The Cross Road Within…Part 1

The Cross Road Within

“Let each man pass his days in that where his skill is greatest” – Propertius (50BC)

I have taken two major career decisions that have unsurprisingly met the vehement disapproval and skepticism of a vast number of friends, colleagues, associates and relatives. Firstly in June 2007 when I left active medical practice and secondly in November 2009, when I formally ended my 18 months romance with UBA Plc.

Back to the first incident in 2007. Some people took it so personal that they stopped taking my calls. Others labeled me as confused, delirious, opinionated, idealistic, unrealistic and impatient. I was told that, I was a young man (sic) in a hurry to arrive at a destination I was not sure of.

Peeps, what was my offence? It was simply that I was finally going to follow my passion for management consulting. A friend I called for career advice was kind enough to inform me that, if I had not attended any training course from reputable capacity building institutions like Lagos Business School, there was no way that any right thinking management consulting firm would take such risk with a green horn who had nothing to offer but ‘passion and drive’. Well, thank goodness they were dead wrong.

But I must admit that it was tough to make that call and walk away from my ward coat, stethoscope, patients and colleagues. A part of me was as scared as passengers on a plane that was in imminent danger of crashing. Was I sure of what I was doing? What if I failed? How would I face all who had warned me? What if they are right? Did I know what I really wanted to do? Was this a disaster waiting to happen? Was it a misadventure of titanic proportions? Was I moving too fast…too soon…too much…too far?  As it were, my back was on the wall. I was at a cross road.

Images from my work as a medical doctor flashed through my mind – the excitement of taking the delivery of babies, attending to trauma cases in the accident and emergency wards (A & E), carrying out dare devil life saving surgeries at night using kerosine and rechargeable lamps in an obscure village that had no electricity and poor gsm signal. I thought of the many medical missions I had led. Could I really give up clinical medicine with my well known love for knowledge sharing sessions and research into best clinical practices? Would my family understand and support me in a society that unashamedly worships ‘professional courses?

During this state of decision paralysis, I gave myself to writing…my vision, life and career objectives and goals. I wanted especially to understand my ‘job-life analysis’ – what were my work habits, preferred working style, weaknesses and strengths on the job, handling of responsibilities, nature of relationship with my managers, peers and subordinates? These months long soul searching exercise was a real blessing. I became acutely aware of who I was, what I was, where I wanted to be over the coming years, what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, who I wanted to work, relate and align with, what I stood for and why I was at that cross road at such a time in my life. I was at my “moment of truth”. The “make or break point”.

At the end, I made the call. Why subject my patients to less than 100% of my commitment? I kept dreading the thought of waking up at the age of 45, wondering what I did with my life. My mind was made up. I would still be a doctor, but this time a business doctor. With all the upheavals in businesses, meltdowns, downsizing and corporate governance, regulatory and risk issues, businesses sure needed the touch of a doctor…one like me who would define impossibilities and then ignore them. One who knew how ignorant he was, but nevertheless never gave up trying relentlessly to find pertinent answers to begging questions. I would work to earn my place, position and cement my reputation no matter what. Excellence is after all work in progress.

It did not matter that I did not have ‘formal management training. I compensated for this with my voracious appetite for knowledge nurtured over 20 years earlier. I have taken my stand…made my plans A-Z, put all my career eggs in one basket, blown up the bridges of doubt and failure behind me. I would focus on building my centres of excellence and concentrate on my circle of influence and not my circle of concern.

My case however is not peculiar. Today, there are a quite a number of people that are at cross roads in their careers. From the unemployed or underemployed to those fed up with jobs they would rather not be in…there are real life examples of people going through unhappy times at work. The recent downsizing exercises carried out by banks in Nigeria have thrown thousands more into the already over stretched labour market. Reverse brain drain is adding up numbers exponentially.

It’s a quagmire. Today’s career challenges call for one to be a step ahead of the employer. All that is happening is instructive of the fact that, “there is no future in any job. The future only belongs to the man who holds the job”. Do you have a future outside the job you currently do. If your employer suddenly told you that your skills were surplus to requirements what would you do? Are you prepared in 2010? Do you see trends before they happen?  It’s time to sharpen our skills in career forecasting.

Phew! I have to go earn some money to pay my bills.

Part 2 of this article would be up within the week. keep a date with me.

Are you at a cross road in your career? Have you had a similar experience that you would like to share?  Your comments are most welcome.

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