Six months on.. what did I learn?

So, if you’ve been following my story over the past six months, you’ll have noticed that:

• I resigned from Carat, having never resigned from a job before
• I asked if others would leave a job without one to go to, and it clicked with hundreds of thousands of people
• I built a CV, having never designed a CV before
• I asked why resignation was seen as a bad thing
• Started the Leapers community
• I suggested side hustles should no longer be on the side
• I used a Japanese concept to explore my ikigai
• I drank A LOT of coffee
• I concepted platforms to solve meeting rooms; email blindness; talent management
• I drank MORE coffee
• I’ve started being coached, and I’ve started coaching
• I met so many wonderful smart and passionate people
• I’m restless and cannot wait to get my teeth stuck into the next challenge

Coming to the end of the year, my last day of my notice period is imminent — and some observations are really clear to me now:

1. There is so much time in a day outside of work which you can use to meet people, think on your career, your interests and motivations, that there really isn’t such a thing as ‘not enough time’. I’m a single parent, working a 9–5 job, and I managed to fit this in and around other things. Lunch breaks, evenings, weekends, breakfasts, using holiday days. There are no excuses — give yourself some time to actively think about the future of your work.
2. People are generous with their time, and have invaluable perspectives, points of view, thoughts, experience and wisdom. Make use of this, connect with people, have conversations that don’t necessarily have an agenda, other than being open.
3. I still have no idea what I want to do, and I don’t have a job to walk into on January 1… But it will be based around playing in the near future, helping others to get future-ready.
4. I find it incredibly hard to succinctly describe what I do, and how I add value — but have recognised that I love trying to understand what the problem really is, creating a new type of answer, and working with people to make it happen.
5. My imposter syndrome is incredibly blocking in allowing me to accept I have value, but I’m working with a great coach to chip away at that.

I was hoping to come out of this process with a clear idea of who and what I am, what I offer, and where I could go and do that — in hindsight, I recognise that was a fools errand, and trying to create some sort of ‘positioning’ flies in the face of everything I think about business and innovation: that it isn’t a fixed state. I wrote more about how having a learning mindset and heartset is more important than a simple pithy one-liner.

Now as I approach the last day of my salary, I’m going to start eating in to my savings.

This is a terrifying place to be, and not one I’d like to be in for long.

So, my intentions are to do the following:

1. Help out. I’m now available for contract work, as someone who enjoys taking gnarly problems, and helping teams create a tangible and progressive solution.
2. Make Friends. I’m still looking for a team where I feel excited by the prospect of spending time with others, looking at the future, and helping to make it happen.
3. Develop a Manual of Me. Use the tools we’re creating as part of the Leapers community to clearly explain not WHAT I do, but the type of projects where I can add most value, and how I can help people.

I’m also committing to continuing this journey of discovery, to continue meeting with new people, and listening to how they approach work. The Leapers community will form part of this, but even if I can meet one new person each week, to invest in my inputs, not just outputs, I think I’ll be on a good track.

But, for now, if you’re needing someone who can help you to explore the future, design better ways of working, and then make it all happen, drop me a note!