomplishments into evidence with impact, metrics, and stakeholders, plus stretch assignments, leadership growth, and professional development.

    You'll learn how to write a forward-looking review, how to mention promotion at work without sounding entitled, how to address negative feedback without writing a case against yourself, and how to get 360-degree feedback your manager can use to defend a stronger rating. Includes performance review examples for documenting fire drills, soft skills like executive presence and delegation, and the Compliment Oreo for giving constructive feedback.

    For high performers who did the work but need to articulate their value clearly so their boss — and their boss's boss — can advocate for them.

    Drop a comment: What's the one win you need to document better this year?

    What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

    About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

    Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

    ☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
    Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

    Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

    Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

    Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

    Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

    Show more Show less
    11 mins
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