I’ve got that song by Martha and the Vandellas in my head now. “Nowhere to run to baby, nowehere to hide…”
When I left the institution four months ago it was with the intention of “setting up on my own” as I put it. And thankfully things have got off to a very positive start, with some very interesting work and some great people.
As a friend recently put it, “You no longer belong to the organisation, you belong to the network!”
One of the things I’ve noticed pretty quickly is that when you work for yourself you simply cannot hide.
I’m not suggesting that I hid a lot when I was an employee, but there are ways of avoiding spending too long in the spotlight. And large organisations by their very nature allow layers of hierarchy and bureacracy to protect – and also hinder – their employees.
Out here you are your work. That’s it. What they see is what they get.
I am very conscious of just how much time in organisations is “dead” time in all senses of the word and how much more productive I now am. I also work much harder but have more energy. This is what I believe is possible in organisations if they could just let go of some of the needless crap they bury people under.
Euan, agreed. I guess it’s not in everyone’s interests within the organisation to let go of the status quo.