Yesterday I ran into someone I hadn't seen for awhile. Call her "Eileen" and I'll change the details.
Since I last saw her, Eileen had developed an interest in speaking. She had just heard a powerful motivational speaker. "This guy was so great," she said. "I want to be like him. So I'm going to get more involved in Toastmasters. Maybe I'll enter some contests."
I must have shown my surprise.
"Well, you have to start somewhere," Eileen shrugged.
I have a lot of respect for Toastmasters. But Eileen already has a lot of speaking experience. Will this venue really help her grow?
Eileen's answer haunted me because I see it as coming from scarcity and fear, not abundance and strength. We don't hear this phrase too often anymore. Now we hear purposeful people say, "My strategy is to move from here to there. Maybe I'll take a detour..."
Then I remembered. When I was in my twenties, an employment agency "counselor" tried to get me interested in a job that was clearly an underpaid dead end.
I was clueless about careers in those days. The Parachute book hadn't been written, career counselors gave preference tests and coaches were seen on the sidelines of basketball court, holding clipboards. And even I could see how bad that job was.
The agency woman shrugged. "Well, you have to start somewhere," she said.
True. We all start somewhere. But these day we are advised to pick a starting point that has a good chance of leading us to our desired destination.
Will Toastmasters help Eileen achieve her goals? I have no idea. But she should.
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2 comments:
Your blog resonated with me. I was a personnel placement counselor in the days when all of our jobs were kept in a 3-ring binder.
When counseling someone about jobs, the company insisted that we hold the book close to our chest--so they couldn't see them. We, in our infinite wisdom, would then go through each section of the book looking at the person saying "No...(turn page), not this one...(turn to another), Ah, here is one you should try."
I don't think people realize how much better it has gotten. We now open up everything we have to the client. We coach them to examine their goals, motivations, current talents and skills, and skills they would like to develop.
We never make the decision for them, but help them examine the pro's and con's of each decision. We talk together often to ensure they are progressing--with personal satisfaction.
Thank you. Your blog helped me appreciate the difference.
What progress!
I agree: Most people don't realize how far we have come. What's funny is, I bet some people liked the "old" approach. I get lots of clients who ask, "Can I take a test that will tell me exactly what I should do for the rest of my life?" They're experienced professionals - smart people. I wrote an article about this here.
And to be honest, sometimes people fall into jobs they never anticipated, then learn that's what they wanted all along.
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