I've been involved with quite a few discussions recently about our profession and what makes it unique. We do seem to struggle to define or articulate what exactly distinguishes us from other helping professions. Colleagues have variously suggested that it's knowledge about the world of work, self-reflective practice, or an impartial, client-centred philosophy, but I struggle with all of these. The first one (knowledge of the world of work) because I really don't want the heart of my professionalism to reside in something which I could never properly keep on top of and which Google does so much better than me, and the second two (reflective practice and an impartial client-centred philosophy) because they don't mark us out as any different from counsellors, therapists or social workers.
But I was reading something about the notion of wisdom, and it really struck a chord. I think this is the closest thing I've come to which reflects what I'm aiming for in my professional practice. This stuff isn't new, but I'm not sure I've seen it applied to our role before.
Berlin's wisdom paradigm (Baltes and Freund, 2003) sets out five criteria which make up wisdom. I describe them below as they might apply to career practice:
1. Rich factual knowledge. As career practitioners we should have a superior knowledge base about the world of work. I'm not at all suggesting this needs to be perfect, but I think it's genuinely helpful for us to have a good overview, and some professional knowledge which is hard for our clients to access.
2. Rich knowledge of how to deal with these pragmatics. So this is where career theories come in. We should know how people make career decisions, how people make good career decisions, where people get stuck, and how clients can change their responses or behaviour to make getting jobs more likely. Here too sits our practice - this section encompasses information about how to work with clients to support them to make the most fulfilling choices and achieve their goals.
3. Knowledge about the themes and contexts of life. This puts careers within a system, and ensures that practitioners understand the different drivers and different factors which are woven into each career decision.
4. Recognition and tolerance of differences in beliefs. Here's where the self-reflective, client-centred and non-judgemental philosophy fits in.
5. Recognition and tolerance of uncertainly and ambiguity. This feels like an excellent approach to dealing both with people and the world of work. It ensures that we focus on equipping our clients with the resources they need to negotiate their changing lives and the changing work place, and that we too can cope with the shifting landscapes that we face. It touches on career resilience and adaptability,
Key to this framework is the idea that wisdom doesn't depend on superior cognitive or technical knowledge: we are not competing with Google to know everything there is to know about careers in the 21st century, but it's a combination of knowledge and an understanding of how that knowledge is applied. It's not quite as client-centred as the coaching approach that I normally advocate, but I think it's interesting.
I've thought about this framework in terms of my own practice - my aspirations to be a Career Sage, but an alternative framing could allow us to see this as a taxonomy of the elements we are trying to engender in our clients. Perhaps it's more appropriate to work towards our clients becoming Career Sages.
Either way, I thought this was rather interesting and good food for thought.
Baltes, P.B. (1987) Theoretical propositions o fife-span developmental psychology: on the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology 23 611 - 626
Balters, P.B., Staudinger, U.M, Maercker, A. and Smith J. (1985) People nominated as wise: a comparative study of wisdom-related knowledge, Psychology and Aging 10, 155- 166
