Indoctrination.
My first job after college was on a financial management program… THE financial management program of its time. It was a shock to my system. My college years were ones of freedom. Choosing my tribe. Choosing my classes. Choosing my methods to be successful. Intense studying, all nighters over and over, but with equally intense partying, and long down times. My high school principal had said, “When you go to college, never let your classes get in the way of your education”. Good advice, I followed it well, not realizing he was paraphrasing Mark Twain. I wonder what Mark Twain’s advice for entering the business world would have been?
Now, it was welcome to your new life. Five days a week, all day long, many nights, some weekends. For the rest of my life… just another brick in the wall. I found myself changing, not all for the better. I resisted. I did my best to maintain my self, my beliefs, my sense of control, finding ways to still do some things my way. And I changed, I grew, I learned. Marriage pulled me in further, the birth of my first child was warm cement, hardening quickly. The life has its rewards, and fascinations. Different cultures across the many businesses I joined. Contributing to the success of an organization. Learning what worked, and what didn’t.
I had the incredible opportunity to help establish high performance work teams… self directed teams. An environment where servant leadership was deeply believed and lived every day. It was the very best of times. I was finally home. My “Ikigai”. But as powerful as it is, it is exceedingly rare. And fragile, when not cared for. And almost impossible to build without deep and visible support.
Funny how it all works out. I am so fortunate not to have it now… if I did, leaving this path would be so much more difficult.