It all began with a love of podcasts and TED Talks, sometime around 2014. I stumbled on some leadership podcasts by some truly gifted communicators. Even though I wasn’t interested in becoming a leader myself, these podcasters were such great communicators that their ideas on workplace culture were fascinating. But, they were just really smart guys (yes, they were all guys) sharing ideas out of their own heads.
And then Robert Sutton published his bestselling Survival Guide . This was my first exposure to the idea that the scientific method could be used to validate (or disprove) those good ideas. So, I went looking for scientific articles. I was terribly bored in my job. I desperately wanted to learn something new.
I was able to get some article access from my alma mater’s librarians, but it was very limited. I became so motivated to learn more that I looked into formal study. The more I looked into it, the more I realized I wasn’t just looking for a hobby. I was looking at a whole new career.
So, I enrolled in a Ph.D. program in I/O psychology. I had gotten an M.S. in psychology a few decades ago, so it seemed the Ph.D. was the way to go. 18-months into the program, I’m still having a blast!
Oh, and all that stuff they say about not being able to learn when you’re over a certain age, it’s all rubbish! Even after my LOOONNGG break, it all came back to me. I did retake some statistics courses, and the software had obviously changed some (no more job cards for uni mainframes, YAY!), but it was all still in the back of my brain just waiting to be used again!