Have you ever looked at someone and thought how did they get there? Maybe their new job alert on LinkedIn, a sudden shift in seniority or even an upgrade in their car or housing situation triggered the question.
Pop culture is obsessed with the ‘hims’ and ‘hers’ who get ‘there’ and do ‘that’. Make a quick troll to the bookstore and you’ll find shelves of promises, insisting that if you only ‘lean in’ or ‘stand up’ or ‘shift sideways’ you too can ‘get there’.
When I first moved to Aberdeen one of the first things I was told was that the ‘everybodys’ and ‘anyones’ in the industry had to know somebody to get there – and that person was most likely their dad.
I think it’s natural to want to know how those at the top got there. And maybe it’s even more natural to presume their path was an easy one – handed to them on a silver platter. Was it truly a friendly helping hand that saw them snag the corner office?
It was out of this fascination – the need to know what one has to do to succeed – that Energy Voice’s latest platform The Journey was born.
I think Warren Bennis nailed it on the head when he said: “The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born – that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.”
Warren, regarded by many as the father of leadership studies, understood it wasn’t a leader’s genetic make-up or family tree but instead their own individual journey which ultimately positioned them at the top.
After filming the first few installments of our latest platform, I couldn’t agree more.
For both Oil & Gas UK’s Malcolm Webb and Wood Group’s Robin Watson there was no grandfathering into a firm. One was practising family law and other cutting his teeth in the Merchant Navy before they made the switch – on their own. In the end it was a lot of grit, taking chances and having the guts to put themselves forward for tough challenges, which saw them both forge impressive careers.
As the year comes to a close and our contributors reflect on these past 12 months and predict what’s to come, I couldn’t help but think of Energy Voice’s own journey this past year.
We launched our brand new look, had some cracking exclusives including Sir Ian breaking his independence silence, added bright new columnists, convinced some of the most influential voices like Danny Alexander to pen pieces and added a host of new platforms.
Everyone has a journey, but the ones that truly lead somewhere have a whole lot of effort behind them – they are actively and consciously carved.
Energy Voice’s journey is still new. But I want to thank all of our readers for being an active part of it. It has been an incredible year and we can’t wait to start the next one with you.
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