ARTICLE(S) FROM THE INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT,
The New You - Down Shift
WORK TO LIVE
Ever dreamt of jacking in your hectic career in favour of something altogether more enjoyable? Well, you're not alone. Each year in the UK, millions of successful professionals downshift to less lucrative but ultimately more rewarding vocations.
Sue Weekes explains why.
MICHAEL WOLFF doesn't much care for the term downshifting. 'It's what's those in London who can't get their head round the concept call it,' says the former CEO, who decamped to Nairn in Scotland 15 years ago when he was in his mid-forties. 'I think upshifting better describes it.'
When you consider the things that, in theory, go 'up' when you downshift - quality of life, career autonomy and time for family, friends and fun - you have to admit he's got a point. 'Downshifting is about putting joy first - and the only thing actually likely to go down is your income,' says Andrew Ferguson, a pioneer of what he terms 'lifeshifting', who in 1983 launched Breakthrough Lifeshift, a company which helps individuals find new ways to live and work.
Misnomer or not, downshifting is certainly on the rise. Research carried out by insurance company Prudential found that between 2002 and 2003 a massive 2.6 million people opted out of successful careers, happily sacrificing some salary in return for a less stressful lifestyle. In total, there are now over 12 million downshifters living across Europe – a figure predicted to rise to 16 million by 2007. In UK in particular, downshifting taps directly into a mood of the moment. Ailing psychological contracts, the end of the job for life and the rise of flexible working have combined with events such as 9/11 and 7th July to cause people to question their priorities and values. Time is increasingly seen as a desirable commodity in itself, and downshifting represents a way to reclaim control over it.
According to a survey by the University of Cambridge and the British Market Research Bureau, the three main ways people downshift are by reducing working hours, stopping work completely or changing careers. Women are apparently more likely to downshift than men and the most common decade to take the plunge is your thirties. Other than that, downshifters spread relatively evenly across both age and social groupings.
The traditional image of a downshifter is of someone who quits their job and ups sticks to the country to run a smallholding or open a B & B. Role models for this idyllic existence abound from Tom and Barbara of The Good Life – except they famously downshifted and remain in Surbiton – to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. But as enchanting and cosy as River Cottage may seem, lots of would-be downshifters will not want to escape totally from whatever it is they do. They could simply want to reshape or re-structure how they do it or cherry-pick the parts of their job they like and discard the rest.
Downshifting can come in all shapes and sizes and doesn't have to mean dropping out and finding a new career. It doesn't even have to mean moving home. 'Many people downshift their lives successfully without feeling the need or inclination to move house,' says Judy Jones and Polly Ghazi - two ex-observer journalists who downshifted - in their book, Downshifting, a guide to simpler and happier living. 'The good life is already within their grasp - they just need more time and energy to tap into what’s already around them. We suspect they make up the silent majority of downshifters.'
And with work no longer seen as somewhere you go but rather something you do, there's every chance that more and more of us can downshift on precisely the terms we want. 'Eighty percent of us are information workers now' says Brian Higton, chairman of the Telework Association, who downshifted ten years ago and runs his own IT and communications business in Ayrshire. 'Work is no longer location-dependant - 'we don't have to be chained to our desks any more.
As more and more are discovering, it is possible to downshift but still use your talents to exert a major influence on the world of business. But whether you're seeking to escape to a rural idyll or simply to convert your spare bedroom into an office, there are several practical and social issues to be aware of when downshifting – starting income.
Cashflow Caution
           'Many people make the mistake of believing they are still earning what they used to,' says Andrew Ferguson, who often begins by asking prospective downshifters what they feel they can live on. 'Most people haven't a clue how much they spend. It's terribly practical, but do your sums.'
Judy Jones recommends doing a financial dry run while you are still employed. 'Set an amount and see if you can live on it for six months,' she says, adding: 'And bank what you save each month so you can put it towards downshifting.'
As an insurance against the insecurity of self-employment, Andrew recommends developing a number of strands to your business. 'If you are a portfolio worker with, say, three separate income strands, they are unlikely to all go at once. Maybe look at an old skill you can earn money from,' he says.
Ironically, work-life balance - the very thing that many people downshift to improve - is one of the hardest things to get right. The combination of less money for holidays, no real demarcation lines between work and home and the passion many downshifters have for their new found vocation can mean that they find it difficult to switch off from work for any length of time. Trainer and coach Carmel Briggs admits she was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic about her work and ended up with a hyperactive thyroid two years ago. She says she's since learned to slow down (refer to case study below).
Teleworker Brian Higton admits he's succumbed to the silly hours syndrome but says, on the flip side, you balance it by exploiting the liberating aspects of homeworking: 'I can break away any time and have a coffee with my wife, a meal with my children or water the tomatoes in the greenhouse.'
Irregular hours do come with the territory says Judy Jones and, if you enjoy what you do, there’s nothing wrong with working late into the night, as long as it doesn't become an obsession. The key, she believes, is building in devices that take you away from work. 'Give yourself a treat each day - go for a walk or meet a friend for lunch,' she says, 'and don’t make the mistake of saving all your treats until the weekend.'
Another way to maintain a balance is to spend some time on a non-work activity. 'Some not-for-profit or gift work could form a strand,' suggests Andrew. Downshifting frequently goes hand-in-hand with a more holistic view of the world and desire to live more ethically. Judy and Polly concur with Andrew's view of what they term a 'portfolio lifestyle' where you factor in time for voluntary work: 'It may solve a long-held need to contribute in a certain area, such as animal welfare, or may open up entirely new horizons for you.'
Even if you continue in a similar line of work or maintain some links with your old life, you'd be missing an opportunity if you didn’t use the downshifting experience to re-invent yourself in some way. Quite how far you want to go along the transformation route is up to you. For downshifting to work, you need to be comfortable in all aspects of the shift even if the outside world has trouble relating to what you do. 'You will start behaving differently – that's the whole point of it,' says Judy. 'And friends have got to accept it. When you downshift, you find out who your friends are.'
Don't Go It Alone  Â
           There is a danger of isolation, comments Andrew, which is why networking organisations such as his own Breakthroughnetwork.net website and Ecademy online forum are so important. 'You do need relief from isolation,' he says. 'When you have a job you have a laid-on social life - you know what you're going to be doing on a Friday night. A job defines a large part of our lives.'
Friends and colleagues may struggle to come to terms with the newly downshifted you, but before long you can bet some of them will be coming to you for advice on how to follow suit. Because downshifting is definitely on the up. Management guru Peter Drucker has long predicted the demise of big companies in their current form and industrialist Sir John Harvey-Jones has highlighted businesses’ growing reliance on networks of specialists. Few would argue that the future of business lies in collaborative working, and technology means that downshifters, far from being precluded, can play as big a part as anyone - from the comfort of their home.
Downshift Case Study No.1. Â - Carmel Briggs
           It's not unusual to find former BT manager Carmel Briggs singing, drumming and chanting with a half full of people. Fourteen years after leaving BT, where she says she increasingly felt like a 'square peg in a round hole', Carmel runs a training and coaching business which includes healing with sound workshops that can help improve self-esteem and assertiveness.
'My hobby became my business,' says the 55-year-old, who left BT just a few months before her 41st birthday. 'I'd always been aware of how music is good for you and now I use it in training and development. I run regular voice and rhythm sessions in my local community centre and recently did a demonstration of team-building with drums for 120 members of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.'
Carmel who originally trained as an electronic engineer, worked in a variety of sales, marketing, recruitment and quality control positions and spent ten years at BT. 'I was getting really stressed so when I found out there were going to be redundancies I put myself forward.'
She had always loved learning so enrolled on a teaching course which she followed up by training as a counsellor. The mother of two and her husband who later also left BT to follow his passion for music and build a recording studio on to the house – were already living in a rural area in Suffolk when she began working from home. Her children were nine and seven at the time. 'We were lucky that we had a relatively small mortgage,' she says. 'Income wise I’ve taken a huge drop and have never matched what I was earning when I left BT but I'm much happier and work is now fun.'
She admits though that achieving work-life balance is a challenge, especially when you love what you do. 'I was diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid two years ago so since then I've tried to slow down. A friend of mine reckons it takes you ten years to slow down properly,' she says, adding, 'I try to meditate every day and recommend it - even if you only
do a few minutes each day it helps you stay calm and focused.
Downshift Case Study No. 2 - Michael Wolff
           On the face of it, Michael Wolff is the archetypal downshifter: at 46 and CEO of one of DHL's most successful subsidiaries, he decided to cash in, up sticks and move to Nairn in the north of Scotland to spend more time with his family - his children were eight and twelve at the time. But rather than busying himself on a croft, the 61-year-old has spent the last 15 years devising an organisational model that could prove to be an underpinning structure for business in the future. His company Ki Net has built a virtual outsourcing technology and management infrastructure, currently being piloted by a major 3G mobile phone company and which involves using home workers.
'We're moving towards a distributed model of business, which is based on loosely coupled networks of freelance workers,' he explains. Michael's decision to downshift came after an internal transformation which, he says, began 20 years ago when his wife introduced him to yoga. 'By the beginning of the 90s I found that I was really a different person altogether to the macho boss I thought I was. I also took up the Japanese martial art, aikido, another transformational activity, and realised that a huge amount of energy was being spent on playing the role of the CEO instead of being myself.'
Michael began to feel increasingly at odds with his career. 'The corporate world is defined by one value system and I was beginning to transition into a completely different one', he says. 'This was a huge 'aha' moment for me.'
The Wolffs chose Nairn because, with good schools and local amenities, it provided the perfect location for their new life. 'You discover that your capital is your relationship,' says Michael, 'and this begins at home with your wife and children.'
Downshift Case Study No.3 - John Fielder
John Fielder can claim to be one of the original downshifters, after opting out of the rat race more than 20 years ago. 'Senior management would have taken me further away from what I liked doing. It would have been a case of less control and more political games to play. I was commuting long distances and thought. 'Is it really worth it?'
In the end, redundancy provided a trigger to get out of the advertising agency where he was working. Instead of seeking another job, he set up an office in his four-bedroomed house in Ascot and never looked back, baulking the downshifting trend of earning less by promptly doubling his salary.
Before working at the agency, John, now 60, had held management positions in the training and recruitment sectors and built on his experience with a raft of further courses. Today his portfolio of offerings range from a video talk business to training, coaching and counselling services - he is one of the people behind career guidance and management company the Career Consultancy. Fielder is steep in coaching, being a master practitioner in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), master time line therapist and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality profiler.
But it isn't all about work, and the high degree of control he has over his time means he’s been able to combine his business with a spiritual side. 'I put as much effort into this as I do my coaching. It started in my 20's and I have studied most religions. I was with some friends over the week-end with the Indian spiritual leader Amma'
John also manages to dabble with property. '‘I own three houses and earn rent from one of these but I wouldn't say I was a property developer.' He says. 'But I am looking for a large residual income as I lost a large portion of my Equitable Life pension! You have to remember that nothing is ever certain and there is absolutely no way you can spend what you hope to earn next month.'
          Â
As a member of Andrew Ferguson's Breakthroughnetwork.net, John stresses the importance of plugging into some sort of network but the veteran downshifter’s overriding piece of advice to others is simple: 'Have a passion for what you do.' He says. 'What I do now is all about passion.'
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"PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON PROFESSIONALISM"
      If 2009 was the year of uncertainty, perhaps 2010 should be the year of reform. It is clear that for both economic and environmental reasons, we cannot return to business as usual. The commercial world has a huge task ahead. It's leaders must restore trust in the financial systems and develop practices, which build sustainability into the core of strategy.
For these goals to be achieved, the business world must remodel itself to meet the new challenges ahead. In order to embed this process, it is imperative we put professionalism at the top of the agenda. Companies must ensure that they recruit and develop people who are not only talented but are guided by principles rather than expediency.
I would suggest that one of the best ways of doing that is to ensure professionalism is embedded into each employee's professional development. Traditionally, an MBA has been seen as the best guarantee of a strong and broad understanding of the core elements of business. However, MBAs have come in for a rough ride recently - primarily because they do not have a strong ethical backbone.
One of the obvious differences between an MBA and a professional qualification is accountability. Once an MBA has been awarded, graduates are able to attach those hallowed letters to their name for life. Conversely, a professional qualification, like the Chartered Institute Of Management Accountants (CIMA), compels its members to not only study the fundamentals of business ethics but to apply them throughout their careers. Membership demands adherence to an ethical code of conduct. Those who breach this code can be disciplined and ultimately, have their letters removed.
Moreover, a professional qualification takes the lottery element out of recruitment. I cannot speak for all professional qualifications but this is certainly true for CIMA. CIMA offers a unique qualification in management accounting, which stands out on its own merits. The qualification is also regulated internationally. This provides a global assurance of quality to both members and employers.
By the same token, MBAs do not guarantee continuity of knowledge. When an MBA has been awarded, the knowledge gained is focused on a specific period of time. As we all know the business world is a rapid changing place and knowledge needs to be updated regularly. CIMA requires its members to take part in a programme of continuing professional development. This ensures they stay at the cutting edge of technical, legal and ground breaking developments throughout their careers.
There are signs that this demand for professionalism is already being acknowledged across the business spectrum. CIMA recently carried out over 4,500 consultations with finance and senior management professionals worldwide to unearth the state of the finance function and it's likely trajectory. One key area related to corporate preferences when recruiting finance professionals
Personal characteristics came top of the list. However post graduate business qualification such as MBA were the least preferred. To add to this, professional finance qualifications came top as the most preferred qualification. We can conclude from this that businesses would prefer to recruit talent with a professional qualification and then develop them as managers rather than recruit general managers and train them in a specialism.
However, I would contend that this preference should not be confined to the finance function. A strong understanding of finance is central to the brave new world of business. Risk management must be an integral part of the future strategy and finance professionals are the best equipped to quantify the challenges ahead. CIMA provides much greater depth of knowledge – particularly around the essential business elements of financial reporting and performance management. In short, if business is to take on the challenges ahead, accounting and accountability must go hand in hand.
(By Robert Jelly, CIMA executive director for education.)
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