Normal Wasn't Working

It’s been almost 18 months since we first heard the words “Covid-19”, and yet we still hear people say “when things go back to normal’. The question is, will things ever go back to normal? And more importantly, do we want them to? Was normal even working?

Everyone has a 2020 pandemic story; I guess in some way knowledge that globally we were all in it together was a comforting thought that made the whole lock-down experience slightly more bearable – but what have we learned? Not just about ourselves as individuals but collectively how we operate as humans on this planet. Has our perspective changed? Do we realise what’s truly important?

My own 2020 story actually started in November 2019 when we tragically lost our MD and dear friend. After only 2 months of mourning, we were forced to shelve our grief and focus on work – needing to get very creative, very quickly in order to keep a company afloat in a global pandemic. Looking back now, through the fear, uncertainty, tantrums and heightened emotions, it’s possible to identify a lot of positive lessons learned – how to harness emotions, how to lead teams through turmoil, how to operate in new and creative ways. Yet as the virus situation began to stabilise, I began questioning my purpose and re-evaluating my values. I loved the people I worked with and the role I played, but the nagging voice at the back of my mind asking “Is this it? Is this all there is?” was getting louder and louder.

Over the last 10 years, I have had the unique (and privileged) experience of working within 20 different Talent Acquisition teams across the Middle East and Africa, all vastly different to each other – industry, size, scope and responsibility. I designed and implemented processes, I delivered recruitment operations, I training existing TA teams….I was “the fixer”. I thrived upon making things better, leaving a project knowing I’d helped make things better than when I’d arrived – but this was no longer enough. During Q4 of 2020, as well as all the external challenges I was facing, there was an internal battle raging. I knew I should be grateful to still have a great job in a great company that had survived the year, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to be more. I wanted a role that would have a greater impact in both my professional and personal world – I just had no idea what that looked like!

On New Years’ Eve 2020, (with a 3 month notice period ahead), I took one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in a long time and resigned. I quit my job in the middle of a global crisis with no idea of what I was going to do next. Some might call it stupid, some might call it brave, but it had to be done – my normal was no longer working.

5 months later, yesterday we launched THE COUP – A Talent Advisory Company focused on making the industry and the world, a better place. My partners and I gravitated together because we all had the same purpose and mission – redefining recruitment, and giving back to the world. With a combined experience of over 40 years in the Talent world across EMEA, we wanted to address the challenges and issues that our industry face and tackle them head on – no frills, pure disruption.

With so many exciting new projects on the horizon, I can happily say, "this, IS it." This is what I was searching for. I guess what I’m trying to share is that sometimes, you don’t need to have all the answers, but you do need to create the space for the answers to come. I realise that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to quit their job without anything else lined up, but we can all start living on the other side of fear – where I believe life starts. So returning to the concept of “when things go back to normal”, do you want them to? Find your new normal, if (your old) normal wasn't working.