Recently I have been reflecting on my journey to where I am now, how I got here and where I am going next. I think it is very in line with a Squiggly Career!
However, it hasn’t always been a straight forward journey and it feels like it has
taken a long time for me to find my place in the world and truly understand what’s
important to me. This is not necessarily a bad thing as Andy Lancaster once beautifully put
it in a session I attended ‘Fracture lines might be the most precious part of
who we are’.
Anyone who knows me will be aware that I have had many jobs and worked in many
companies through a combination of running my own business and completing a
number of interim contracts – that has been incredibly valuable as it has exposed me
to a wide breadth of industries and opportunities. Who knew that I would become a
Share Point expert and design and develop an staff engagement survey? Saying yes
to everything (although that has not necessarily left me in a good place personally –
more about this below) has enabled me to learn and grow as I have gone along.
So what have some of the challenges I have faced?
Well a lot of them are to do with me personally and my approach to work…
Willingness to get involved – which is always a good thing however it can
leave me feeling stretched a bit thin. Driven by a ‘Constantly Curious’ gene I
am always interested in what is going on around me even if it is not in my
professional space. Learning to say no means I can do my best work and
excel at what I do – which is also incredibly important to me.
Being a perfectionist – Thomas Curran has an incredibly useful Ted Talk on
this which I do tend to revisit periodically. Doing my best work to me means
producing L&D that wows and impacts practically on people and often I will
work long and hard in order to make sure it does so. The lesson here is not to
overthink it and trust my judgement more – I have been in the L&D game long
enough to know what will work and have plenty of tips and tricks up my sleeve
so why not use them? It is not always about reinventing the wheel.
Imposter Syndrome – If you have been following my Linked In profile you’ll
know I have been recording podcasts, speaking at events – both of which are
long held ambitions. What took me so long? Well – I always thought that the
people who did these things were of a different breed – articulate, well read
and commanding the respect of the room at ease. It turns out that they are
just like me – passionate about the topic and happy to share and debate. I
don’t know everything about the topics I speak on and I definitely pick those I
do have a clear perspective on i.e. leadership, mental health, Evidence Based
Learning and Inclusion. Doing the latter gives me the confidence to go and do
these things.
Being a nice person – Here is another one of those things which sounds great
so let me explain myself. I haven’t always pushed myself forward enough – I think certainly earlier in my career I thought that good things would happen if I
just worked hard. However, recently (and I mean very recently!) I have
discovered that it’s good to ask and if people say no be okay with it. I have
appeared on podcasts and this came about with me saying in a
conversation ‘You should have me on your podcast’. As we say in the North
this is being ‘Not backwards in coming forwards!’ This is a work in progress
and I am getting better at this as an approach and will do with more practice!
It’s okay that everyone doesn’t get on with me – If I had a choice I live in a
world where everyone got on and was as enthusiastic about L&D as I am. So
that’s all good because that is how it is right? Ah – not so much. I am
passionate about what I do and use to take it personally when people were
not as enthusiastic. In addition I think I can be quite divisive as I have very
firm views about L&D and how it can be delivered – this is one of my most
strongly held beliefs and one I hold onto more than any other in the
workplace. The place I am coming to is that – that’s okay and I won’t fit
everywhere and people won’t always want to go on that journey with me. As I
once heard a Senior Leader in a business say ‘It’s not personal – it’s
business.”
Being a little bit weird and wonderful – This is something I pride myself on –
being a little bit different from the norm, addicted to crisps with a range of
conversational topics from Man Utd, F1, Strictly to Dancing on Ice. I’m not a
good socializer – often found hiding under the table or not being anywhere
near the table in the first place! In the past I would have made various
excuses now I am just more upfront about it and guess what it turns out that
people are okay with it! It is a much more honest approach.
It is worth saying that’s it not always about me (I’m an only child so that concept is a
bit alien to me but let’s go with it!) Finding your fit and your tribe is so important –
who are the people who truly add value to your life and ask what organisation can do
that for you too? So here’s some of my additional life lessons to finish up
Don’t be afraid to walk away if it’s not working – this is for organisations,
relationships, friendships. Sometimes it will never work, sometimes you can
compromise – however if it’s not true to who you are that is going to take up a
lot of emotional energy which you could be deploying on something you are
passionate about.
Work out what’s important to you – I think this takes time and some
experience. For my it is variety, a great relationship with my clients, freedom to
do my best work and the topics mentioned about
Ask Great Questions – and lots of them! Never be afraid to say you don’t
know or need clarification. It makes life much more clearer and easier to
navigate. There are no prizes for guessing…
Find Your Safe Spaces – earlier on I talked about ditching what’s not
important to you well here keep safe those who are important. The people
who you can bounce anything off, tell anything too, who will give you sound advice and sense check you. These people (thank you Grace and Jess) keep me sane and help me work out my path through life.
Be Curious – Why not? If you are not enthusiastic no one else will be! Over
the past few years I have pursued topics like happiness because I was
curious and this has added to my knowledge and as an additional
bonus has added to my bank of knowledge.
As a caveat I do want to add that this is my life and yours will be very different. It is
important to find your own way in all this. So let’s finish on one of my favourite
quotes ‘Be yourself – everyone else is taken’ (Oscar Wilde – that 3 years at
University studying English Literature never leaves you!) Be fabulous and be you!
Ramblings of a L&D Professional 