The Silent Rise of The New Work Pioneer spoke of the characteristics shared by the people who, whilst organisations gnash their teeth about better ways to manage, are getting on and reinventing work for themselves anyway. This post talks in more detail about how New Work Pioneers reframe what at first appear to be times of crisis, as experiences that enable deep change.
I’ve seen lots of upheaval in my coaching practice recently. Even before the economic slowdown, things were happening that were taking people to the edge of themselves career-wise, but it has been more marked these last eighteen months.
People being made redundant, or fearing that it’s about to happen. Glamourous and exciting careers losing their sparkle, taking people’s motivation and sense of meaning with them. Promised career paths evaporating, leaving nowhere to go. Beyond stressful environments causing burn-out or breakdown. These are frightening scenarios to live through.
And, society still tends to understand them as things that need fixing. We all know the attitude: take even tighter control of your situation and things will soon be back to “normal”. Whatever “normal” is.
It can be difficult to hear, let alone trust the small voice inside, but the New Work Pioneer knows it’s the only one that counts. They know that common wisdom isn’t going to crack it. Not in the long term. They can see that things they once took for granted have changed beyond recognition. Besides which, they’ve spent years trying to fit in one way or another and that last kick in the teeth means they’re pretty much done with putting themselves to one side.
With courage they understand that what’s happening to them is a bit like an earthquake. The seismic plates of their own being are shifting and their sense of identity has mobilised with them.
It’s a process that can take time. Sometimes years. New Work Pioneers find the courage to stay with their fears and move beyond them. In the middle of what is a big sorting out process, they ask themselves some questions:
What’s true of me personally that’s going to remain?
In my own case, following a near nervous breakdown, which for a period of time made me feel lost and unconfident, I could eventually recognise some qualities as being intrinsically me. Fun, warmth, love, determination, brightness, thought-leadership, a passion for helping people grow and develop, the enjoyment of doing good work, a respect for other people and their lives.
They were going to stay.
What’s run its course for me and now needs to go?
For me, I’d spent years living on other people’s terms, and needing more approval from others than was healthy. I was also addicted to perfection, and had a harsh, driven quality about me.
These things had served me to a point but were now exhausting me and had to be ditched.
What new in me now needs to emerge?
I needed to own a softness and femininity that I hadn’t felt safe in expressing in the male-dominated environments I worked in. I also had to give myself permission, both to be OK just as I was, and to believe I was worthy of a liveable working life.
New Work Pioneers emerge from the rubble clearer and more determined to find a way to work on their own terms. Whether they work within or outside of the traditional corporation is not the point: the point is that whatever they do works for them. They may not have all the answers, but they know they’re on a journey, one that’s uniquely theirs. In time, they may thank whatever crisis got them to that point, because they’ve now got a feel for the treasure in themselves and their lives and they’re not going to let that go.
So, what do you think? Do you resonate with this? What personal awakening have you had or are you having, courtesy of your working life? How has it changed or is it changing you?
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This really resonated Christine. I just want to say how much I am enjoying your posts, they always get me to think differently whilst I can identify with so much of what you share too. I think it’s so easy in work (and life in general) at times to try and squeeze yourself to fit someone else’s mould. With my coaching and becoming partly self employed, I feel like I am gradually getting back in touch with who I really am and what works for me.
Glad to hear that, Jen. It’s good when stuff resonates, isn’t it? And glad you’re enjoying the posts!
We all do fit into someone else’s mould at different times and in different ways. It’s good to know that your journey is progressing and that you’re getting a better sense of yourself. Brilliant for you, too, that you share it so openly, online and through your blog
I agree with Jen Christine – really enjoying your posts.
I remember hearing a Gary Vaynerchuk talk once where he talked about the idea that times of recession are actually great for the kind of people you are talking about because it creates lots of opportunities for the people left standing. If you’re prepared to hustle and work hard you can make the best of any situation.
Thanks, Ben. Glad that you’re also enjoying the posts.
I hadn’t heard Gary Vaynerchuk say that, but it makes complete sense. The things is, as far as I can see, work is fundamentally going to morph over a period of the next couple of centuries. Those who’ve dared to make the best of situations in which they find themselves now will become role models for the people who follow. In fact, it’s probably already happening that way.
Thanks for your thoughtful response, Ben!
Twitter: CubeRules
A challenge for this to happen, I think, is the capacity of people to get perspective, think through the tough stuff and then make changes. Sports is not business, but the idea of an “off-season” where coaches can gain perspective and think through different scenarios without the pressure on for winning the next game is not available in business.
Business is just “on” all the time, important tasks are right in front of us — and constantly changing — and we have little time to consider what should stay and what should go.
Yet, if we don’t get this perspective, we just miss the vitally important ways we can impact our happiness.
Well said, Scot. You’re absolutely right – the idea that an “off-season” might be good doesn’t exist in the business world. And yet it’s there in nature too – times when things grow and flourish and times when they fall back and are more fallow.
There’s a bit message that comes through loud and clear from your point: those of us who’ve been through this stuff and now coach and advise others need to let the people we work with know that it’s perfectly okay to have an “off-season”: without it, the revitalisation needed for new growth probably doesn’t happen.
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Twitter: diary4life
Christine,
My big change and realisation occurred in the 1990s when I volunteered for a redundancy package. I was somewhat hesitant and wonder whether I’d made a big mistaken. Never before had I even consider such a big step.
When it all happen the release of pressure was something I’ve never experienced before. I’ve never looked back since. There really was a life outside the organisation!
I love the the following quote; “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein
Regards
Paul
Paul,
Good to see you here and thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’m delighted to hear that an experience of redundancy has been such a catalyst in your life and that, for more than a decade now, you’ve never looked back.
Thanks for sharing Albert Einstein too. I hadn’t seen that one…
Best wishes
I like it. the New Work Pioneer seems to me the be in the first place, a person with the right mindframe. A person who sees the opportunity inside a problem and takes actions. I think this can be a very powerful attitude.
Cheers,
Eduard
Thanks for the comment, Eduard!
I like the way you describe the New Work Pioneer – that’s an awesome summary.
Take care.
Christine, love how you are extending your thoughts on this concept. I think the most difficult piece of your equation is an honest answer to the question “What has run its course and now needs to go?” This can be humbling and can strip away so much — and we know that what’s underneath is powerful and amazing, but letting go of old identities and ways of measuring success can be super-painful. I am particularly thinking of corporate environment where a decision to leave could be seen as giving up or acknowledging the corporation’s view of who you are. It takes great courage to walk away. Thank you for continuing to explore this concept; it’s very much resonating with me.
Hi Kristy,
I’m delighted this is resonating. What you say is spot-on. Letting go of old identities and ways of measuring success is super-painful. The consulting company I worked for before quitting to work for myself thought that I was on the one hand, one of their rising stars who, on the other, had just gotten a bit broken. I identified with this for a very long time, hooked on the adrenalin surges I’d get from any positive feedback they’d give me, meanwhile needing to identify with their sense of me as “broken” as it confirmed what I thought of myself. Daring to redefine myself and to understand I could be okay without any of the badges of office that they may or may not confer was huge. At times I asked myself if I was crazy.
All these things affect us in deep and insidious ways and it does indeed take time for the powerful, amazing stuff that’s underneath to push through.
Thanks again, Kristy. I value your articulate and thoughtful comment.
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Twitter: KateBacon
Great post and thoughtful comments. Setting up in business myself seven years ago was the start of my really owning who I am. Creating a work environment that thrives on my own shared values with clients has been amazing.
I love the comment about creating an “off season”…all too easy to forget in the busy-ness of running your own company. We all need to take time away from the office and develop and nuture our own being. That’s what I find so valuable in working with my own coach.
Thanks again Christine for sparking a great debate.
Kate
Thank YOU Kate!
I appreciate you sharing what provoked your journey. I know from both your comments here and, indeed chatting to you over the years, that your commitment to your values is strong, has guided what you do today, and allows you to do awesome work.
When responding to Scot about the “off-season” it hadn’t crossed my mind, but of course what you say is right – coaching is a form of time away. Even if it’s only an hour a week or whatever, it’s a chance to step out, reflect, reposition and re-energise. Thanks for reminding us of that!
Take care.
hi christine,
i dont want to keep repeating myself before it becomes boring but……(you know it because ben and jen agree with me lol!!)
As i read through, my summary was; follow your intuition, work hard and dive in (take risks )
i also have a special request for the next edition of the life skills magazine christine and i will be sending an email with the details.
do have a lovely weekend
LOL!! I hear you, I hear you!
Seriously, you pick up a good point about the role of intuition. Many work environments, indeed our society as a whole, marginalises the role of intuition because it’s not logical. But it’s an amazingly powerful thing, and often comes to the fore during the kind of times I’m talking about here. The challenge is, indeed, to trust and follow it.
I’ll be delighted to get your email. I think you have my address, but if not, it’s christine@adifferentkindofwork.com.
You have a lovely weekend too!
[...] introduced you to the (not so) silent rise of the New Work Pioneer; I’ve shared how New Work Pioneers use times of crisis as catalysts for change; and indeed how New Work Pioneers come into being. Today I want to share some practical thoughts [...]