Careers rarely follow a straight path, especially in the Civil Service. Our conversation with David Francis, former Senior Civil Servant and Director of the West London Alliance, was testament to that. At 18, David started his career as a chartered surveyor and has ended up leading huge national, regional and local programmes, including Help to Buy. 

Here are the three key lessons we took from the session:

1. Align passion with purpose

“All of [my career] has been driven by my passion and purpose.” 

Discovering what energises you can serve as a compass for every career decision. When tasks align with your core values, you’ll be so much more motivated – even when times get tough. Early on, David realised policy gave him a chance to fulfil his desire to have a social impact more than working with spreadsheets.

Actions:

• Draft a “work” list: Identify five things you’ve done recently at work that have left you feeling energised or proud.
• Draft a “values” list: Note down five things that’re core to your personality, understanding of the world, and the role you’d like to play in it. 
• Map values to roles: Compare your values against your work, and come up with ideas of how to fill any gaps if things don’t align!

2. Turn challenges into opportunities

“Run towards challenges.” 

Tasks that push you out of your comfort zone are the most effective for learning. Embracing complexity and diving into difficult situations can accelerate your growth and raise your profile. A key to staying resilient in these periods is to reframe failures as opportunities to learn, focus on iteration rather than perfection and take it one step at a time. 

Actions:

• Put your hand up for taking on a new challenge. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!
• Protect time to relax during and after starting the challenge. 
• Reflect on what you’ve learnt from previous challenges you’ve encountered.

3. Be flexible

“[My career] has been constant iteration, constant working it out.”

For most of us, sticking to a rigid five-year career plan is a fantasy. Your ambitions should evolve with new insights, feedback and goals as you learn & situations change. David has a career plan which he updates twice a year – keeping him agile as well as accountable.

Actions:

• Write a plan setting out your: Goals → Actions to get there → Timeline to complete the actions
• Speak to a mentor, manager and/or peers about your ambitions. 

Make time to reflect and review your plans regularly – celebrating all progress, no matter how small.

Conclusion

Following your passions, reframing challenges as learning opportunities, and staying flexible are critical to building a successful career in the Civil Service – whatever that looks like for you.