How to Design Your Career for Happiness - Samantha Clarke

Metadata

• Author: Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal
• Full Title: How to Design Your Career for Happiness - Samantha Clarke
• URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/7ee56a12-b03c-4428-b936-05f95bde77d1

Highlights

What is the Point of Work? Summary: I think we’re in such fluid times that it’s sok to be, i think we have to make peace with being many things. I feel like there’s so many word plays that ye are do with titles that no longer fit us in one capacity but could be evolved into something else. Whatis your label? My parents were probably worried, oh, oaia, how d we sell you in iga to family? Venis girl. Transcript: Speaker 1 I think we’re in such fluid times that it’s sok to be, i think we have to make peace with being many things, but also re working what the word doctor could mean. I mean, you could be the doctor of stories, in the way that you are, you know, creating lots of different experiences and giving people a prescription of somewhat of things that they can do through your vidios. I agyvary. I feel like there’s so many word plays that ye are do with titles that no longer fit us in one capacity, p but could be evolved into something else. Wat thout somethig that you ware worried about as you are kind of changing careers, like, what is what is my label? Speaker 4 I think my parents were probably worried, oh, oaia, how d we sell you in iga to family? Venis girl. Speaker 1 I think maybe there was a period of time where i didn’t feel like i fit in, cause all my friends had, you know, like they were following a certain route, and here i was doing a bit of style coaching on wednesday, and then i’d be, you know, speaking and consulting with a clim in career the next day, and i like, what is it you do? So i feel like everyone else also has the issue around it, i don’t know where to position you or what books to put you in, and then it becomes a little bit uneasy for them. But i think after a while, i just stood firm with the fact that i love to do lots of things, and i always will love to do lots of things, and that’s ok. And if it’s ok with me, then that’s, that’s what matters. (Time 0:02:21)

Generalist

I Survive The Nine To Five So That I Can Enjoy The Five To Nine Summary: i think there’s also for them, and maybe speaking of my parents, it wasn’t easy the work place. There was a certain pride in like, doing good work and delivering great value. Mymma worked in nursing for pure time, so that was tat, you know, every day. She could see how she was making at difference. i doubt id be like, you haven’t done any work all day. And i’ve been on my laptop, like,. you know, working doing reports, f craing presentations. Transcript: Speaker 2 What about the whole notion? Apparently was a thing more back in the day where it’s like, oh, you know, it’s just a job. I survive the nine to five so that i can enjoy the five to nine and work. Basically just being this thing that, you know, i speak to my mama about thit sometimes. And its when when we’re talking about this, this thing that i do of like uchivillios and podcast iere, working on a birkin, like the portfolio type of stuff. One thing that she will sometimes say is that, you know, the the fun and games has to stop sometime. Oh, that gong o be adult someti but, you know, we’re looking at crosculturaln norational differences. Speaker 1 I rememberd i’d be at home wand i was living at home at that point, and, you know, i doubt id be like, you haven’t done any work all day. And i’ve been on my laptop, like, you know, working doing reports, f craing presentations. But in his mind, you went somewhere, you did a a solid day’s job, and then you came back, you had those stories to retell. And here i was, just, like, tapping away at the dining table, on my lap door. And i think there’s also for them, and maybe speaking of my parents, it wasn’t easy the work place. And i think a, you know, think some things have changed and some things haven’t. But, you know, there was a certain pride in like, doing good work and delivering great value. And, you know, mymma worked in nursing for pure time, so that was tat, you know, every day. She could see how she was making at difference. (Time 0:06:24)

Pride in doing work and delivering great value

What’s Stopping You? Summary: “We all have different blocks for lots of different reasons,” says the author. “Sometimes, depending on our personality traits, our historical upbringing, these can deter you from taking decisions” The book is published by Simon & Schuster at £16.99. Transcript: Speaker 2 We had at a team retreat a few weeks ago in waless, like tthis nice location. I was, i was having a bunch of sort of casual conversations with people in our team, basically asking, you know, like, if you didn’t have to work, what would you doing with your time? And like, one of our team members mentioned that, you know, she’s like singing. She’s like sitting or there, actually, and just has incredible singing voice. Like, started making videos an, like, you tuben in aram, a little bit of streaming around singing. And her whole thing was that, like, ye id, i’d really want to explore the singing thingso my next questions like, oh, what’ stopping you? Speaker 3 And then therewas some kind of barrier of like, ah, but like, i feel like i don’t have the time with the day job. And i was like, well, we could easily put you down to he we as we not time. Speaker 2 Like, what would be stopping you thenand i it was almost like there was this emotional block or some sort of hurdle that’s like sor of that that step beyond the threshold of like, am i she oing to folow that dream? And i imagie thire is somthing you lot likee how? Howsh how should people navigate that kind of potential leap? Speaker 1 Yes, we all have different blocks for lots of different reasons. Wryt, so for whatever notion, there is a talk about this in psychotherapy, that we all have a life script. And it is generally a script that was embedded in you from about seven or so, and then you are then perpetually living it, or trying to run away from it. And a lot of our actions, sometimes, depending on our personality traits, our historical upbringing, these can deter you from taking decisions. (Time 0:08:52)

Life Script

Does Your Work Need to Be That Purpose For You? Transcript: Speaker 1 I wanted, i think i was really craving to see the direct impact and to work more closely with one t one people. I think there’s something about noticing the company that you work for, and whether or not you can see what you’re creating is being, you know, supporting the wider goal or the wider community. Also asking yourself, the question i had this with a client recently, is like, does your work need to be that purpose for you? Like, when you find it outside of work, is that something actually, if this work actually just really fuels the life that you set up for yourself and what you need to do, but actually you’re really interested in, you know, coaching young start ups around ip law, like, could that not be something that you do on the week ends in the evening? You have, you know, your men tooring. So i think sometimes we have to be mindful to to try to force everything into this job. And much like your partner, there can’t be everything. You will have friends who will provide different things you’ll have, you know, and maybe the cor qualities that you look for in your partner is what sustains you and everything else holds you into place. And so in a way, provided that work has the cor qualities that your looking for, it doesn’t necessarily need to take all f the boxes. It might not lead to for some people, it might be actes and non negotiable, and then they’re in the wrong business. So then the management consultancy might not be for them, and they need to make peace with i need to do a clean sweep and move elsewhere. (Time 0:25:56)

Why I’m Curious About the Future Key takeaways: (* It is important to be consistent in your efforts to achieve goals., * It is important to ask yourself why you are interested in the goal, and why you believe you can achieve it., * It is important to be patient and keep at it, even if the goal seems impossible at first.) Transcript: Speaker 2 I guess, kind of pulling the strings together. It’s, it sounds like a big part of this is genuinely just sitting down and figuring out, like, han are my proerties? What are the things i actually care about? And then figuring out, like, we’ gont we don’t ave the time to dos it’s, it’s such an unusual thing to do, to actuly ly, sit down anhour and think, what do i hiher about? Ye. Speaker 1 I mean, it’s like, because before you know it, like another, i mean, were half over, half way through the air, right? And we’ve already had two years in a pandemic, and you know, we’re starting another year soon, and it’s just time, we’ll fly. And you’re in great health, you have ople around you. So, like, why don’t you actually take some times ame consider, time to just ask that question, and keep asking that question, why do i want to do this? Why am i curious about this? And why do i keep telling myself i can’t do it? And just think, you know, where do i want to be a year from nowwaswat listened to his great podcast a couple days ago, and it was just like, you know, people forget that it is that consistency that you just put in for a couple of months, six months, that then really changes the trajectory of the next couple of years. But we don’t want to be consistent. It’s not fun to be consistent. We get distracted. And, you know, we are manipulated to be distracted. We are manipulated to consume, to like, push ourselves to distract ourselves with music and entertainment and off your life course. And it is taking that time to be silent and still, which is difficult. (Time 0:33:11)review

The tension between wanting to move fast and the need for caution Key takeaways: (* Sa is an entrepreneur who is constantly trying to balance the need to move quickly with the need to take the time to build the systems and processes necessary for a successful business., * This tension between Sa’s desire to move quickly and her need to take the time to build a successful business is a common struggle for entrepreneurs.) Transcript: Speaker 2 Ok, i guess. Sa, isan, interesting break down. I guess part of it is o ka, so i tend to be quite like a fast mover with things. It’s like, if i have an idea, right, call, hit sut, do the thing. And but then traditional business advice is that, yes, that works when you’rea team of one or two people. You have a team of lead that’s bigger, you then necessarily have to slow downand you have to spend time getting people up to speed and like building the systems and the processes and all the stuff. And there’s something about that that feels super frustrating. Tat’s like a just want to move faster. An, i just want us to have that kind of scrappy start up mentality that we had, like two years ago, the you’re not a star upany yes, exactly. So that’s one area in which there’s this sort of me wanting to go in a particular direction, particular speed, but like, very reasonably, people point out that actually, maybe you got toslow down. And so that’s one of those areas in which i find there’s thie’s constant tension between the way i want to do things and the way i would do things by default. Speaker 1 Vhers is the way you arequit supposed to do things once you no longer start up once you are en many people. And i wonder if part of that is you needing to exercise your creativity, maybe elsewhere beyond this, or in something where you feel like you can try and break something, but not necessarily do it in the bu perhaps there is an energy that needs to be out souced elsewhere. (Time 0:49:46)review

How to Balance Your Team’s Needs and Your Goals Key takeaways: (* One thing that the participants have been thinking about is how to do things in shorter, more focused bursts, called “sprints.”., * The idea of doing things in shorter, more focused bursts is a good idea, but it needs to be executed well in order to be successful., * It’s important to listen to your gut, but also to think about whether an idea is actually going to benefit the people in the business and whether it can be executed now.) Transcript: Speaker 2 I think one thing that like, we, we’ve been sort of seriously thinking about is, like, before we were a sort of based on kind of quarterly planning, is like, you know, let’s do things in a 90 day segment, sprints. Ye. But then that’s always felt like, susuperslo and o one, one idea. Im just like, if we could just six weeks, prince, rather than 12 weeks, prince. Speaker 1 Su jus tril, it was, i think, b like turning the whole engine or yo car in a completely different direction. Because otherwise her, you do force your team to burn out? And they also then get into a place where, i don’t know, like, what we’re trying next. So then there’s the lack of trust in you and your leadership. Ok? So i guess there is that level of, like, listen to your gut, but like, don’t, obviously det does it need to be action, though, i think maybe also, i don’t know if you have a sero, but like that bouncing of ideas. Arandak, this is what i want to explore, ok, is that for my is it from place? Is it fori? Could it genuinely benefit the people in the business? Ah, why does this need to be executed now? Could it wait three months a and what could i try outside of is that perhaps would be a useful way for me to discharge that energy? Speaker 2 I guess i care. How can we run the experiment a small way that doesn’t necessarly the whole business a hundred %. We just sees how things go with just see how it goes. (Time 0:51:19)review

The Pros and Cons of Quarterly Planning Key takeaways: (* It is important to have a balance between listening to your gut and taking action., * It is important to have a clear vision for what you want to achieve, and to be able to justify why it is important to execute it now., * It is important to be able to bounce ideas off of others in order to make sure that they are beneficial for the business.) Transcript: Speaker 2 I think one thing that like, we, we’ve been sort of seriously thinking about is, like, before we were a sort of based on kind of quarterly planning, is like, you know, let’s do things in a 90 day segment, sprints. Ye. But then that’s always felt like, susuperslo and o one, one idea. Im just like, if we could just six weeks, prince, rather than 12 weeks, prince. Speaker 1 Su jus tril, it was, i think, b like turning the whole engine or yo car in a completely different direction. Because otherwise her, you do force your team to burn out? And they also then get into a place where, i don’t know, like, what we’re trying next. So then there’s the lack of trust in you and your leadership. Ok? So i guess there is that level of, like, listen to your gut, but like, don’t, obviously det does it need to be action, though, i think maybe also, i don’t know if you have a sero, but like that bouncing of ideas. Arandak, this is what i want to explore, ok, is that for my is it from place? Is it fori? Could it genuinely benefit the people in the business? Ah, why does this need to be executed now? Could it wait three months a and what could i try outside of is that perhaps would be a useful way for me to discharge that energy? Speaker 2 I guess i care. How can we run the experiment a small way that doesn’t necessarly the whole business a hundred %. We just sees how things go with just see how it goes. (Time 0:51:19)review

The Importance of Trust in Leadership Key takeaways: (* It is important to have a gut feeling about what is best for the business, but also to be careful not to do anything that will force the team to burn out., * It is important to experiment with new ideas, but be careful not to execute them too quickly or without first consulting the team., * It is important to care about the business and its employees, and to try to run experiments that will benefit them rather than just the company as a whole.) Transcript: Speaker 1 Su jus tril, it was, i think, b like turning the whole engine or yo car in a completely different direction. Because otherwise her, you do force your team to burn out? And they also then get into a place where, i don’t know, like, what we’re trying next. So then there’s the lack of trust in you and your leadership. Ok? So i guess there is that level of, like, listen to your gut, but like, don’t, obviously det does it need to be action, though, i think maybe also, i don’t know if you have a sero, but like that bouncing of ideas. Arandak, this is what i want to explore, ok, is that for my is it from place? Is it fori? Could it genuinely benefit the people in the business? Ah, why does this need to be executed now? Could it wait three months a and what could i try outside of is that perhaps would be a useful way for me to discharge that energy? Speaker 2 I guess i care. How can we run the experiment a small way that doesn’t necessarly the whole business a hundred %. We just sees how things go with just see how it goes. Speaker 1 And then, you know, you get people involved, and then they think, actually, we’ve cocreated this change, and we’re on board with thei verses it being something that you’ve just forced, right? This is how we’re doing things. Scrap that old thing we ‘ve just been working on for six months. We’re doing it this way. (Time 0:51:36)review

The Evolution of a Prodcaster Key takeaways: (* The podcast host, Sarah, does not want to interview people anymore because she thinks it is too time consuming and she does not enjoy it., * Instead, she wants to do solo projects where she can experiment with different approaches., * Each project is a trial and error process, and it is important to be open to change and to experiment.) Transcript: Speaker 1 I think we want to do this full evolutionary like to morrow, i am going to be a prodcaster. And you start to do it, and then you realize, actually, i don’t want to interview people. I kind of want to do solo things like but you don’t know win til you try. And i think every time i i invite my clients to think, i cay, let’s experiment with this. Let’s play and see at different opposite ends of the spectrum. You know, one lady shslike, got my gore. So i found some people unlinked in ti. I’ve got er coffees with to interview them. And then i had a chat with one person, and she’s like, actually, 80 % of the job is this. And she’s like, i just don’t want to do that. And i really thought that the way this job was sold, actually, if i’m spending 80 % of my time doing that, i don’t think i want ye. So i don’t want to move in that direction. So i think there’s just that process of trial and error, peeling away, like, how do i show up doing this thing? And do i need to be under the weight of this thing has to carry me for the next five, ten, 20 years, untel, i’m 60. No, it could actually be that you’re a serial specialist and you spend five years doing that thing, and then you put it to bed, and it’s five years doing something else. I think we have to let go of these rules in this kind of like prescription around what it needs to look like. (Time 1:02:37)review