The World is your Oyster

Written by Dave Seddon on 17 Jan, 2022

That’s a quote from personal development guru Earl Nightingale and it’s probably one of the best pieces of advice you’ll ever receive.

For some of us, especially some of us of a certain age, it can be difficult advice to embrace. The days of spending 10 – 15 years in the same company are over and, in truth, have been for a while but we still cling on the old way of working. It’s time to let go because doing so will open a bigger world of potential opportunities for you.

Times change and attitudes change with them. Previously someone who moved jobs every one or two years was seen as flaky or unreliable. Now that kind of mobility is normal, desirable even. What was once seen as a lack of “staying power” is now seen as initiative and drive. People move jobs to gain experience (both in terms of role and of company cultures), accelerate personal growth, and increase career prospects. Gen X and Millennials are very comfortable changing jobs frequently and regard each new role as a building block in their longer-term career plan.

Previously people tended to focus on one job at a time, whereas today, ‘side hustles’ and portfolio careers are becoming far more common. The idea is that the various parts of your portfolio feed different priorities or parts of your character. Some parts of your portfolio you might do for money and others for love; one part may pay the mortgage while another fulfils your need for social engagement, say working for a charity. You might have a portfolio which allows you to do a wide variety work for a range of different organisations. Whatever the mix and whatever the reason, portfolio careers can increase your sense of personal fulfilment and give you the variety a single full-time job can’t. Side hustles could be considered as either a mini portfolio, allowing you to scratch an inch your main job doesn’t, or it might be your sandbox in which you trial a new and radically different career direction.

Of course, there is a flip-side to all this – although whether you see it as a burden or a benefit might tell you something about the way you see the world. Implicit in Earl Nightingale’s words is the idea you can’t (and shouldn’t) rely on your company to manage your career for you. Instead, you must take responsibility for setting your goals, your direction, your development and training. You need to keep your skills up to date – and you need to know what new skills and experience you’ll need to get to the next level. You need the self-awareness to know what your strengths and deficiencies are (and, most importantly, you need to remember that something is only a deficiency if it prevents you getting to your desired future state).

If that sounds scary, it shouldn’t – it’s empowering. The old model of company-defined personal development usually benefited the company first and the individual second. It worked as long as your goals aligned with the company’s. If you want to get where you want to be, you need to define the map and keep your hands on the steering wheel. The good news is, now more than ever, you define your career path. The bad news is, now more than ever…

Two of the biggest advantages of the new way of working are increased adaptability and resilience. Working in one company for a long period of time means you become an expert on that company’s culture and its way of doing things. You can effortlessly navigate its intricacies and idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately, you become like one of those animals in a David Attenborough programme that’s uniquely evolved to a very specific environmental niche. If that niche suddenly disappears (perhaps due to a downsizing programme), how will you survive? Better to build adaptability and resilience by being able to operate comfortably in a range of environments, by which I mean different company cultures, as a permanent employee or as a freelancer. Start thinking in terms of your skills and experience and how you can apply them to deliver outcomes for your employer or client, rather than narrowly describing yourself in terms of a specific role (more on that in another blog).

Ten years ago, there was no such thing as a social media influencer, a blockchain analyst, or a podcast producer. Data mining, machine learning and big data were just concepts. Digital marketing was in its infancy. The industries that have grown up around climate change (green power, wind farms, electric cars) had yet to become mainstream. The idea that people might work from home for most time was unthinkable – and then COVID changed all that and brought with it the idea of being able to work from anywhere. IR35 was first mentioned in an HMRC press release in 1999 and now it’s changed the freelancing market out of all recognition, forcing companies to adopt more outcome -focused relationships.

Change is inevitable. There’s little point trying to resist it; better instead to learn to thrive within it.

You don’t have to do it all alone. In fact, I’d strongly advise you not to. Find a mentor. Develop a circle of people whose advice and judgement you value and trust. Use them as your sounding boards. The new way of working potentially gives you unprecedented freedom to shape your career and your life/work blend. However, to seize the opportunity it represents you need a plan, and you need the courage to see it through. Freedom means you’re responsible for managing your career but it also means having answers to some tough questions about where you want to get to and staying focused on the journey.

At changemaker, we help companies and individuals manage change. For individuals, we provide both expertise, guidance and – sometimes most important – a sounding board. We’ll challenge you and support you through with tools and experience gained through years of developing people.