Vicky Janaway on Stepping into Mystery and Enjoying the Ride

“Some of us don’t have one true calling” so said Emilie Wapnick in their inspirational TED Talk back in 2015.  Since then, the notion of portfolio careers, has become increasingly popular. In fact, it directly challenges traditional (linear) career paths, in the same way as ‘Squiggly Careers’, put forward by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis which shows us there’s more to life than simply “climbing the ladder.”

Recently, I was asked to join a panel along with the wonderful people at Smarts (MSQ’s PR agency), as we welcomed Creative Access to our Bow Street office. Creative Access provide career-long access opportunities, support and training to make the creative economy better reflect society, and we joined them as part of their inspirational masterclass series. During the event, there were lots of great questions about careers and in particular, career moves.  From how to move to agency-side from client-side, or vice versa, as well as how to freelance, or, perhaps, understandably, what it takes to be successful.  And as I offered advice at the event about career decision making and reflected on how important these choices can feel with each step, I wondered about how we can truly own our non-linear career stories and a source of career inspiration came to mind.

Madonna. 
Icon. Mistress of reinvention.

Madonna blazed a trail with her playfulness around personas and identity, what’s more, she’s not only continually evolved her musical style, but she has evolved too, as did her message. Moving through ‘all the Madonna’s’ from ‘Material Girl’ Madonna, parodying fame and its superficiality, to being dubbed ‘the queen of obscene’ Madonna. There has always been an intent to open a dialogue whether it be around societal greed or responsible, safe sex. Madonna has showed us we can constantly evolve and grow.

So then, why do we place so much pressure on 'making the right decision', or worrying about the outcomes of our choices? Well, it could be because we might not all have Madonna’s chutzpah and evidence shows most people admit to feeling a sense of doubt creep in from time to time (that little voice in your head that whispers negative self-talk).  Madonna so brilliantly showed us it is ok to embrace all the sides of ourselves and accept that we change. We are humans after all. And isn’t part of what makes us so endlessly fascinating, how we can all be so wonderfully, brilliantly, and uniquely different?  And of course, studies continue to show diverse teams can be up to 60% more effective.

How do we overcome this sense of wanting to make the right decision and avoid the negative-self talk? When faced with what feel like big career decisions? Can it be done?

Well, I’m going to cover the five ways I’ve discovered to do so. 

1.  Let go of worry - step into the mystery

As psychologist Dr Julie Smith covers in her bestselling book ‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before’, action can be a superpower. To take a step into the unknown can be daunting but Smith suggests doing it regularly and more importantly, stay there a while. The reason? Repetition is key. To repeat that step out into the unknown until your confidence grows. And then, what once felt like big steps, feel smaller.

Recently, we launched WSQ at MSQ. It was the first women’s network at MSQ and required big leaps from everyone involved to make it as useful and relevant as possible. At our launch event we heard from the brilliant Kay Cossington from The FA about how to support women and create high performance teams. WSQ is now flourishing into a group-wide mentoring scheme with networking opportunities, all borne out of one idea to make sure women felt supported at MSQ throughout every stage of their life.

2. Accept your imperfections – trust what makes you unique

Madonna has lived her life able to take great leaps out of her comfort zone and admirably so. However, Spiritual Madonna was around the time of the birth of her daughter. And as a mother I can relate to a changing sense of self, whilst my son was an infant. At times, I had doubts or questions about my career. 

In ‘Ray of Light’, Madonna worked with producer, William Orbit. He said, as they creatively explored a new direction, Madonna wanted to ‘keep things imperfect’. For them, it wasn’t about over-engineering or re-working but trusting instincts as a partnership. 

Trusted allies can be incredibly helpful when things feel imperfect, maybe you face a change of direction, or doubt yourself, or the negative chatter is rising, and your instincts are being drowned out.

In ‘Dare to Lead’, Brènè Brown calls her trusted allies the ‘Square Squad’. Brown suggests you take a 1-inch x 1-inch square of paper, or post-it note and make a list of people whose opinions really matter to you, the people who love you, not in spite of, but because of your vulnerabilities and imperfections.

I tried it and it really does work. 

3. Embrace what new feels like - what’s the worst that can happen?

My career so far, has been quite varied. Whilst I’ve always worked in agencies, they’ve all been very different in size or culture and I’ve thrived off the change, something new and shiny. In the past, when I’ve moved roles, to take on a new challenge, because I wanted something fresh, a little doubt has crept in as I prepared to step out of my current role and out of my comfort zone. So, each time I’ve sought out my trusted allies who have always supported and encouraged each transition, for the better.

Yet, when it comes to how we make decisions or explore new creative endeavours, even when we allow for it not to be perfect, or we have spoken to our trusted advisors, things might still not go to plan.

Indeed, moving on from things not going to plan, has been so brilliantly brought to life by Elizabeth Day in her podcast ‘How to Fail’ and allowing for failure, or imperfection, in the spirit of continuing to learn, is terrifying and yet liberating. It is worth remembering, that in order to grow, we need to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and that may mean things not going to plan but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

4. Relish telling your story – it’s your unique story

Madonna can no doubt look back at her career with each chapter of it so uniquely inspired. Would Madonna refer to any of her experiences as ‘wrong’? Unlikely.

And the same goes for us. We are building our career chapters, and each is so wonderfully unique.

I encourage you to think about the chapters in your story, they might not be linear, they might be squiggly, there might be a break or two in there, but this is what makes you, unique.  In her Harvard Commencement speech Natalie Portman said “Recognize the benefits of being a novice, there are great benefits to being new. When you are not steeped in the conventional wisdom of a given profession, you can ask questions that haven’t been asked before or approach problems in ways others haven’t thought of.”

5. Enjoy the ride

A fulfilling career can be a never-ending source of discovery and fulfilment and especially so, if it is a rich, varied story filled with unique chapters.

So don’t over-think the decisions. Seek inspiration from anywhere. Tap into a sense of curiosity. Be free. Embrace imperfections. Give yourself permission to fail and learn but above all else take the bold steps forward to being the best and whole you. And this year, as I mentor for brilliant organisations like Digilearning and Bloom, I’ll be encouraging my mentees and as well as my team at The Gate to do so too.

In the words of Toni Morrison “I see your life as already artful, waiting and ready for you to make it art.”

Creative Access Masterclasses feature inspirational role models working across creative sectors who truly believe in supporting the next generation of creative professionals and provides a platform for creative industry experts to share insights with emerging talent.

Creative Access is a leading diversity organisation in the UK and combines providing progressive career support and development for talent from communities under-represented in the creative industries.

Digilearning help young people achieve their full potential through education, training and providing career pathways. 

Bloom is a professional network for women in communications and are on a mission to ensure women have equal opportunity in the communications industry.