Many of us work harder and for longer hours, not for our benefit or wellbeing, but to increase the bottom line of a business or organisation. No amount of resilience training, productivity hacks, bananas in the canteen, upskilling or other perks can account for unethical behaviour, overt greediness or a basic lack of humanity.
We hold a belief that creativity, innovation and play is the preserve of the young or the “creatives” – the artists, painters, jewellers, singers, dancers and songwriters. [But] the reality is that we are each wired for creativity.
Creativity is without doubt about art, music and aesthetics, but it is equally about how we apply our imagination in a way that changes how we (and others) experience or view the world around us.
Creative jobs are presented as the nice-to-haves, but the one you should want, the one that results in a “good” career, whatever that means, are for those with fully operational left-brains, the analytical and logical types who are practical with strong verbal and mathematical skills.
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This is one of the myths that shapes our realities.
Tactical Thursday: In a weekly chat with a chief financial officer, which started when I was asked to collaborate on the design, development and delivery of an in-house pilot on career agility, we worked through the following five questions:
1. What went well this week?
2. Where was your struggle?
3. What was within your control?
4. Who could you ask for help/support?
5. What is the smallest thing you could do differently next week to improve on this week?
A point of weekly self-reflection meant that where things were going well, we incrementally developed on doing better. If something was going poorly, a weekly check-in meant it was acknowledged and dealt with.
Extracted from Total Reset: Quit Living to Work and Start Working to Live, by Sinéad Brady
