Careers – The Specialist-Generalist

April 14, 2018April 14, 2018 John Worne Careers, HR, Specialist-Generalist, Writing

Brevity

brɛvɪti - noun 1. Concise and exact use of words in writing or speech. (Concision, succinctness, economy of language, shortness, briefness, pithiness, incisiveness, crispness, compactness, compression.) 2. Shortness of time. (Transience, transitoriness, ephemerality, impermanence; e.g. "the brevity of human life.") As we process through working life, there is ever more we have seen; and a … Continue reading Brevity

April 22, 2017April 22, 2017 John Worne Careers, Leadership, People, Specialist-Generalist

Professional Standards

By John Worne Often as organisations grow, they 'professionalise'. Bringing more outside expertise in key areas is often crucial as scale and complexity increase - in Finance, IT, HR, Estates, Governance, Legal, Security, Risk and the list goes on. Very often incoming professionals have a difficult transition - especially when things in their new organisation … Continue reading Professional Standards

March 12, 2017April 12, 2017 John Worne Careers, Growth, People, Specialist-Generalist

Developing a Growth Mentality: ‘Lean in’ by Sheryl Sandberg

By John Worne An important insight for Specialist-Generalists from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (among a great many others) is Eric Schmidt of Google's advice that only one criterion matters when picking a job - fast growth. Sandberg writes: 'When companies grow quickly, there are more things to do than people to do them. When companies … Continue reading Developing a Growth Mentality: ‘Lean in’ by Sheryl Sandberg

Here's what Harvard Business Review has to say on 'Imposter Syndrome', every Specialist-Generalist's constant companion:

"We’ve all had that feeling of being unqualified to do something we’ve been tasked to do. But the fact that everyone occasionally suffers from impostor syndrome (even CEOs and Prime Ministers) doesn’t make it any easier to handle.

Try these three things:

1) Recognise there are positives to being new in your field. When you’re not steeped in the conventional wisdom of a given profession or industry, you can ask questions that haven’t been asked before or approach problems in ways others haven’t thought of.

2) Adopt a learning mindset. Focus more on what you’re learning than on how you’re performing.

3) Know that you’re not alone. If you’re feeling like an impostor, chances are that others feel the same way."