Amandah Wood: How People Find Meaning in Their Work and Lives

“There has to be a separation. Work has always been an extension of my identity. If a project failed, then I had failed… it’s only in the last year that I’ve been able to find that separation, where I’m not my work. I’m still passionate and excited about the work that I do. But if something fails or doesn’t go the way I expected, it no longer impacts my self-esteem in the way that it used to.”  My guest this episode is Amandah Wood. She is extremely passionate and curious about the ways people find meaning in their work and lives. It was this curiosity that led her to found the website and podcast Ways We Work, an interview series that explores what people are putting work into and why. By day, she works in Diversity & Belonging Operations at Shopify, ensuring every employee feels included, valued and heard by guiding and informing Shopify toward designing and building better products and employee experiences. She is also a certified coach helping people get in touch with what is truly important to them and determining their own definition of success.  As someone with very similar interests and curiosity around how people find fulfilment through work, I first encountered Amandah through the brilliant Ways We Work. I messaged her on Instagram to tell her how much I loved reading her interviews and was then delighted to discover she was launching Ways We Work as a podcast and was lucky enough to be interviewed by her.  She’s so eloquent in the way she articulates ideas, and incredibly introspective. I loved talking to her about all the things that ruminate in my brain constantly, and she is the best thought partner on so many work-related and self-identity topics.  We talked all about how what works means to her has changed over time, how she balances her personal passions and multiple work identities, what she’s learned about fulfillment from interviewing people for Ways We Work and much more. Follow Amandah: Twitter: @AmandahWood (https://twitter.com/amandahwood) Instagram: @AmandahWood (https://www.instagram.com/amandahwood/) Ways We Work on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ways-we-work/id1459817739) Ways We Work website (http://wayswework.io/) Follow Me: Twitter: @katiephilo (http://www.twitter.com/katiephilo) Instagram: @katiephilo (https://www.instagram.com/katiephilo) www.katiephilo.com (https://www.katiephilo.com/)