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Comment by Gareth Jones on February 1, 2012 at 9:27am

Great example Doug.  I had no idea Neil had been through losing his wife and daughter - tragic.  John, in answer to you question ill tweet this out again as I think its an interesting one - see if we can get a few comments.  Personally, im not sure which it is.  I think as we get older and experience more, we become calmer possibly.  The world didnt end as we thought it did when we hit crisis and perhaps that grows inner confidence.

That is of course if you have a defining moment or two.  I have had plenty! Esp in the early stages of my career and have come through it.  I also had people around me who at critical times said things like "its only a job"!

I do actually think that there are huge implications for career management and career paths.  Fundementally, as individuals we actually rarely manage our career paths properly and organisations dont do much either.  If they do anything its to focus on the 'top tier' which i think is wrong anyway, and also, even in those circumstances, the often dont manage that properly.  There are many talent professionals who will tell you that there policy is not to tell someone they are good or a high performer if they are so.

This has only recently been obvious to me as a few years ago, i met up with two of my old bosses, from different companies and they both said "we missed you badly when you left. You did a great job" etc. Really? Well no one ever told me!  Sound daft doesn't it, but I guess for whatever reason I never saw it.  For sure there is a lot more that organisations can do to support individuals to make the best of their careers.

Comment by Doug Shaw on January 31, 2012 at 10:14am

An interesting point. I listened to an interview with Neil Peart recently where he describes how we grow through life, rather than change. He suggests that essentially we’re the same person at heart throughout. I think there’s something in that.

Neil is the drummer in the Canadian rock band Rush. He is one of the best examples of how practice and experimentation can be applied to produce excellence in his chosen field. He has suffered tragic loss in his life and has come back to be an even better musician than before. He experiments with many different styles of playing, which he can then overlay to create complex patterns and rhythms. So at the core is drumming, around the edges are many different tones and styles of essentially the same centre. He and his band mates together form one of the best examples of collaboration I've ever seen and heard. Neil is also a writer, not only of music but books too, another example of adapting a skill along a different path.

So for me Neil is someone who has become incredibly self-aware and though not necessarily confident at all times (perhaps understandably he retired for a few years following the death of his daughter and wife), someone who is willing to practice and develop his strengths into a fine career, and indeed life. Ideally the two should co-exist happily.

Of course he is just one guy, one example. There will be others that offer the other side of the coin I expect.

I guess what a lot of us need is help to identify some of the likes and dislikes, and the skills that with practice can help us to do likewise should we wish to.

Comment by John Costello on January 31, 2012 at 9:07am

Thanks Doug and Gareth for your comments. I wonder if any of our HR colleagues can shed any light on the point you make about age Gareth. Do we become more aware of our values as we get older and more confident about making decisions based on them, or is it that our values become more stable over time as we mature? Are there any implications for career paths and career management?

Comment by Gareth Jones on January 30, 2012 at 7:40pm

Im a sucker for a french movie!  Nice post John, thanks for sharing.  It's a good question isn't it? Who's really to blame here?  Unfortunately, for some, the dependency on the organisation means that sometimes, walking away isnt easy.  The relationship is a complex one and especially at the beginning of the career, not only can it be seductive, but also it can be the only way to provide what the family expects.

Maybe its an age thing, but the older I get the more comfortable I have become with walking away.  Nothing is worth it, especially if it ends, as you mention here with a situation where he has "nothing to fall back on when his work life falls apart"

Comment by Doug Shaw on January 28, 2012 at 10:07am

Sounds like powerful stuff John. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look and see what I can learn from this story. Doug