Career myths, debunked.

With so much life & career coaching around us these days, we felt the need to debunk some myths and get advice from inspirational, no-BS leaders we admire.

As part of our December theme ‘ Next Chapter in Your Career’ we are extremely proud to feature two amazing business leaders with a refreshing approach to career building:

Liz Villani, the founder of #BeYourselfAtWork, a global movement dedicated to creating a new narrative about the way we work. Liz is passionate about promoting work as an opportunity for self-discovery and the movement helps people to become their true selves in the workplace.

Jane Austin, Owner of Persuasion Communications, is widely known for her unrivalled combination of wit and expertise, she has mastered the gentle art of Public Relations and difficult work relationships. Jane is passionate about collaboration, proactivity and going beyond the ordinary in her approach to her career.

What is the biggest career myth that you debunked?

LIZ: That work is a place where a professional persona wins. As a young teen, I used to dream of the smart suit, slick car, briefcase-carrying adult that I wanted to become. What I have actually experienced is that it’s authenticity, vulnerability and being human that allows people to flourish in their careers.

Yes, I work hard, am quick brained and have a huge sense of purpose but it is when I bring my whole self to work including my values around intuition, kindness and emotiveness that I’ve been able to create change and connect with powerful people because I’ve been myself and seen them as who they are too.

JANE: Probably the biggest myth I debunked is the notion that doing what you love will propel you forward in your career. Fending off bailiffs was a much bigger motivator for me. I went down the non-traditional route of being homeless on benefits with a week-old baby, and that’s what made me start my own business.

I studied design history, wrote design books and then went on to be a journalist and an editor at creative titles like Creative Review and Campaign. I was happy as a journalist and writer. But after becoming a single mum on a journalist’s salary, I had to launch my company in order to pay the bills. I was able to turn the business into something I loved doing by making it an editorially-focused content and comms agency. So I got to the ‘doing what you love’ bit in the end.

What career advice do you wish someone had given you a long time ago?

LIZ: ‘Don’t take everyone at face value, find the people that will really make a difference and help them’. I tend to see the best in everyone and over the years I have discovered that there are plenty of people who will put themselves first in their working lives. I can read people pretty quickly and see who has the character to make a unique difference to others, and who will take for themselves and not give anything back to society or put themselves out to support and help. We’ve just completed our first fundraise and our investors were chosen not only for their brilliant business brains but also for who they are. They genuinely care about making a difference in the world of work.

JANE: Tell the truth. I know this sounds counterintuitive in the PR industry but it’s what clients need to hear most. ‘No, your door drop campaign is not going to make the front page of the FT’. Clients might not always want to engage with reality but they need to for everyone’s sanity. If I was going to write a book based on my life and career, I’d call it ‘Managing Expectations’.

Tell us about an experience that felt like the worst thing at the time but turned out to be great for your career.

LIZ: In my late 20’s I resigned from my dream job in the face of yet another internal re-org. It was heartbreaking at the time to have to take my team through the uncertainty and stress of another restructuring. Making that decision was tough, I was beyond engaged and committed to the role and the organisation. But, this worst-case scenario led me to spend the next decade dedicating my career to researching the human condition that leads us to conformity, self-doubt and overthinking, and its link to productivity and loving your job. It was great for my career and for that of others — I’ve helped over 10,000 people be themselves as a result.

JANE: When you’re freelancing or starting your own business, you say yes to everything. I felt I had to say yes to paying clients no matter how disrespectful they were or how badly they treated me. One time a client shouted abuse at me in front of a room full of people. I was so upset I sobbed uncontrollably the whole way home in a taxi. I had nothing in my bag to dry the tears except for a sanitary pad. Mopping up my tears with a feminine hygiene product was definitely a career low. But after that, I started saying no to people who felt they could treat me like crap. That proved to be a major turning point for my business.