I have been consulting since 1998 and in that time have visited a large number of organisations, in so many industries. I came across a few articles this week that either struck me as familiar from companies I have visited or things that colleagues have spoken to me about in the past. I remember a company where the employees fought to be allowed to work unpaid at weekends. I was reminded of this when I read this article on Corporate Stockholm Syndrome by James Ullrich.
Another syndrome was examined by JULIE BORT in her piece including imposter syndrome. This is something that I suspect is rife among consultants and project managers, as well as coders. I sometimes find what I call a “culture of assumed knowledge”, where asking basic questions can seem uncool. It feels to me that people clam up and hope that nobody spots gaps in their capabilities under these circumstances. It wouldn’t surprise me if this cultural layer exacerbated personal feelings of “not quite being the full package”.
Finally, I have been reading How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric this week. A great summary of the literature and full of super quotes. I think my favourite is Goeth
“Then indecision brings it’s own delays,
and days are lost o’er lost days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute.
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius power and magic in it.”
Reminds me of the AGILE approach to trying something out and reflecting. The author took me by surprise by being scathing of psychometric testing and I made a note to look into that more. Still on the subject of “What shall I do with my life?”, this article by Sam McNerney, who spoke with charity founder Adam Braun complemented my reading with a view into the life of someone who had found their calling.
This weeks links that caught my eye seem to have been syndromes and callings.
insideprojects 