FYPC Podcast Ep. 50: Simon T. Bailey, Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach, and Author

Simon T. Bailey’s purpose is to Spark listeners to lead countries, companies and communities differently. His content is based on more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry including serving as sales director for Disney Institute based at Walt Disney World Resort. He has worked with almost 2,000 organizations in 50 countries. Recently, the editors of Direct Selling News listed him as one of the top twenty motivational speakers to inspire, educate, and motivate, and LinkedIn Learning features three of his online courses that reach professionals in 100+ countries.

Tune in to my conversation with Simon to find out how you can revolutionize your career mindset on the Find Your Passion Career Podcast!

Recontextualizing your Career Journey

Simon inspires employers and workers alike to shift their mindset about work—transforming from jobs they tolerate to jobs where they feel activated, viewing work as an opportunity to deploy rather than a place of employment.

“Quit your job and go to work.”

The shift sounds simple, but it can be incredibly difficult to actually understand. The key is finding a job and space that you can be passionate about, and finding a community to be passionate in. It may take time and your current workplace may not be your end destination, but it’s important to bring an attitude of excitement while searching for an environment that makes that attitude sustainable.

Measuring your Success

Promotions, pay raises, extra perks, and more vacation are often the stated goals of young professionals, and why shouldn’t they be? These things have been put forward as the parts of business to chase towards for our entire lives but chasing after them may not be the best way to truly obtain meaningful success.

“A paycheck is given to people who showed, but opportunities are given to individuals who go beyond the work they’re paid to do.”

Rather than striving to land a promotion, Simon suggests focusing in on creating quality work. Promotions may feel nebulous, but the project in front of you remains clear cut, and you can excel at it. And when you do that, your outcomes also change.

“You don’t chase promotions, promotions chase you.”

Cultivating Creative Community

Workplaces aren’t solitary experiences, however, and Simon sees creativity as the number one skill for community workspaces. With the dramatic pace of change in our current workplace landscape, being creative and collaborative are the most effective tools to master future shifts. It’s time to move from a “me first” mentality to asking what we can accomplish together. How exactly do you shift from me to we? Instead of focusing on presenting yourself as interesting, start showing how interested you are in others. Simon sees our own self-perceptions and competitiveness as a big threat to success, both on a personal level and brand-wide.

“Ego [stands for] Edging Goodness Out.”

When we focus less on ourselves and achieving optimal positions, we in turn benefit more, as do our colleagues.

Tune in to discover how you can transform your mindset around work and inject more creativity into your life.

Download my podcast interview with Simon here on iTunes!