Reinvention: A Constant Thread in a Changing Career

If there’s one unexpected theme that’s surprised me in my career, it’s reinvention. 

Of course, the IT industry (and the world in general) continues to evolve at pace. I am lucky to remember revolutionary changes as they emerged – the paperless office, digitisation, automation, remote work, Agile vs. Waterfall, and the need for cyber security. And of course, we now have the latest – Artificial Intelligence. While these themes have and will continue to impact the IT workforce in different ways, they have rarely been a trigger for my personal reinvention. Over the years I’ve learned that growth doesn’t always come from climbing higher – it’s often about starting again with a purpose.

For me, there have been several pivotal career reinventions. Moving from programming to leading people was difficult. Looking outwards rather than focussing inwards was a difficult change. Interestingly, I started with the purpose of moving up the corporate ladder, only to find that that the rarefied air was not for me. I found that taking a business lens to solving problems is critical to IT delivery. While technology is important (and can be difficult), it is only a means to deliver business value and customer outcomes.

Moving from being a project manager to a program manager was less difficult. It surprised me to find I’m much better at program management. It wasn’t that I was a bad project manager, but I naturally focus on the big picture (while understanding the detail) and enjoy communicating within different levels of an organisation. It reminds me of me of my sporting days. Certain body types can be very beneficial for different sports. Having a thinner build certainly helped my running. Finding your work strengths can provide your best guide to your next reinvention.

One strength (or weakness) I didn’t appreciate at the time is that I’m a natural contrarian. I still vividly remember my last University lecture and being told of the imminent demise of Mainframes and Cobol. This is ironic given I spent years managing these older systems and their fabulous supporting teams – and I sometimes chuckle when I see them existing even today.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that reinvention is necessary. We need to continue to evolve as people, learn new skills, gain more experiences, try new ways of working. We need this to keep ourselves interested … and remain more relevant for longer.

I’m passionate about improving program delivery for organisations – I’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in doing the same.