Written by Peter Freeth, Managing Director, Communications in Action
Have you heard of the phrase ‘honeymoon period’? It’s the time when, usually in a new job, you are at your most effective, your most motivated, the time when you can make all of your mistakes.
People often find that, during this time, they can make suggestions and create new ideas that the established staff can’t, because the people who have been there for a long time become bound by the culture. And so managers talk about finding new blood’ and ‘fresh ideas’.
When you enter a new system, a new market, a new company, you are not bound by the rules of the system because you haven’t learned them yet. At this stage you’re effective because you’re good at what you do. You can challenge the status quo, and you can think the unthinkable, simply because your vision isn’t yet blurred by what’s ‘true’ in this culture.
After a while, you might begin to soften what you do. You compromise as you learn the rules of the system. The system catches up with you.
There’s an initial period where you’re good because you’re different. After you learn the rules you become indifferent. This is the edge.
When you get to the edge, you start to think you can’t do it any longer, that you have lost your magic. Well, perhaps you never had magic, what you had was the difference.
You can get to the point where your ideas aren’t unique any more, where your perspective isn’t different any more, where your views aren’t a breath of fresh air any more. You become accustomed to the system and it becomes accustomed to you.
But what is the next frontier? Does it mean you have to keep moving?
It means that when you get to the edge, step off.
Who is the author?
Peter Freeth is the author and founder of Communications In Action. Peter will be writing informative and essential career support articles each and every month.
Communications In Action is a leading business coaching and training consultancy. Peter and other members of the consultancy deliver coaching, training and other professional development services to a wide range of businesses, in the UK and internationally.
