So you have an entrepreneurial itch? Here’s something that might help you with that. This is Part 2 of a series of 3 articles: In Part 1, I introduced the notion of the entrepreneur and being entrepreneurial for yourself while being an employee of an organisation. In this article (Part 2), let’s explore scratching your…
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” ~ Robert Burns A few years ago, I heard a speaker during one of those leadership conferences talking about their Plan A and Plan B. It was basically describing their practical job (Plan B) and their “dream career” (Plan A). They mentioned that they…
I was forty when I learnt to fly. I was ten when I decided I wanted to fly – like Superman. I had a red cardigan I would do up the top button and wear like a cape. Then I would jump off the top of the fence. Needless to say, my mother did not…
I never wanted to work for the United Nations. I didn’t understand exactly what they did or their value. I came across them while living and working in Rome, after having decided to stop off there for a while during a backpacking holiday in the early 90’s away from my home country of Australia. There…
The COVID-19 pandemic created conditions in which experimentation was a useful way to figure out how I might do things differently in my workscape. It is said that ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’. In Jan 2021, I found myself contemplating a year ahead without clarity of what steps to take. In 2020 I had…
When I followed through on my career change from organisational consultant to ‘tradie’ (i.e. builder) late 2019, I had no real clue what 2020 had in store (pandemic and all). I would probably still have made the same choice, which is more of a testament to how much I had bottomed out than a reflection…
Apparently, I am difficult. Apparently, people at work ‘walk on eggshells’ around me. Apparently, it’s ‘my way or the highway’, that my team are scared of me, that my clients find me inflexible. That I appear detached at work meetings and do not hang about for drinks and socialise at, or after work. That I…
The ‘pandemic of 2020’ has disrupted our personal and work lives. For some, this disruption has been to be cut adrift, to be untethered, from an organisation or employment. So much daily structure, personal identity, and validation comes from having a job. To be adrift is functionally unsettling: routines are lost; skills are not used;…
This is the second article in a two-part series, as I shine a Self unLimited lens on the contents of the Annual Global Talent Trends Report (2020) published by Mercer. Read Part 1. It’s great to have research to signal what talent trends are taking place and what responses might be appropriate to such…
I’ve recently read a report on 2020 Talent Trends from Mercer, and I think there’s insight and implications for employees. Mercer is a large HR consulting company. They do research and prepare advice for Executives and HR personnel to apply with employees. One recent form of advice came in their Annual Global Talent Trends Report…
No. It’s a small word. It can have big impact. Are you using it effectively? Me saying No to Others I say “No”. I say “No” to honour my values; to uphold my boundaries; and to focus my precious resources, and my intentions on what’s important. Earlier this year, I picked up a great book,…
Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to Bill. And not an eye in the room was tear-free! Bill’s an incredible human. He’s successfully recovered from a stroke. Now saying this doesn’t mean it was easy. It’s been a five-year journey and it continues. The particular story Bill shared was a powerful reminder of how…
People tell you persistence is vital in creating your career narrative, but what does that look like? We all realise it is made up of keeping on despite the dips and is a vital factor in the eventual realisation of your vision, but, like many abstract ideas, it needs fleshing out to help you fully…
This third article in a 3-part series about How to leave a job. The first two articles are A. Making the decision to leave and B. Exiting yourself from the job. This article focuses on the space of transitioning to a new job. C. Transitioning to a new job It’s like you’re swinging on trapezes –…
Each September in Australia we have R U OK? Day The mission of RU OK? is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with anyone who may be struggling with life. The initiative does a fabulous job raising awareness around mental health and helping people…
