For individuals & organizations
Coaching on the Unwritten Rules of Work — for class straddlers, and the organizations that keep losing them.
I help class straddlers develop career literacy — the unwritten rules of recognition, communication, and boundaries — so they stop getting passed over, and the organizations that employ them stop losing the talent they can't afford to lose.
What's a class straddler?
Someone who's moved further in their career than anyone in their family has gone before them — into rooms and roles nobody at home can coach them through. A lot of the people who move up fastest had an informal coach doing this work quietly in the background: a parent, an aunt, someone who'd already done the job. Class straddlers don't have that. You're building the playbook in real time, with no one to call who's been exactly where you are.
Neurodivergent high-performers often hit the same invisible rules from a different angle.
Take the quiz to see which unwritten rules might be sabotaging you, or your organization.
Find Your Fit
Discover which unwritten rules are holding you back.
Get a concrete diagnosis and plan for which unwritten rules are holding you, or your organization, back. This will also guide you to the most cost-effective resources to support you in addressing this rule. This quiz takes approximately 45 seconds to 2.5 minutes, depending on your situation.
Organizations I've worked with
- The Daniel Group
- Schusterman Family Philanthropies
- Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
- Strada Education Foundation
- Boys & Girls Club of North Central Florida
- Miami Dade College — STEM Career Launchpad
- Florida International University College of Engineering
- Yale University
Research
Peer-reviewed publications & book chapters
Journal of Vocational Behavior · 2019
Dissertation · Free download
Cambridge Handbook of Intercultural Training
Stanford Center on Poverty & Inequality · 2021
Navigating Your Ph.D. · Ch. 10 — Grad school norms for working-class studentsNavigating Your Ph.D. · Ch. 13 — Bullying and harassment in grad school
About Dr. Anna Kallschmidt
I/O psychologist, coach, and author of The Unwritten Rules of Work.
Dr. Anna Kallschmidt didn't have a guide for this either — which is why she spent 10 years building the one that didn't exist.
She's an industrial-organizational psychologist whose research identified class disclosure and concealment behaviors at work — the everyday decisions people make about whether to reveal or hide where they came from. That work earned her the APA Community Leadership Award. Raised in rural America, she's worked inside small woman-owned businesses and Big 4 consulting firms, community colleges and Ivy League institutions, local government and federal agencies. She knows both sides of the rooms she studies.
Her applied work has driven measurable results, including hiring and training redesigns that increased organizational retention by 30%. The same organizations keep bringing her back.
PhD, Industrial-Organizational Psychology · APA Community Leadership Award · Author, The Unwritten Rules of Work
For organizations
Stop paying $300K per failed promotion.
For individuals
Stop wondering what you're missing.
Your promotion pipeline leaks at the same layer every time
Excellent ICs promoted into leadership, then quietly labeled 'not strategic enough.' The pattern isn't the people — it's the unwritten rules nobody taught them.
You're doing excellent work and still getting passed over
You're not imagining it. There's a second set of rules running underneath the performance review, and nobody sat you down and explained them.
Your technical experts keep stalling out in leadership roles
They were promoted because they were excellent at the work. Six months in, they're being told they're 'not strategic enough.' The problem isn't the people. It's that nobody taught them the rules changed.
You're told you're 'too direct,' 'too much,' or 'not a culture fit'
Translation: you didn't grow up doing the same code-switching everyone else in the room did on autopilot. That's decodable. It's not a personality problem.
Middle managers are drowning in translation work
They're coding up to executives and down to their teams all day, and nobody's counting it as part of the job. Give them the vocabulary — and the backup.
You're the first in your family to do this kind of work
The career advice your parents gave you was built for a different game. You need the actual playbook — not another 'lean in' pep talk.
The plan
The path out isn't a personality change. It's a plan.
Two paths through the same set of unwritten rules — one for the person navigating them, one for the organization they're navigating them inside.
For individuals
- 1
Diagnose
Find out exactly which unwritten rules are preventing your career advancement. (Start with the quiz.)
- 2
Build your vocabulary
Scripts for taking credit, disagreeing, and being heard accurately — without becoming someone else.
- 3
Speak it fluently, on your terms
Get read the way you actually are, not the way code-switching used to make you sound.
- 4
Change what “fair” means at work
Once you've got it, make the rules less invisible for the next person behind you.
For organizations
- 1
Diagnose the leak
Find out where in your pipeline promotions are failing, and for whom your existing programs don't account.
- 2
Build the vocabulary org-wide
Cultural translation skills for managers and teams, not just technical training.
- 3
Make the rules visible on purpose
Audit which norms actually serve performance, and which ones are just costing you people.
- 4
Retain what you already built
Stop paying premium recruiter rates for talent you already had, trained, and lost.
What it looks like on the other side
Fluent, and still yourself. Read accurately — finally — without becoming someone else to get there. Not another category to explain why you didn't fit. Just the rules, made visible, and the vocabulary to work them on your terms.
Coaching programs
Stop doing excellent work nobody sees. Learn the rules the rest of them grew up with.
One-on-one and small-group coaching for the people who code-switch all day, get told they're 'too direct' or 'not strategic enough,' and watch less-qualified colleagues get promoted past them. You don't need a new personality. You need the playbook nobody handed you.
1:1 Coaching
For when you're the only one in the room who had to figure this out alone.
Small-Group Cohort
Find out you're not the only one running two jobs at once — and build the language to name it.
Manager Reset
For middle managers stuck between layers, doing the translating both ways and getting credit for neither.
From coaching clients
1:1 Coaching
“I really enjoyed our one-on-one session together — it felt a bit like a work therapy session in the best way. You met me at my level, helped me understand the perspective of my employer, and gave me a new lens to view the situation. With this framework I feel more empowered to center myself in my career decision-making, and it feels so liberating. As a female software engineer (with a dash of neurospiciness) who has NEVER worked on a team with other female teammates, I feel better able to navigate the male-dominated spaces I find myself in — now and in the future.”
J.
Software engineer, 1:1 coaching client
1:1 Coaching
“Working with Dr. Kallschmidt has been a transformative experience. Her coaching knowledge, both theoretical and practical, not only helped me navigate professional challenges but also empowered me to recognize the cultural nuances that could impact my career growth. She has a unique way of breaking down complex industry dynamics, especially for international workers like me, making her guidance practical and actionable. Her research and expertise in the unwritten rules of work helped me with salary negotiation and cover letter preparation at my current role.”
Francisco Chitty, Ph.D.
Civil engineer, 1:1 coaching client
1:1 Coaching
“Dr. Anna Kallschmidt is an exceptional leadership coach. Her ability to understand my perspective, both professionally and emotionally, set her apart from the start. She took the time to truly grasp my experiences and consistently met me where I was, which made the coaching process feel collaborative and grounded rather than generic. It felt like talking to an old friend that was willing to celebrate the wins but also point out when I was not my best. I would recommend her without hesitation to anyone seeking a coach who combines professional excellence with genuine human understanding. I do miss our sessions!!!”
Kim Battles
Director of Client Deliverables, The Daniel Group
Weekly Group Coaching
“I participate in Dr. K's weekly group sessions, and I consistently find valuable insights for my professional life. Recently, I transitioned to a private upper-middle-class university after working at a predominantly working-class institution. This change has highlighted a distinct difference in communication styles related to class — for instance, students at my current university tend to be more indirect and occasionally passive-aggressive, navigating around and above you instead of addressing issues directly. As I prepared to teach a new course, Dr. K recommended I collaborate with my university's curriculum designer to review the course content and mitigate any potential issues that could lead to student complaints. Following that advice, I met with the curriculum designer, who offered invaluable feedback — and we discovered common ground through our shared working-class and immigrant backgrounds, which helped establish rapport and a potential alliance. I'm truly grateful for our weekly group sessions and was pleasantly surprised by the positive outcome of implementing Dr. K's guidance.”
Jennifer
Faculty member, weekly group coaching member
Speaking & workshops
Your best individual contributors keep failing in leadership roles. It's not who you hired — it's what they were never taught.
You promoted them because they were excellent. Then you watched them flounder and called it 'not strategic enough,' 'too direct,' or 'not a culture fit.' Each failed promotion costs you $225K–$360K in turnover, lost productivity, and team drag. Keynotes and working sessions that close the gap between doing the work and leading the people doing it — grounded in original research on the Unwritten Rules of Work.
Keynotes
For all-hands and leadership offsites where you need everyone to hear the same thing at once.
Manager Workshops
Working sessions for newly-promoted leaders on the cultural shift from IC to people-leader.
Exec Briefings
Closed-door sessions for senior leaders on where your promotion pipeline is leaking — and why.
Orgs keep bringing her back
Keynote — The Daniel Group
“Hands down the most commented-on speaker we've ever had. I mean, seriously — we have never had the response back from people about that's presented like we had from Dr. K.”
Senior leader, The Daniel Group
Invited back for a half-day workshop at the next conference
Workshop — Schusterman Family Philanthropies
“Dr. Kallschmidt gave an insightful and engaging presentation on the Unwritten Rules of Work. She broke down complex concepts into easily digestible information, and her examples were relatable and thought-provoking. Whether it was decoding office communication, navigating professional relationships, or offering strategies for personal growth, Dr. K provided practical tips and tools. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for an exceptional facilitator who can engage and empower her audience.”
Selam Yohannes, PMP
Schusterman Family Philanthropies — returned 3+ times across multiple departments
Keynote — STEM Career Launchpad
“Anna's talk deeply resonated with our students. Many were still reflecting and discussing her insights long after the session ended. Her thoughtful, grounded approach to discussing the often-unspoken expectations of professional life was not only eye-opening but also empowering.”
Brenna Kays, Ph.D.
Host, STEM Career Launchpad
Workshop — Strada Education Foundation
“Engaging and fun, with a clear knack for getting people comfortable talking about things that can sometimes be uncomfortable, like the role of social class in the workplace. Her actionable insights left us all feeling informed and empowered to make our organization a better place for people of all backgrounds.”
Ryan Waggoner
Former client, post-workshop
What one engagement turns into
A single keynote grew into a rebooked workshop, then six sessions of executive coaching for one of their leaders — prepping her for promotion. Her CEO noticed the difference.
- Brought back to run a workshop twice as long as the first.
- Invited back 3+ times, across departments.
- Every session tailored and bespoke — built from scratch for that room, not pulled from a reused deck.
Past engagements
The book
The Unwritten Rules of Work
Most workplace friction isn't one person's fault — it's a gap between how staff, managers, and HR each experience the same unwritten rule. Every chapter names the rule, then gives each side a specific recommendation for their part in fixing it.
Read it as a staff member and get your move. Read it as a manager and get yours. Read it as HR and get yours. Same root problem — three different jobs to do about it.
Every chapter ends with role-specific recommendations — not a script everyone reads the same way, but a distinct next step for whoever's reading it: staff, manager, or HR.
Paperback and audiobook available now.
“I read this book over Christmas and kept thinking how much I wish I'd had it when I first entered the workforce. As a first-generation professional, I quickly realized that a lot of the advice my parents gave me didn't apply.”
John
Amazon review
“Your book has been life changing for me professionally and emotionally. I watch your YouTube channel every day.”
Alicia Jacobson
TikTok comment
“You are not imagining it. Accessibly written and good actionable advice for the working-class person navigating white-collar communication.”
Mr R Watson
Verified reader, United Kingdom
Start here
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