Future Purpose

By Chris van Melle Kamp

FUTURE PURPOSE: A Five-Dimensional Framework For Building Your C-Suite Career

 

In this book, Chris van Melle Kamp provides individual executives with deep insights into how they can take charge of their own careers and strategic capabilities on a journey to the C-Suite and beyond. This profoundly holistic view of executive career development and the inevitable transitions that people experience sets this book apart from any others in its genre. It takes the reader on a unique and deeply researched journey of discovery that points to the key building blocks required to develop knowledge, experience, strategic capability, and critical thinking skills.

 

The book celebrates the curiosity that resides in all of us, but also leads with powerful themes of renewal and the pursuit of meaningfulness. The theme of renewal plays out in what Chris presents as the emergence of massive changes sweeping through every aspect of the global social, economic, environmental, and political landscape. Although the book focuses on business executives, it is appropriate reading for anyone who wants to develop their career, no matter what sector they find themselves in.

 

 

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris van Melle Kamp
• Release date: Sep 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9780639726991

Book preview

1

ORIGINS

WHERE WE COME FROM

Back to the beginning

Intertwined within each person’s career journey are patterns of growth, discovery, and career achievements that were impacted on by their early childhood development. Those early years are truly important influences and experiences, and there is a monumental body of academic research to support this. In practice, I have clearly seen how early childhood exposure to influential people and events play a role in people’s career choices. One of the most powerful themes that emerged from my research is the matter of curiosity. It is a theme reflected throughout this book. Curiosity is an essential ingredient for personal and career growth, and nurturing curiosity in the young child can provide them with a life-long pillar of support and inspiration.

Our origins and early developmental years significantly impact on our personality, potential, and passions, which act as catalysts for the decisions we make in life. These inner drivers are with us throughout our lives and form the bedrock upon which we build our careers. They can determine the people, cultures, and sectors to which we gravitate, and they enable us to seek and find our purpose.

As children, we experience a range of inputs growing up, from care, love and attention to trauma and neglect. This creates set neural pathways described as building blocks by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey in the book, What Happened to You?²

I’ve conducted interviews with people who, even in their late 50s and 60s, remember with deep clarity periods during their childhood where they received love and support, but also experienced trauma, and how those experiences influenced their self-confidence.

The question then arises:

When we have career decisions to make, how can we use our origins to help us understand who we are, what we are capable of, and what makes our work and personal lives meaningful?

What our village taught us

I was born and raised in a newly established neighborhood of Johannesburg. Around us lived people from diverse backgrounds and religions. These included immigrants from the UK, an elderly German couple next door, Jewish neighbors, Swiss immigrant friends up the road, Greeks and Italians, and Dutch-, Afrikaans- and English-speaking people. I thought the whole world looked like our neighborhood. It was not an affluent area, but it was full of solid, middle-class people who were building a future for themselves and their children. It was also a time of complete racial segregation in South Africa. That globally diverse, but white neighborhood was my reality.

Our neighbor, Dr. Frieda, then in his 60s, was working on excavating Iron Age foundries. The foundries dated back to 1200 BC and were discovered in the Melville Hills, next to our house. My brother, sister and I accompanied Dr. Frieda from time to time. When he would describe with great enthusiasm the importance of those findings, his eyes would light up at the sheer wonder of it all.

I always wondered how digging up old Iron Age furnaces could light up someone’s eyes, but I was not surprised at all when my own eyes lit up on first seeing a crimson-breasted shrike right next to the ancient excavation site. It was as if the air was sucked out of my lungs. That magnificent bird was only a few meters away—just there for me to admire. I had an aviary in our garden, had read every wildlife magazine I could find, and dreamed of working with, and protecting, wild animals in the bushveld.

Where we grow up, how we are brought up, which school we attend and how we are schooled, and the personal experiences of our youth all impact on our future endeavors. They shape our ability and propensity to move towards, or away, from uncertainty, and they create a framework through which we see the world and our future. These frameworks can be great foundations for success, or the very reason we struggle to make critical career and personal transitions in later life.

My dream of going into wildlife management was dashed when I failed to get into veterinary school, but other influences had already been planted in me that directed my decisions to take up different careers. For example, my father was a dedicated Rotarian and we had multiple Rotary exchange students from all over the world living with us for long periods of time. Learning about their countries, cultures, and view of the world gave me a broader and richer perspective of the world and an interest in traveling and exploring other countries and cultures. When the option of going into the world of international affairs and becoming a diplomat, as opposed to a wildlife vet, was presented to me by a close family friend of my parents, the seeds were planted for that option to become a reality.

My various professions took me to four continents, where I met, and was influenced by, people from every major nation in the world. I have come full circle, 40 years later, dedicating time and energy to nature conservation and connecting with nature.

The powerful impact of an individual’s early years on how they tackle the difficult road of education, career choice, and ongoing personal and professional development is embedded in every career story we hear.

Jennifer was the daughter of a well-known mining engineer in Johannesburg. Her mother was an interesting, bright woman with a keen sense of the arts and literature. The family was as cerebral as they come and she questioned everything, challenging conventional wisdom at every opportunity. Freedom of thought ruled the home. Today, Jennifer is one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists and a globally renowned sculptor. She was raised in an environment in which she could grow and develop her artistic skills with abandon, without restrictions, and with plenty of support.

Mary grew up in the north of South Africa. Her parents were immigrants who carved a niche for themselves in the world of business. They later moved to a bigger city and Mary attended a school that gave her the space to excel in both sport and academics. She felt nurtured and happy in her environment. Although her parents had taught her the value of hard work and resilience, her biggest influence was the mother of a school friend, who had endured immense personal hardship. She recalls learning about grit and integrity from that woman. Mary developed her career and eventually became the CEO for Africa of a major global company.

The values she had learned proved a powerful foundation when it came to managing teams within a highly complex and competitive environment.

Paul built airplane models that he hung from his bedroom ceiling. Ever since he was a little boy, he dreamed of becoming a pilot. At the age of 14, he could tell you which plane in the world had which engine, how fast it could fly, and the carrying capacity.

He joined the air force during his military call-up in the 1980s, where he earned his pilot’s license and later became one of South African Airway’s top pilots, flying A300s. Paul’s life involved goalsetting, practice, learning, action, delivery, dedication, and purpose.

Gail Kelly, the first female CEO of one of Australia’s big four banks, uses the entire first chapter of her book, Live Lead Learn,³ to outline the powerful influence that her early childhood years in South Africa, and her parents and family, had on her approach to life and her career. She called that chapter: A lucky start.

The power of origins

During my consulting career, I listened to the stories of thousands of people from all walks of life. What always stood out for me was the tone, the look in people’s eyes, and how they talked about their childhood years. These were the times when they experienced unforgettable moments of joy and sadness, success and disappointment; when they were influenced by their helpful uncle, or their strict grandmother, or their enthusiastic and supportive teachers.

It is in that past space that we see the powerful influence of heroes and role models who offer a vision and give people something for which to aim. Through those influences, children start connecting to their natural talents and ambitions. It is at this time that they start to show their curiosity about things and ideas, and start pursuing activities that excite them.

Throughout our lives, our origins remain deeply influential. Our moral compass and value settings are primed in our early years, and our worldview is formed at a young age. From day one, we are shaped and influenced by those around us, and by the ecosystem in which we live.

These early influencers and influences have a strong impact on the way we choose to live our lives, where we want to work and live, the kinds of careers we choose, and the companies we work for. They shape the assumptions that we make in life, sometimes to our detriment. Career choice is the significant determinant of future emotional well-being and financial security, and yet in our early stage development, this choice is influenced by a wide variety of factors beyond our control.

Early theories around Social Cognitive Career Theory by Lent and Brown (1994)⁴ and Carpenter and Foster (1977),⁵ point to three factors that impact on career choices in youth, namely:

Intrinsic—the view of a profession and its role in society, e.g. doctor, teacher, engineer.

Extrinsic, e.g. becoming famous in sport or music, which leads to wealth creation.

The interpersonal dimension which is connected to the influence of family, friends, and teachers who try to convince us to take up a certain career which, in their view, would be ideal for us.

Later studies on the impact of social media on youth and their career choices have added a new, more complex, overlay to these original studies on career development. We can all relate to various aspects of these theories.

We also know that one of the most powerful influences on career choice is cultural values.⁶ This is no small issue, and we see it playing out across the world in every village, town, and major city.

It is connected to origins and national cultures, and it shapes the career choices of billions of people each year. In Hofstede’s work on culture, he sets out his theory on how culture impacts career decisions in different parts of the world by arguing that western countries tend to align with individualism where independence, self-reliance, freedom, and individual autonomy are valued. In these countries the youth are encouraged to develop their own career paths. On the other hand, Asian and African nations align more with collectivism in which people consider societal interdependence and communal benefits, and where youths are expected to follow career tracks that benefit the community, as determined by their parents, teachers, and