Today the Career Journey Begins for 18-Year-olds all over the world.

As we await the A level results for 2021, I reflect upon my career journey and the role education and other important stage gates have played on the person and professional I would become.

We’ve had an unprecedented couple of years. The A level results process will no doubt spark much debate, but in truth, the result matters far less than how you respond to it, both as parents and young adults.

Read that again - the result matters far less than how you respond to it, both as parents and young adults.

I left A-levels with the absolute conviction that I was going to be an accountant, and I became one at age 20. Yet today, 20+ years since those A level results, my career is in its fifth iteration, and I’m doing more than one discipline, as a business resilience strategist and a career coach.

Nothing about my journey has been traditional or standard. I rejected the advice of my parents, teachers, school counsellors. I followed my intuition on important occasions because of the self-belief I had to make any path work for me.

Self-belief can be fostered at a very young age, and maintained throughout your child's life

I date my self-belief back to ages 6 or 7 years old. I noticed that I didn't need to work as hard as my peers in school even at that age. I knew I'd be successful at anything I put my mind to. Some call it confidence, I call it courage. I've now done 5 radical career pivots.

I redefined confidence at 8 years old. I achieved my lowest ever class ranking when I was sure I didn't need to work hard to ace the test. I recognised then it wasn't confidence that served great outcomes, it was determination. It was the courage to go for it. It was bravery to stand up against the boys who were physically stronger but had no discernable difference in mental ability. That conditioning prepared me for many challenges to come.

Courage trumps confidence every time.

My first pivotal career moment was at age 13 in a career development session at high school. A guy spoke to the group about accounting, and how much money he made doing that job. I remember thinking this is a no brainer - of course, I'm going to become an accountant. Yet I still didn’t want the straight path as I was interested in many other subjects.

Variety creates the foundation for ingenuity and creativity.

Despite contrary advice from the school dean, I did the subjects I wanted to do, and more than I was required to, on my own time.

When results came in, I received a report card of four B grades, compared to the three A grades that my school wanted me to have. I'd done an extra subject, and at the time, it didn't appear as if my courage was being rewarded.

I remember the disappointment on my teachers’ faces. I remember feeling dread for their reaction although inside me I was secretly proud of myself. My inner anarchist was in glee. I knew that with a 4th subject I would meet the requirements for any course of study I wanted.

Know yourself, and take measured risks.

My next decision was to also fly in the face of popular logic. I specialised for the first time after my A levels and skipped university, opting instead to do a professional accounting qualification directly. It took me half the time it should normally take to become the accountant I wanted to be.?By the age of 22, I was the second-highest earner in my household of 6. By age 25 I was the highest earner.

By age 26, after 5 years in accounting roles, I felt I'd tapped all the value accounting alone was going to give me. The world of FMCG business held so many other fascinations that I started a high-speed pivot routine that would see me live in 3 different countries in 6 years. I moved into internal audit and built my skillset around all the business disciplines; marketing, operations, corporate social responsibility, research & development and human resources.

I moved into operations and supply chain line roles after that, and started using my cross-functional skills to develop and improve cross-functional processes.

Dealing with complexity is a distinction for your career.

The next critical moment of my career direction came in 2016 during my MBA specialising in Innovation Management after yet another career development day. A guest speaker shared that he spent his time like this:?

• Three weeks of my time I guide entrepreneurs, small businesses, and startups to help them to scale up for free/ or for small amounts of stock offerings.
• I sell one week of my time to corporate innovation teams, to help them engineer the right strategies and culture to foster innovation and creativity in their firms.?

An innovative way to manage a career right? Who does that??The answer is very few people. That's why it works.

Don't be afraid to create your own career

The idea was so compelling that I decided I was going to find a way to make it happen for me too. In 2019, I started my consultancy services, and in October 2020 I launched Where Ideas Launch, the podcast for the sustainable innovator.

To support the podcast, I engaged in sustainability groups with people who were as serious as me about sustainable business models. Both the sustainability side and the innovation side were important to the person I was becoming.

I spoke to practitioners, business owners and educators about how we bring all the potential of green tech, social impact and artificial intelligence to solve the challenges the world faces.

I invited famous authors, educators, practitioners, consultants, business owners from micro to medium-sized businesses to share their thoughts and ideas on what has become a game-changing podcast. I was and continue to be boxing above my "weight class".

Where Ideas Launch - The podcast for the sustainable Innovator is ranked top 5% global podcast, has featured in 59 charts across 29 countries, and climbed to the top 10 position in 14 charts. We even took the number one spot in 3 of them.

I received a ready-made group from someone inspired by my work. A group that hosted at the time 500 women in sustainable business, which has now grown to over 3000. My podcast and the community became heavily interlinked. Some of my early guests such as Claudia Gwinutt from Circla, Howard Gunstock of Carbon Kapture, have seen exponential growth since being on my podcast, and it continues to provide a space for young green entrepreneurs to flourish. I support the group with advice and guidance, and I also have a super affordable membership to give additional support to young business owners.?

After a career that saw me travel to more than 50 regional offices working with 150 nationalities, I’m now well-positioned to begin another transition in my career. Each phase builds on the previous.

My advice to those of you expecting A level results either as a young adult or the parent of a young adult, is to remember

it’s not where you start - nor even where you finish, it’s really about the journey.

Embrace every opportunity as a teachable moment and your skill and potential will never stop growing.?

I'm hosting a session on 24th August at 8:00 pm GMT+1 on Designing Careers for Young professionals - you are welcome to join me, or invite someone you know. Here are the details:

• You are invited to a Zoom meeting on Aug 24, 2021 20:00 London?
• Register in advance for this meeting: Register With Zoom Here
• After registering, you'll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.