My Professional Adventure…or, What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

Any mention of my professional story has to begin with my first job which was working in my father’s gas station. This job mostly involved taking money from customers, pumping gas at the full service area, and answering the question of, “Why the hell is gas so expensive here?” (and that was in the mid 80s). Did I like it? No. So why did I do it? Good question. I think it was the best option I had which didn’t involve sweatily flipping burgers, sweatily holding a stop/slow sign, or not as sweatily stocking produce.

But, what it did was show me in a most profound way the impact that unsoulful and unmeaningful work can have on a person. You could see this impact in the eyes of my father who was never truly happy in his work and felt hopeless and helpless to change course. His situation fueled a fire in me to never settle for a life of work lacking purpose.

And so I searched and explored, all the while discovering more about myself and my own possibilities. I pursued an undergraduate degree in history at Guilford College (go Fighting Quakers) thinking I might be an academic, a high school teacher, or a museum curator. It didn’t take long to figure out that no matter how much I loved history, none of these professional options were going to fit. So after graduation (and a few shattering experiences in job interviews), I went to work in retail and tried my hand working in the kitchen of a restaurant. None of these proved satisfying, either.

All roads eventually led to Washington, DC and the non-profit sector. I found an aptitude for membership development where I could apply my previous service experiences working with customers. For ten years, I worked with small and large professional associations helping them change their structures, processes, and philosophies for building engaging member relationships. My success was founded largely on incorporating concepts from diverse sources like industrial design, classic systems thinking, and the latest business concepts.

During this time, my fascination with leadership development took off. I became a passionate student of great leadership and management principles and practices. I eventually became chair of my professional association’s Emerging Leaders Council and later won a scholarship to study leadership thinking at the Banff Centre in Canada.

After a while, I realized that hoarding all of this knowledge, insight, and experience didn’t seem right and decided that one way to share it was to become a career and leadership coach. My preparation included the completion of 120 hours of coaching training through the Coaches Training Institute.

In 2004, I founded Bailey WorkPlay with the mandate to help folks integrate the principles of the soulful workplace, leadership, and relationships into day-to-day business practices.

After spending a decade in the go-go-go hyperdrive environment of Washington, DC, I’m now a proud resident of Austin, Texas.

As For My Personal Life

On the homefront, I am a devoted husband and partner to a wonderful wife, Caroline. She is a loving example of how important it is to have someone who believes in you and who stands by you, even when you are in the oft-scary process of wandering. I am also the proud father of two spunky, spirited girls. It’s because of my children that I believe strongly in pursuing work that matters and is exciting. One of the legacies that I want to create for my girls is for them to know that work CAN be a joyful experience. And I can’t forget to include our family’s rambunctious boston terrier couple, Calvin and Lily. With this family, it’s never a dull moment…and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

More About Me

Here’s the original 100+ Things You May Not Know about me…