Familiarity isn’t always capability
I’ve been thinking lately about people who stay in the same organisation for decades. 20 or 30 years in the same company, sometimes even the same department. On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer: they must be amazing at what they do, right?
But I keep coming back to, are they brilliant at their job, or are they brilliant at doing that job in that one organisation?
When the system shapes the skillset
Every workplace has its own quirks be it the tools, processes, politics, culture or the people. Stay long enough and you become fluent in all of it. That’s a skill in itself, no doubt. But it’s also very specific. Being able to navigate this organisation doesn’t always mean you can thrive in any organisation.
I used to work at a bank where this really hit home. People didn’t just work there, they stayed for life. Part of it was the culture, sure, but honestly? A lot of it was the “final salary” pension. Golden handcuffs, in the nicest possible way.
I handed in my notice at that bank with no other job lined up. Things were making me really unhappy and something I called The Sunday Night Feeling. On my last day, a project manager in my team asked where I was going next. I told him I had nothing lined up, but I just knew this wasn’t for me. He smiled and said, “Well, I’ve only got 19 years left before I retire.” That will always stay with me.
Comfortable or capable
This isn’t about calling out lifers or saying long tenure is a bad thing. There’s real value in deep institutional knowledge. But it’s important to recognise that being comfortable and being capable are two different things.
Someone might absolutely nail the role in that context, but take them out of it and things might look very different. On the flip side, someone who’s hopped around different industries might not know the internal politics, but they’re probably super adaptable.
Questions worth asking
Wherever you are in your career, it’s worth taking a step back and asking yourself:
Am I great at what I do, or great at doing it here?
If I changed industries or organisations, how would I adapt?
Am I still growing, or just getting better at doing things the same way?
There’s no right answer to any of this, just some words on reflection and awareness.
But in a world with uncertainty, the ability to adapt is starting to matter just as much as (if not more than) how long you’ve done something.
~ ~ ~
PS: Not sure anyone’s even reading this, I’m mostly doing it for me. But if you are, I’ve got to say this: that year at the bank was rough. Really rough. One person made it bearable. A L, thank you.