Tobias Dennehy likes to keep himself busy beyond the 9–5. From writing a blog, to playing the piano, to dreaming of writing his first book, he explains why it’s essential to make room for creativity. In the first in our podcast series, he touches on his route to his current role and explains why the concept of a “career ladder” is changing.
Opening with a quick-stop tour of his career to date, Tobias explains that his move from journalism to his policy role at Siemens wasn’t such a strange step after all. He took opportunities as they presented themselves and now keeps his creative writing alive within his blog, storycodeX.com. Tobias also talks of career progression moving away from the traditional concept of “climbing the ladder” — nowadays, it’s more like the childhood game of Snakes and Ladders, except that the ladders move horizontally as well as vertically. He says: “I think it’s keeping an open mind and looking for the ladders that come your way.”
If you move around in your career, at some stage you’re bound to be proven wrong about certain preconceptions you may have had about the role. Tobias explains he was hesitant about taking on a PR role because he’d heard it was the “Mordor” of journalism, and lobbying also proved to be “so much more” than he’d expected. Moving around within a large corporate won’t fall into your lap though — you have to make your own future at work. To do that, it’s also essential to make time to evaluate where you are.
He says: “There’s no problem to fill 24 hours of the day with stuff, but to free one of these hours for yourself, that’s a tough thing. But I think that’s something that is absolutely necessary now and again to actually see where you are, see where you want to go and be honest — am I happy where I am?”
For Tobias, he still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. With so many interests, it seems he’s making the most of the various things he loves, rather than seeking the “one thing” to focus on. He explains: “Many times I’d thought, ‘Why not be happy with a 9–5 job and just do family and job and the rest? Why stress yourself with that?’ But then I think, ‘No, if I left that out, I wouldn’t be happy, something would be missing.’”
Illustrations: Danilo Agutoli
