Time to be true to ourselves

Less than a week into my latest job search I repeated one fatal mistake, a mistake I’ve made over and over again over the years. You probably have, too.

Except this time I took a step back, recognised it, and put it right.

What am I talking about? That relentless career/salary progression thing, that’s what. The idea that your career, while it may not follow a beautiful straight line, is somehow meant to keep pointing up, keep getting better.

You know, that ‘Supervisor’ to ‘Assistant Manager’ to ‘Manager’ to ‘Director’ to ‘Senior Director’ to ‘C-suite’ progression thing. And the better and better salaries that go with it. There’s an insane expectation, and sometimes pressure, for us to try and steer our careers along this path. And it makes no sense, no sense at all.

The mistake I made after just a few days into my latest search was to focus my time on well-paid, senior roles. You know, ticking that top tier salary box on Guardian Jobs, then selecting the most senior job categories, and then seeing what comes out – and realising that all of the results are the kinds of jobs I’d never, ever want to do any more. I’m just being honest.

Years ago I’d have probably just gone with it, and most likely ended up working somewhere I’d find deeply frustrating, overly bureaucratic, and a creative thinking graveyard. But hey, the salary would have been good, so the price is worth paying, right?

Wrong.

Since early March I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Dangerous, I know. Never before have I given myself this much time to seriously ponder what a late career/life reboot might look like for me. But I’ve been reading a lot, hoping to get a few ideas. ‘Four Thousand Weeks‘ (by Oliver Burkeman) and ‘From Strength to Strength‘ (by Arthur Brooks) have been two of the best books I could have ever read. Few recent books have altered my thinking more than those two have.

The end result of all of this is that I’ve stopped chasing senior roles, stopped chasing titles, and stopped chasing big salaries. In my case at least, it’s really not worth it. I want to jump out of bed in the morning with a spring in my step, to do work that makes me sing, and do the kind of work that my kids would be proud of. And if the money doesn’t quite stretch to all the things we used to be able to do, then so be it. We’re doing okay. I’ve always been nothing if not resourceful.

Despite the uncertainty, I’m probably more excited now than I have been in a long time. I’m taking control of the huge chunk of my life that I’d usually hand over to an employer. As Buddha tells us, we really ought to seek the ‘right livelihood‘, work which doesn’t do harm to ourselves or others, and is ethically positive,

Too many people are unhappy in their work, and in my book that counts as harm – to themselves. We keep hearing that we should ‘bring our authentic selves’ to work. But how many of us really do?

“Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing yourself is true wisdom”Lao Tzu

Back for good

Well, perhaps not for good, but for a while, anyway. Let’s see how things go.

After an incredible 15 years, kiwanja.net shut its doors in April 2018 and I took on a full-time role at Yoti, a digital identity start-up based out of London. I blogged about the career change here. Just shy of five years later, my Head of Social Purpose role was made redundant, and I joined Macmillan Cancer Support on a one year contract as Director of Future Data & Digital Self Management. That contract came to an end in March 2024, and I decided to take some time out to reflect, breathe, and think about what might be next for me.

In a sense, despite having a significant body of work behind me and, dare I say it, a fairly good reputation, it does feel like I’m starting all over from scratch. While I miss the crazy, explosive, experimental, anything-goes days of the so-called ‘mobile revolution’, today that world feels overly professionalised, overly tech-focused, rigid, and less experimental (and certainly more competitive). The bits I miss most no longer exist. Many of the early pioneers have moved on, too – just like I did. Life goes on, I suppose.

Unsure of what might be next, I decided a few weeks ago to try and take a break – something that doesn’t come naturally to me, I have to say – and let the universe decide what direction I should take. It was the universe, after all, that gave me FrontlineSMS, so it’s got pretty good form.

And, right on cue, the universe spoke.

One thing I’ve enjoyed over the years has been coaching and mentoring. I’ve done more than my fair share, but it’s always been informal, ad-hoc and on-demand. I also love brainstorming ideas, sharing thoughts and insights, and challenging ideas (in a kind, productive way), all under the umbrella of supporting the next generation of social innovators. The internal drive to focus more of my time on this just wouldn’t go away and then, out of the blue, I was approached by a friend and colleague from my mobile days. A few weeks later and I’d secured work doing precisely what it feels like I should be doing. More on that soon.

After an at-times-uncomfortable few weeks waiting for things to fall into place, they have.  On top of the new coaching contract, I’m about to start working with the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering, mentoring a team working on a tech-for-democracy project. And I’ll be helping judge the International Federation of the Red Cross’s Youth Innovation Academy, too.

I’m excited by what lies ahead. I know I’m going to enjoy it. It feels right. And I think I’m good at it. Remember to check out my Inspiration for hire website if you think there’s something amazing we could do together.

I’d love to hear from you if there is.