In Episode 19 of Not Another PD Podcast, Jazmin is joined by her best friend Kim, a youth worker, former residential care worker, mum, and school wellbeing practitioner.

Episode 18: Why Does “Being Nice” Feel Safer at Work?

Why does “being nice” feel safer at work?

In this solo episode of Not Another PD, I explore people-pleasing through a different lens, not as a personality trait, but as a stress response.

I unpack the fawn response, a lesser-discussed nervous system response alongside fight, flight and freeze, and why it shows up so commonly for helping professionals.

This episode isn’t about naming or shaming.
It’s about understanding context, safety, and the systems many of us work within.

I talk through:

• How the fawn response shows up as over-agreeing, avoidance, blurred boundaries and people-pleasing

• Why helping professionals are particularly vulnerable to this response

• The role of gendered expectations and socialisation in care-based professions

• How unsafe, unpredictable, or unsupportive leadership environments can activate people-pleasing

• A real example from my own career, and how I would respond differently now

• How to recognise the fawn response through body cues, thoughts and behaviours

• Gentle ways to interrupt the pattern through awareness, reflection and support

This conversation applies to both professional and personal contexts, because nervous systems don’t switch off when work ends.

If this resonates, you’re welcome to send me a DM and let me know where you notice people-pleasing or the fawn response showing up for you.

You can also explore my self-paced Boundaries as Practitioners training or learn more about group supervision options for practitioners and leaders.

Boundaries as Practitioners (self-paced training)

Group supervision with me in 2026

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Stillman, M., Sullivan, E. E., Prasad, K., Sinsky, C. A., et al. (2024). Understanding what leaders can do to facilitate healthcare workers’ feeling valued. BMJ Leader.

Jobs and Skills Australia — Social Workers occupational profile

Episode 17: Failure Isn’t the Threat You Think It Is with Bree Coulter

Failure isn’t the threat you think it is.

For many helping professionals, fear of failure quietly sits underneath people-pleasing, overworking, blurred boundaries, and chronic self-doubt, even when insight, experience, and professional knowledge are already there.

In this episode of Not Another PD, Jazmin is joined by Bree Coulter, creator of the SHIFT Method, a neuroscience-informed approach focused on subconscious healing, identity alignment, and safety-based change to explore why awareness alone rarely creates lasting shifts, and how old safety patterns continue to shape how we show up at work, in relationships, and in leadership.

This conversation unpacks why knowing why you do something doesn’t always change it, how the brain prioritises safety over logic, why fear of failure keeps people stuck in repeat cycles, the role of the limbic system in people-pleasing and over-functioning, why many boundary difficulties are safety-based rather than discipline-based, how failure becomes feedback and direction rather than proof you’re “not enough,” and what shifts when professionals begin leading from self-trust instead of self-protection.

Bree also shares her lived experience of being a high performer with no boundaries, how those patterns were rooted in early survival wiring, and how developing the SHIFT Method allowed her to realign who she was internally with how she showed up externally, including the personal boundaries she holds to protect her energy and family time.

This episode will resonate particularly with helping professionals who have done extensive therapy, supervision, and professional development, want to understand some of their patterns intellectually, still feel exhausted, reactive, or stuck, and are looking for change that actually lasts, not just more insight.

How to Work with Bree:

Bree offers 1:1 coaching using the SHIFT Method (Subconscious Healing and Identity Fracture Transformation).

Website
LinkedIn

Bree also offers a free, non-sales clarity call for those wanting to explore what’s showing up and whether working together is the right fit.

Free Resource for Not Another PD Listeners:
A reflective journaling resource designed to help listeners understand where emotions are coming from, what the brain and body are communicating, and what may need addressing.
FREE MINI COURSE

Make sure to use DISCOUNT CODE: DECODE100 so it is FREE just for you, lovely.

How to Work with Jazmin:

Boundaries as Practitioners — Self-Paced Training ($59)
A practical, evidence-informed professional learning program supporting helping professionals to recognise boundary moments early, reduce mental load, and practise with greater clarity and consistency. ACA OPD Approved Training.

1:1 Coaching & Supervision
Individualised support for helping professionals wanting tailored guidance to apply boundaries and theoretical frameworks confidently and sustainably in complex work environments.