Can I get a 2024 LinkedIn Rewind?
Yep, yet another 2024 wrapped and band wagon jumped on with Coauthor Studio.
For those not on LinkedIn or users of Spotify, Monzo, Google Photos or pretty much any app, digital product or service that’s summarised your year of usage in handy infographic or reel, you might be forgiven for wondering what the hell I’m on about with ‘2024 LinkedIn Rewind’ and a wrapped bandwagon.
To the rest of us, we know we’re the product don’t we? Yes, yes we do.
So, here’s what Coauthor compiled for me after running my LinkedIn profile through its AI bot:
A pretty decent summary, as it goes. Although, I still don’t recognise myself as a ‘Researcher’ - I think most purest research communities would curl their noses up at my enthusiasm for research of the ‘scrappy, not crappy’ variety. But the rest, I can get onboard with.
Another, a lesson for us all to be reminded of is to always read your AI generated content before you post it. Although this snapshot is sort of in the right ballpark, the written summary intended for me to share on LinkedIn, was a tad off-piste (apparently, I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD at 46 - I haven’t. And, I’m only 41). Although in fairness, this little AI bot only had 8 LinkedIn posts to go off, so perhaps inaccuracies are to be expected. Quality in, quality out and all that.
But as it’s the time of year for reflection, I’ll use this as a stimulus to draw my own conclusions to wrap this year up in.
What 2024 showed me.
Coauthor: 2024 showed me that our greatest strengths often emerge from our biggest challenges ✨
Me: Nah, dude - 2023 taught me that one.
Instead, 2024 showed me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I shared this sentiment with my sister-in-law over Christmas and she asked if I believed in that - fate, I guess she thought I meant. And, as a statement, it might be interpreted as taking a hands-off approach to life - what’s the use in trying because destiny will find its way, right? - However, I think a better way to interpret it is as a mindset. When the tough gets going, can you still look for and find the glimmers of hope, the seedlings of opportunity and remain positive and open to what comes next?
2023 was the career curveball that I felt at the time knocked me off course and shifted my upward trajectory. From Head of a multidisciplinary UX team to Research Manager; a smaller title with not quite the salary of the last gig, but with a great team, a design leadership peer group and in a bigger organisation, with more opportunities by default. While able to see all parts of this, my confidence and ego were dented, clearly - because what do money and title really mean? And so, 2024 was the year of realising that if my values and self belief are tied up in those things, I’m never going to be satisfied. Always chasing and very likely missing out on those curveball opportunities found in the cracks. Remember, personal growth doesn’t need a career ladder to climb.
2024’s ups and downs.
So, in 2024 I’ve looked sideways at adding more tools to the toolkit and growing my network, with these meaningful moments (thanks for the reminder, Coauthor):
Our Northern UX meet-ups in Leeds went from an every-other-month commitment to monthly with consistent attendee numbers.
I upped the ante mentoring and have held 60 sessions this year with people in 11+ countries around the world.
I got accepted on a Coaching Apprenticeship to help give this passion of mine an official accreditation.
And I spoke at events - on design leadership at AND Digital, online with Rise and Design about how to understand what customers want and on compassionate leadership at a Women in Leadership event.
And of course, there were things I pushed for and didn’t get this year like a promotion at work, a key research project I tried my damnedest to initiate didn’t happen and I faced redundancy for a second time in 18 months. I’d planned to write more in ’24 and that didn’t happen, neither did the Couch to 5k that I set out to do and my husband’s threatened to sell the cold water pod so many times, as I’ve stalled on the daily dips, too. But still, I’m confident that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. And those things were just not right for me, then. That’s not to say they will never be right for me, ever.
Looking ahead.
So, in 2025, I’m planning on:
Moving more - be that running, more yoga or dancing in my kitchen
Dipping more - because dipping in cold water at 6am will be the most difficult thing I’ll do all day and it makes me feel superhuman when I’ve done it
Writing more - I read 30 books in 2024, how might I turn that focus on output rather than input? Of course, acknowledging that the input might take a hit in 2025 - but so be it, as is the dance of life.
The post by Coauthor’s AI bot used one of Shunryu Suzuki’s quotes that I share frequently about there being many possibilities in the beginners mind compared to only a few in the experts’. However, I think this year has reminded me of another one of my faves - don’t push the river, it flows by itself.
And again, that’s not a ‘do nothing’ approach to life - that’s an acknowledgment that you can’t control everything; sometimes you need to be in your lazy river era and others you need to get your face in the water and front crawl with all you’ve got. The art is in knowing when you need to do one or the other.
Here’s to 2025.