‘Independence’ as a career strategy

I was a teenager in the 1980s. My favourite music genre was ‘indie’ - I loved bands like The Smiths, R.E.M. and Billy Bragg (I still do and they feature highly on my ‘most played’ lists today). Back then, these artists felt authentic; a refreshing antidote to the glossy materialism of that decade.

That love of an indie spirit has stayed with me. Today I admire businesses, brands and people doing things their way; those who make a stand and don’t conform to the norms.

I have identified as ‘independent’ for the last 25 years. In 1999 I walked out of the gates of the company where I had a ‘proper’ role for the last time, and embarked on my journey to create a successful business of my own. ‘Staying indie’ has been an important touchstone since that day. Independence has been a strategy, a deliberate choice, a way of building a working life that matches my curiosity, values and the kind of impact I want to have. I simply wanted to design a career around me.

I learned early on in my career that I thrived when I had the freedom to follow my curiosity instead of a job description. Independence gave me three things:

1. Range. I could move between sectors, disciplines and worlds - with clients from tech giants to small brands; juggling career coaching to journalism - without asking permission.

2. Perspective. Standing slightly outside the system lets you see how organisations really work. You notice the human stuff others overlook, which is a great point of view for a storyteller.

3. Alignment. I could choose work that matched who I am, not who a company needed me to be.

And here’s what I wish I’d understood earlier. You don’t need to “go solo” to work independently. Independence is a mindset. It’s the ability to steer your own path, to stay curious, to build a career around the things that make you feel most alive.

For me, that’s storytelling, human connection, and meaningful impact. 

So if your career feels inauthentic for you right now, is there a way you can reset your path by embracing an independent spirit?