The bits of work no one talks about with the W-Collective

with Clare & Katie May from W-Collective

There’s a side of work we don’t talk about enough.
The unspoken rules and the moments that make you question whether you’re the problem...or the system is.

In this conversation, we’re joined by Clare and Katie May, founders of W-Collective, who are on a mission to change the way women navigate their careers. With decades of experience across retail, fashion, and corporate leadership, they share an honest look at what’s really happening behind the scenes and why working harder isn’t always the answer.

From burnout and self-doubt to visibility, influence and the “invisible rules” of the workplace, this is a refreshingly real perspective on modern careers and what it actually takes to move forward.

1. Can you introduce yourselves and share the story behind W-Collective?

Clare: Yes sure, I’m Clare I come from a retail background and I set up W-Collective with my good friend Katie May who comes from the fashion industry. Essentially one day I found myself walking out of my $200k salary job because I’d reached a point where I realised my work environment just wasn't aligning with my values, and staying would have meant accepting something I fundamentally disagreed with.

And because of that decision, I had all this time on my hands… so I started researching women in the workplace and I realised that I was far from alone. So many women that strive to have successful corporate careers and are doing everything right on paper… but still feel totally blocked and stuck.

Katie: Between us, we’ve spent 30+ years in senior roles across retail, fashion, and corporate leadership. From the outside to our friends and colleagues, it looked like we had it figured out… we appeared calm, in control, thriving (or at least very good at pretending we’d read the pre-read). But behind the scenes, we were navigating the same challenges so many women face… things like burnout, self-doubt, and trying to succeed in systems no one had properly explained..

So we decided to build something that could actually help. W-Collective is what we wish we’d had, a community of like-minded women who are honest about both the highs and the harder moments, who genuinely have each other’s backs, and a whole bank of practical resources designed to tackle the real blockers ambitious women face at work.

2. What inspired you to start W-Collective and the work you’re doing today? 

Clare: My own personal circumstances were the catalyst for me but honestly, I think for both of us it was born out of pure frustration.  We kept seeing brilliant women, I literally mean our colleagues our friends and our family members, over-delivering and still getting overlooked.

Of course at the same time less capable people seemed to move ahead faster. Not because they were better, but because they understood how to play the game.  A lot of career advice felt like it had been written for men, by men, and didn’t reflect the reality of how women experience the workplace. No one was talking about visibility, influence, networking, confidence or how decisions actually get made. We wanted to change that.

3. What career challenges were you seeing women face that made you want to create solutions like The Blueprint Sprint? 

Katie: Oh, it was painful….. genuinely the same patterns, again and again.  Overworking. Under-recognised. Waiting to be noticed. Questioning their own ability. Clare and I are very like minded and we are both very extroverted but think and plan for the long term. We realised most women's issue is not their capability at all, it's their strategy.  The Blueprint Sprint was created to bridge that gap. To give women the tools, mindset, and clarity to stop just doing the job… and start navigating their careers with confidence and intent.  Because once you understand the unwritten rules, everything is going to shift for you.

 

4. What are some of these “Invisible Rules” of the Workplace?

Clare: The invisible rules are the things no one ever formally teaches you… but they’re pretty much always the difference between who progresses and who doesn’t.

I remember earlier in my career, I was doing everything “right”,  hitting my KPIs, delivering results, being the safe pair of hands everyone relied on. And I genuinely thought that would be enough. That someone would notice and go, she’s ready.

But what I realised… probably a bit later than I’d like to admit….  is that doing a good job is just the baseline. It’s expected. It’s not what gets you promoted.

There was a moment where someone else got the opportunity I’d been working towards, and it wasn’t because they were better… they were just more visible. They spoke about their work, they positioned themselves differently, and crucially, the right people knew what they were doing. At the time I remember judging them for being a bit cringe, but really they were the ones that had the last laugh.

That’s when it all started to click for me… visibility isn’t luck, and it’s definitely not about being the loudest person in the room. It’s a strategy and only you can build it.

Katie: Can I jump in… I think one of the biggest ones, and people don’t love hearing this, is that being liked often matters more than being right.

I’ve seen it play out in my own career. I remember being in a role where I had a really strong point of view on a new design brief. My research backed it, I knew it was the right direction, but it just didn’t land with my colleagues. And looking back, it wasn’t the idea that was the issue… it was me. I hadn’t built enough of a relationship with the people in the room for them to really back it.

Then I watched someone else, with a similar idea, get full support, and the difference was that people trusted them, they liked working with them, they felt comfortable getting behind it.

That was a bit of a wake-up call.

And I don’t mean this in a superficial, “be everyone’s best friend” way. It’s more about how people experience you. Do they trust you? Do they want you in the room? Do they feel confident backing you? What I realised was…. decisions are made by people, not spreadsheets.

5. If someone is reading this and thinking “this is exactly me”… where should they start?

Clare: I would say… stop trying to fix it by just working harder. We are working with thousands of women around the world and most of them are doing exactly that. They put their head down, take on more, say yes to everything, and hope it eventually gets recognised. And when it inevitably doesn’t, they assume it’s them, and they get imposter syndrome or loose confidence.

We are here to teach women its definitely not you, it’s just that no one has ever shown you how to approach your career strategically.

That’s exactly why we created The Blueprint Sprint. It’s a quick but effective 30-day reset that helps you step back and actually look at your career properly… things like where you are, where you want to go, and what needs to change to get you there.

We cover things like visibility, influence, confidence, and decision-making but in our signature style. We don’t talk about corporate BS, we use real world examples and we give simple and practical advice that's designed to fit around real life.

Katie: We’ve seen some incredible results from women who’ve taken the Sprint… double-digit pay rises, big promotions, people stepping into leadership roles they didn’t think they were ready for.

But honestly, the most rewarding part isn’t even that.

It’s watching that shift in how they see themselves, going from second-guessing everything to being clear, decisive, and backing themselves properly. That’s the bit that changes everything.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT SPRINT HERE

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