Being pragmatic

I was told that LinkedIn changed its algorithm, consequently, my last article fared quite badly compared to the previous ones. But guess what, who cares! I am not in this for money or fame, I am just another bloke that wants to share his experiences, and his learning path, and I am aware of not being alone in this (it’s a crowded scene).?

Anyway, today I would like to share how my relationship with work evolved, how I went from being a deeply devoted civil servant to a respectful, I hope, company employee, fueled by pragmatism. Pragmatism plays a big part in this story of mine, so keep that in mind while reading below. When I started, as a contractor, I was working inside a public institution, within a specific office that was dedicated to youth policies and European Union opportunities. I guess a lot of people want to be “likable” when they start fresh, so that’s what I focused on: timely delivery, putting a lot of effort into the task at hand, pushing the boundaries if it was necessary, sharing tips with coworkers if any and offering (and giving) help whenever somebody was facing a challenge. Finally: getting to work on time, but this was easy since I could ride my small second-hand or triple-hand bike to the office (it was way before the COVID pandemic as you may guess). In the context of the Italian bureaucracy, and dear Italian bureaucrats don’t take this badly, this level of commitment is quite rare, believe me. My dear boss back then, was demanding but was also very appreciative, and taught me quite a few useful lessons which proved still relevant years after. It was my first work experience, so I was not picky about money, my parents were still sending me a few bucks since I was also studying. Studying started to suffer but anyway, I managed to start working on my thesis and complete successfully my last exams, although with a little bit of delay – I think only a few heroes manage to get their degree on time and work at the same time.

To keep me around, since I proved to be a useful “instrument”, a few contracting approaches were attempted, do not forget: it’s Italy. At some point, I earned more than before, and six months after, earn less. I was under the clear impression that a career path was not within sight unless I would take part in applying for public administration, which is quite an effort, that I was not willing to make (there are some lack of transparency issues, so to speak…). Since I knew English well, or at least better than the average Italian, I told myself: why not play the expat card? Money was not the main driving reason. After all, I was content with that setup: life was easy (a small provincial town in Tuscany), I was in my own country with my own language, I had a lot of friends (like proper ones), and I was also taking part in a couple of volunteering activities which was nice. The main driver was pragmatism: getting a decent job, and a possible career path, with my degree in Italy, was almost impossible. So why not try abroad?!

And so, I landed in Bratislava, Slovakia, working for a more than a century-old company which I admired and devoted to as well, in some contorted way. That new environment was radically different: there were processes and defined tasks, different job roles, some kind of career paths, and people managers as well. The average age was way lower than in my previous job, which was pivotal in having a different energy at work. Plus, I was surrounded by a lot of Italians who made the same choice, more or less for the same reason. I took my usual approach when starting fresh: timely delivery, putting a lot of effort into the task at hand, pushing the boundaries if it was necessary, sharing tips with coworkers if any, and offering (and giving) help whenever somebody was facing a challenge. I discovered that those were the ingredients to be a good team player, and my managers confirmed that multiple times: pragmatism was replaced by “excitement” and “blind dedication”. A couple of years had to go by before my self-powered devotion started to fade. Corporate politics triggered the disenchantment, the clash between my expectations and reality was tough but proved necessary.

That was the point where I had to stop and realign my chain of thinking: I had a reliable source of income, which was paying the rent and making life easier and enjoyable, but maybe I was getting too comfortable in putting all the blame on the dysfunctional choices (a.k.a. “re-org”) of the company. I got into that company because I trusted it, I trusted its brand. Reality plus new people I started to trust along the way, removed that thin veil of illusion and, in a way, brought me back to pragmatism. It was not that company, it is all companies, like humans, that have good and bad sides. And managers, as well, are humans, and so are directors, senior vice precedents, and CEOs. And marketing simply plays its role. I started to look at things differently. And I started to distrust even more “fanatism” at work.

Accomplishing your tasks, putting some effort in doing that, building a network, empowering your peers, identifying proper de-facto leaders or unofficial ones, understanding team dynamics, avoiding base-less assumptions, and getting familiar with the vision of your org: these, I believe, are the things that should fuel your pragmatism, or simply your choices. And most importantly, we should never forget that “work-life” balance thing since stress is not simply bad, it is toxic for your brain, and in the long run it’s bad for our bodies.

This alignment is not always possible, but we should, in my humble opinion, at least aim for that. But it’s not easy, I know, especially when you are starting fresh in a new org. That’s the so-called “learning curve calibration” and that’s probably another conversation.

Your comments, and your personal views on this, are always appreciated.

See you next week!