I had my entire career boiled down to one variable during the week – 8 years experience. That’s how long I have been in Safety for, that’s it. For some that may be a surprise, for others, bring hope. I hope it brings change.
Once I read the single digit number, the stream of emotions from my ego was pretty loud, and hyper-critical of the whole notion using one variable to label someone’s love, sweat and tears, and using this as a variable for comparison with others. It reiterated my view that counting and measuring false idols to predict future performance is a fallacy, yet one which all too often pervades. Instead of asking the harder question (how do we measure knowledge, skill, ability and performance) which proves to be a much greater difficulty in answering, we substitute for an easier question – how many years have you had your bum in a seat.
This bias towards nominal years of experience (especially in a role) is a large factor which continues to perpetuate the status quo in diversity levels. As we have seen and heard from various individuals, how can you promote or appoint people from diverse backgrounds when they are represented as a smaller factor in the overall labour pipeline? Well, you change the pipeline diameter! Make it shorter and wider by removing the requirement for years in an industry or role. Unheard of in your industry, keep reading below.
BHP has come out publically and has said this will be one of the major thrusts and ideological shifts which propel them forward to their gender parity goals. Yourfeed in the UK is showcasing millennials work rather than a race to the bottom with test scores and the like. Major consultancies are dropping requirements for university degrees. Sites like Upwork are allowing talented freelancers to drop the sunk cost of years in an agency and produce based on merit. The list gets added to daily, which is brilliant.
One criticism I am sure will be levelled at the above arguments, years in experience represent wisdom unable to be replicated by formal education and learning. Yet all this says to me, and challenges me on is that our education system and learning within our organisations is broken, see here for an alternative.
Derek Sivers in a podcast with Tim Ferris outlined the concept that the standard pace is set so that the greatest amount of average people pass the course. He rightly points out the standard pace is for chumps. I feel the same in relation to experience, it can be sought and you can go to it, rather than passively waiting for it to come to you (this is also your responsibilities and not organisations, especially as they dip into the short term-ism cycle). Also, quite rightly pointed out to me, is that an expert is only an expert so long as the status quo (or minor incremental gains) is maintained. If there is exponential growth, change of ideology or organisation of work, experts no longer have the experience and potentially new skills or experience to succeed in the new operating conditions. No one wants a faster horse or a fossil fuel car…
I would paint myself as a neogeneralist, rather than a binary label, looking for the cross application potential of different industries, mental models and worldviews. I would never describe myself as having a certain amount of years of experience or similar as it’s a focus on a variable and not output. I guess the question is, when the years pile up, will I reach for this and anchor myself in a blanket of confirmation bias or remain open, with strong views; ever so loosely held.
Will you?
Reframe my Safety Brain 