Real-time leadership. Real results.
It’s Sunday night. Your laptop is closed but your head isn’t. Tomorrow at 10am you’re walking into a room with someone who makes your stomach drop. Maybe it’s the team member who’s been coasting for months. Maybe it’s the manager who takes credit for your work. Maybe it’s the pay rise you’ve earned and still haven’t asked for.
You’ve rescheduled it twice. You’ve rehearsed it in the shower, in the car, and at 2am. You still don’t know how to start.
You’re not alone, and you’re not bad at this. You’ve just never had help at the moment you need it.
This edition fixes that. You’ll get a tool you can use today, the biggest Worksparks news yet, and a once-only invitation to help build the future of how people handle the hard parts of work.
The real cost of the conversation you keep putting off
Avoiding a hard conversation feels safe, but it isn’t free. Every week it waits, and the problem grows. The underperformer drags the team down, and your best people notice. The resentment you’re swallowing shows up in your tone, your sleep, and your Sunday nights. The pay rise you didn’t ask for compounds every year; you don’t ask.
Here’s what 35 years in leadership has taught me. The conversation is rarely as bad as the dread. The dread is the expensive part, and you pay it every day you wait.
So let’s stop paying it.
This week’s spark: Five minutes to clarity
Try this before your next hard conversation. All you need is five minutes and a willingness to be honest.
Step 1: Say it badly (60 seconds).
Set a timer and say everything out loud, or type it. Don’t be fair, professional, or polished.
“He keeps undermining me in meetings, I’m furious, and I’m scared that if I say something, I’ll look petty.”
That’s perfect. The messier the truth, the more useful the next step.
Step 2: Sort it into three piles.
- What’s actually happening. These are the facts someone else could see. “In the last two meetings, he interrupted me and presented my idea as his.”
- What I’m afraid of. This is the story you’re telling yourself. “Everyone thinks he’s more capable than me. I’ll come across as emotional.”
- What I can control. These are the things you can actually do. “I can raise it privately, describe what I saw, and say what I need.”
Most people find the middle pile is the biggest. That pile is fear, not fact, and it’s what keeps you stuck. When you can see it, it loses its grip.
Step 3: Write your opening line.
Make it one specific sentence. Not “I’d like to communicate openly and build trust.” A real sentence you’d say out loud:
“I want to talk about the last two team meetings, because I don’t think we’re seeing them the same way.”
The first sentence is the hardest part. With it written, the rest of the conversation has somewhere to go.
That’s the whole method: say it, sort it, walk in ready. It’s also exactly how Worksparks works. Try it on your own situation free for 14 days →
The big news: Worksparks has a new home.
Worksparks now lives at worksparks.com.
If you’re new here, Worksparks is your coach in your pocket for the people part of work. It’s not a chatbot with a clever prompt. It’s a structured coaching method built on the frameworks I’ve used with leaders for decades, and it’s available at 9pm on a Sunday, at 7am before the meeting, or in the five minutes between back-to-back calls.
Coaching arrives on a calendar. Work doesn’t. Nobody books the moments that test you. Worksparks is there when they happen.
People are already using it for:
- the one-on-one they’ve put off for a month
- the pay rise they finally asked for, and got
- the colleague who makes every project harder
- the restructure conversation where they’re carrying more than they can say
- the first difficult conversation as a brand-new manager
The new site has a way in for everyone:
- Leaders who carry their team’s hard moments as well as their own
- Everyone at work dealing with managers, colleagues and career conversations
- Teams who want a shared language for the people part
- Organisations that want to support their people without watching them
Your employer will never see a word
Most workplace tools are built so organisations can keep an eye on their people. Worksparks is built for the person.
- Your organisation, manager and HR have no visibility of what you write.
- No one can read your conversations. Not your boss, not HR, not us.
- Everything is encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Your data is never sold and never used to train AI.
- It’s built to the Australian Privacy Act and GDPR, and it’s Australian founded and hosted.
- You can delete everything whenever you like.
You can’t be honest about a hard situation if you’re worried about who’s reading. That’s why privacy isn’t a feature at Worksparks. It’s the foundation. Read more about how we protect you →
Less than one hour with a coach, for a whole year
A single executive coaching session can cost several hundred dollars. Worksparks costs:
- A$29 a month, or
- A$290 a year, which gives you two months free
GST is included. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, and you can cancel anytime. That’s coaching for every hard moment, all year, for less than one session. See pricing →
Why founding members need to join now
This is the part I’m most excited about. Worksparks is live and working. But what it becomes next shouldn’t be decided by me alone in a room. I want it shaped by the people who use it when it counts.
What founding members get
- A direct line to me. Your feedback comes straight to me, and I read every word.
- A real say in what gets built. You’ll vote on and test new features before anyone else.
- First access to every new feature as it launches.
What you’ll help shape
The AI coach, the Team tier, and the team dashboard are already live. Here’s what’s coming next and where founding members will have the most influence:
- Habits. Small daily practices that build leadership muscle between the big moments.
- Development plans. Turning what you work through in Worksparks into a clear plan for growth.
- Learning and development. The depth of a leadership program, delivered in the flow of work.
- Surveys and assessments. Helping you and your team see where you are and where you’re heading.
I have strong views on all of these. Founding members will make them better. If you join later, you’ll use what founding members built. If you join now, you’ll be one of the people building it.
Who I’m looking for
- Leaders and managers who handle hard conversations every week
- People early in their careers who want to get better at the people side of work
- HR and L&D leaders who want to support people between programs, not just during them
- Team leads ready to bring Worksparks to their whole team
What I ask in return
Use it in the real moments, and tell me honestly what works and what doesn’t. That’s all.
How to become a founding member today
- Start your 14-day free trial at worksparks.com.
- Send me a message telling me about the moment you want help with.
- You’re in. I’ll be in touch personally.
It takes about two minutes, and the next hard moment could be tomorrow morning.
Your challenge this week
Think of the conversation you’ve been avoiding. You already know which one.
Give it five minutes today. Say it badly, sort it into three piles, and write the first line. Then start your free trial and let Worksparks walk you through the rest.
When you’ve had the conversation, hit reply and tell me how it went. I really want to know.
The hardest part of work isn’t the work. It’s the people part. You don’t have to carry it alone, and you don’t have to wait. Sonia x
Founder, Worksparks
👉 Start your 14-day free trial and become a founding member See team and organisation plans