ROLES
It has taken thirty years so far to determine what key roles I occupy in my personal and professional life, notwithstanding that more will emerge as I get older. The following six (6) roles best describe the type of person I enjoy being in the company of others or in the modes of professional engagement.
CATALYST
‘The role of an artist in society is undeniably that of a catalyst for transformation, facilitating or triggering a reaction, whilst endeavouring to avoid being consumed in the process.’
In the most generic example, an artist can transform raw substrate into aesthetically compelling and thought-provoking objects often highly valued for their transformational ‘signal’. The process of artistic practice can also raise awareness of the vagaries of the human condition, challenge the taboo, and in many cases catalyze positive transformation in all areas of human development and personal growth.
My artistic practice has focused on raising awareness about our individuality, our identity, and the often disastrous relationship as collective humanity that we have with others in the built and natural environment.
PRINCIPAL
‘The most important or senior person in an organization or group.’
My current role as a principal partner in a business partnership has been built on entrepreneurship over the last two decades, choosing and working with others in private enterprise, in a variety of business orientations.
My excitement, enthusiasm, and engagement differ from my experiences as an employee or as a consultant in workplaces or consultancy projects, as business partnerships must be an ideal fit, where the power differential is shared, in other words, common goals are loaded with equally shared responsibilities. That ‘match’ factor is particularly important when finding improvements that grow the role. My adaptability is evident typically, when ‘the role suits I wear it’, meaning I’m keeping an eye on the prize and ensuring we deliver on time every time.
VERSATILIST
‘A versatilist can switch in expertise, knowledge
and role from one discipline to another with ease’
Unlike many of my peers who went on to become specialists in one niche area or role and stayed there despite the change happening in the world around them, I chose to be world-changing within it, by exploring and excelling in different roles and professions.
Not surprisingly I attained all the qualifications one would expect within an interdisciplinary field of endeavor. Although structured educational institutions insist on rigidity which they label ‘discipline’, I’ve always sought in some way to break through the ‘expertise’ veneer and gloss, in the bid to maintain who I am - curious and ingenious. That’s why I’ve struck out and tackled projects as an entrepreneur or written at length about what makes my mind tick to make sense of the world around me as a researcher.
DESIGNER
‘A designer creates and often executes plans for a project or structure, employing a wide range of skills and toolsets.’
Surprisingly (for some) my creative designs have been driven by the desire to relate - not fame, wealth, nor out of the need to impress anyone, in fact, the push to get rich gave way to the need to learn about anything that interested me. To this day, my design work demonstrates an ever-expanding array of skills and community engagements that manifest into reality through my client projects and personal exploratory portfolio.
For me, design is an all-encompassing term, not restricted, rather an opportunity create intuitively by the positive possibility of action, in gratitude, and in reflection without lament. My persistence to grow intellectually is therefore balanced with the acquisition of new skills in a design context, been the impetus to switch careers, embrace new disciplines, and indeed adopt a change in entire faculties when required. I will have lived a rich life and career built out of creative diversity, not logical exclusivity and abject boredom.
SCIENTIST
‘The tendency of the sciences has long been an increasing proclivity to separation and dismemberment, specialism and disunity which interdisciplinary practice can reunite lest science be considered myopically academic.’
The term ‘scientist’ was apparently coined by the English polymath William Whewell as recently as sometime between 1794 and 1866. The nomenclature tangle by analogy with the term ‘artist’, encompassing the diverse ‘sciolist’, ‘economist’ and ‘atheist’ is by no means any more informative.
I prefer to coin the word scientist as a domain encompassing all manner of ‘scientific’ research guided by ethics and the rigor of peer review, whilst mindful that humans are fallible and that all manner of research is conducted with very dubious outcomes, often at odds with human rights and social justice. The examples of scientific endeavors I associate with and have engaged in are always evidence-based and interrogative of phenomena.
POLYMATH
‘A polymath is a person who excels across
a diverse range of areas’.
As I made my way through elementary school and college, I was told repeatedly that I needed to find a discipline I enjoyed and then specialize in that field. Eventually, I reached a point when others considered me as an ‘expert’ in several fields. In fact, a running joke later in life became that my seemingly never-ending PhD thesis would never be read nor understood by anyone but my supervisor, examination committee, and myself!
As a researcher and scholar, I seek to gain knowledge, be erudite in discussion and act in the spirit of collegiality as opposed to the bitching realm as I’ve witnessed in the behaviors of many notorious academics. I’d rather be tagged as being a polymath when I consider the many diverse roles across different disciplines and occupations that make up three decades of my career.