When we talk about a career, we usually imagine it as a climb: more or less long, towards more or less high peaks, and along more or less steep paths and walls. Reaching the summit is tantamount to having achieved the full realisation of one's ambitions. It is no coincidence that we have the expression 'at the pinnacle of success'.
Yet, after 40 years in the world of tourism, I am beginning to see the career as not necessarily an uphill path, but rather along a road full of forks, and not always with directions or advice on which direction to take...
Growing by choosing
As a young person, the choice is mainly about the course of study and how to enter the world of work. In my case, already during my hotel management school years I had to make decisions that inevitably took me far from home to do my apprenticeship in accommodation facilities. After high school, the decision to do the 'gavetta' in hotels on the Tuscan coast consolidated the idea: to advance, you need to leave the 'comfort zone' and take new paths.
The crossroads then recurred, systematically, always confronting me with the same questions: "will this be the right decision?" "will I be able to give my best in my new job?" As responsibilities increased, new ones were added. One above all: 'could my decision affect the family situation'?
There, when we ask ourselves these kinds of questions, the difficulty coefficient in giving the answer increases greatly. As long as you are making the decision yourself, the burden of the choice is limited to you alone. When you have a family, changing location and place of work means changing the habits of your loved ones too: your wife's work, your children's kindergarten or school... These changes are often accompanied by less presence at home. The argument 'it is not the quantity of time you spend at home that is important, but the quality', however, is not always enough, or perhaps not valid for everyone.
Being a leader
The exponential increase in responsibilities at work leads to more and more demanding decisions. Above all, it leaves less and less room for error. Those who believe that leadership is only synonymous with command have not understood the deeper value of the term. Not only in etymological terms, but mainly in moral ones. The leader 'leads' a group and is an integral part of it, as well as acting as a motivator and mentor. When it comes to decision-making, however, the leader is alone, and what he decides can determine success or failure. Not only for himself, but for the group, and even for the company. A burden that can become overwhelming if one does not have the knowledge, skills and values to back it up.
Career as a path to travel together
Career, however, is not just a lonely road. Along the way, we also have the good fortune to meet people who support us and who, precisely in the most difficult moments, help us to make the right decisions to move us towards the finish line. Family membersfriends, co-workers, superiors to whom we refer in the course of our working life... They are the ones who give us refreshment when we feel heat and fatigue, who spur us on when fatigue cuts into our legs, who encourage us along the road, who help us find our way back to the right path if we veer off the wrong track.
This is my idea of a 'career', and the prize that today recognises my work in the field of hospitality is not just the cup I raise at the finish line, but the thanks to all those who have shared this journey with me.
What is the most difficult choice you have had to face in your career?
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