The Awesome Power of a Job Role
Who are you if your dream job changes out from under you?
This article was originally published on LinkedIn in April of 2017. I’m reposting it here as part of moving my writing to my own platform…
First, a question...
How do you define yourself?
Then, some background… A close friend of mine was hired into his dream job based on his expertise in a particular field. The number one job requirement was that he had to be a practicing expert. Couldn’t get the job unless you could demonstrate the skills and had a proven track record in the industry. He had all of that and more, got the job and proceeded to kick ass. So far so good… except after a few years the organization took a “new direction” that didn’t value his area of expertise anymore. Normally when that happens, a person could easily find themselves out on the street. But, here’s the kicker… the company didn’t let him go. What they DID do was move him into a completely new area that he has zero experience in. Same job, but totally new area of expertise. To say my buddy was traumatized is an understatement. That thing that he did, he’d been doing since he was a kid. It’s a core and essential part of him… inextricable.
But, here’s the next kicker… He didn’t “lose his shit”. In what could only be described in HR biz speak as an unimaginable display of “emotional maturity”, he’s rolling with the changes. I don’t think anybody would have blamed him if he’d crapped in a trashcan and flipped everyone off on his way out the door. (OK, he probably wouldn’t ever do that, but it’s a funny picture) But instead of doing that, he chilled. He did NOT go with his gut. And… He’s adapting to his new role. It’s going to be bumpy to be sure. He’d rather be doing that thing he did, but he’s up for the challenge of doing that thing he does now.
While I was watching and trying to help my friend get through this “life moment”, I started to ask: "What would I do if this happens to me?” - Like my friend, I was hired into my position based on my expertise in video production, motion graphics, and education. I know this stuff really really well. It’s who I am. It’s how I define myself. It’s how I’ve defined myself since the day I walked out of a “suit and tie” job to become a freelance graphic artist in 1991.
All of this introspection begs the question…
Who the hell am I?
All the phone calls and video conferences to help him talk through his situation has forced me to look deep into my own life and career. At my core, I’m a creative person, and creative people define themselves by their craft. I’ve been at this quite a while now, and I’ve been incredibly lucky. I’ve worked my ass off, true, but I’ve had a lot of good fortune. I love what I do now. I get to help awesome people create incredible content that helps even more awesome people learn how to create amazing shit. The reason I’m good at my job is because I’ve been through every phase of the process… I’ve been that person struggling to learn complex technology and creative techniques. I’ve used that complex technology and creativity to create some cool (and some not so cool) stuff. And, while doing that, I spent 10 years teaching at the highest level. (I had to teach myself that too, and to my early students… “I owe you a beer”)
I’ve been laid off before, and I’ve been “forced” out of positions before, but I’d always been in the same creative groove. What my friend has gone thru is a complete tectonic shift in perspective. Yes he could go and try to find another job that does value his expertise in a specific field. But, the place he works at is pretty awesome, and company direction changes aside, tries very hard to take good care of it’s people. So, he really wants to stay and give it a go. He’ll be heavily involved in his passion nights and weekends, and hopefully that will keep him sane. In fact, NOT working on the same stuff all day and all night will probably help fuel his nights and weekends as he feeds his need to be creative and stay relevant in his life’s work.
One more question…
Could I become someone else?
I’m not so naive as to think that this couldn’t happen to me. In fact it most likely WILL happen to me, and sooner rather than later. So I HAVE to ask myself “Could I start over?” Could I do that in another completely unrelated area? Could I chuck whole parts of myself out the window to learn some new bag of tricks? My monthly house note says “hell yeah you can do that!! Now get your ass back to work!!” My heart though… I’m just not sure. One thing that IS sure… I’ll probably find out first hand one day.
We all go through changes in our careers. Nothing stays the same. It’s how we adapt to those changes that defines us. My friend is just getting started on this new road. It’s a huge mental shift for him but he’s adapting and learning. “Mentally flexible” is now a distinct part of his personal identity. Initially it felt like a step backwards… but with a shift in perspective, backwards is simply a new direction.
One last question…
