It’s Time To Change
We are racing through the festive build up and I am in the process of wrapping presents and sorting out a long list of things to do but also taking time to enjoy the festive period.
Today’s #AdventBlog is by Gail Hatfield, who has been a previous blogger and jumped at the chance to reflect on the theme of “its time to change”. Gail is connectable via https://www.linkedin.com/in/gail-hatfield-fcipd-b441693/ and has a portfolio career after 40+ years in the workplace. This is a mix of my own consultancy - Growth and Harmony People Solutions, working with a women's charity, Chair of the local LSIP and NED roles.
Over to Gail with this years submission.
All through my career I have been striving to reach the next goal. Values of integrity, hard work, loyalty, diligence and success have been hard wired into me since my youth. From achieving those great grades at school to the next promotion. Once I knew what I wanted, I worked hard to get there.
I have been really lucky. Along the way I have had some amazing colleagues, great bosses and kind, yet challenging coaches and mentors. As I have grown I have also tried to follow their examples and be the same.
There I was, about 18 months ago, bobbing along career wise and sitting just past 10 years to state retirement age, thinking I have it sorted when, wack, life hit me around the face like the proverbial wet kipper.
Don't get me wrong life has not been plain sailing, there have been challenges, minnows if you will, but this was different, this felt like a whale. Everything I had learnt up to then in some great work places seemed to be debunked and, worse, the strategies and tools which had held me in excellent stead, many gained from super business brains were just bouncing back and not gaining any purchase. I was confused and it really did feel like a different type of hard work. Worse, I was also dealing with overwhelming personal grief having had three deaths of loved ones in as many months.
I was struggling. For the first time ever in my career, the people who could see I was struggling decided to make it worse. I still cannot forgive that. Something had to change, because it felt as if I was changing, and not for the better.
Fast forward to today. Everything has changed. I have re-evaluated the career I thought I would achieve. This has not been easy. But then why would it be, the beautiful butterfly has to fight to escape its chrysalis. Perhaps this is where I was meant to end up? Who knows? What was clear to me was change was needed before I was bent out of shape. And the sweet irony of all those business changes I had overseen, and all the theories and practices I had learnt and used not always being helpful, is not lost on me.
What's the point of telling you this? It's just a story about a hard time isn't it? I suppose it's a cautionary tale. One that says when you know who you are, what values you hold dear, the examples which show you the way and, you know what you want to achieve; don't change your view. You don't need to change.
Change to a place where you are valued and supported, don't let a place change you. Adjust your course a bit, change your sails and fish in new waters.
