“…if work is the way we are molded and made, we must remake the work that makes us.”
— Al Gini, My Job, My Self
what works?
It’s a question. A curiosity. An urge to discover the unexpected.
It’s also an ethic. A guiding principle. A pursuit.
And when it comes to work, what works requires a whole lot of rethinking. Because work isn’t working for many people right now.
I’m Tara McMullin
Like many people I study, work with, and create for, I ended up here by accident.
My answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was never podcaster, blogger, or online educator. I’m an elder millennial—this ‘career path’ didn’t exist yet.
Yet, by all rights, I’m doing what I always wanted to do: studying how sociocultural forces shape our daily (work) lives. And I use digital media and tools to do it.
Today, I blend philosophy, history, sociology, critical theory, and economics with keen observations of the independent workforce. Since work permeates every part of our lives, my self-given mandate is quite broad and flexible. If it impacts how we work, the context in which we earn a livelihood, or how we prepare for the next day of work, I consider it within my purview.
No matter what kind of worker you are, I hope you find a new way to think about what works here.
Purpose & Values
What Works equips readers, listeners, and participants with the mental frameworks required to navigate uncertainty, tackle complex problems, embrace ambiguity and flexibility, and respond to evolving information with empathy and understanding.
Curiosity
No matter the medium, What Works creates opportunities to question the status quo and eagerly learn about new ways of being.
Context
No matter the subject matter, What Works investigates and illuminates the big picture—the full context of the challenges, trends, or ideas at issue.
Care
What Works is premised on good faith engagement and mutual concern.
The What Works Approach
theory & systems
We use systems thinking and sensemaking to deconstruct the topic at hand. To understand the impact of our object of curiosity, we have to understand its context.
application
We integrate what we learn by putting it into practice. We write, design, coach, converse, illustrate, curate, and more.
identity & relationships
Every question is a question about people. By investigating how our identities and relationships intersect with the object of our curiosity, we better understand its meaning.
critique
We practice close reading and careful observation to see how our object of curiosity functions in the wild.