Lindsay Miles-Pickup
Anna Burrowes
There are three types of people. The few who know, at 16, what they want to be when they grow up and retire having done just that. Those who, upon retirement, look back and can connect all the dots and say yes, of course, it all led here (although that could just be hindsight bias). And then there are the people who look back on their career paths and think, I have no clue how it all fits together but I sure have enjoyed the ride. Yours truly (BIG’s new Methods Specialists, Lindsay Miles-Pickup and Anna Burrowes) fall into that final category. Although, in our defense, ‘Methods Specialist’ isn’t exactly on the career list provided by high school guidance counsellors.
So, how did we end up here? Well… after 25+ jobs, in 10+ countries, in eight+ industries, four degrees and two Advanced Certificates in Behavioural Insights! We don’t want to give you the impression that we are desultory or aimless. It’s that we both have so many interests and passions it has been hard to pick just one! From supporting seniors and developing arts and culture programs to reducing wartime violence against children and creating better entrepreneurship opportunities for farmers – we have grown our skills in many different sectors. However, regardless of the industry or role, a common thread has been our passion for creating programs and services that support individuals and groups to improve their well-being. Behavioural insights teaches us that how we feel and our environments can influence our decisions in ways that don’t optimize our well-being, despite our best intentions. And this is what led us to behavioural insights. We are each drawn to the way behavioural insights uses research from psychology, cognitive science, social science, user-centred design, and systems thinking to help us understand how we make decisions and implement services, programs, and policies to increase well-being.
We both feel very fortunate to have landed at the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG). Anna on a Temporary Assignment and Lindsay in a permanent role she swears she’ll never leave – which, given her predilection to explore new things (see above), says a lot about how much she loves her job. The great thing about this role is that we have the opportunity to apply behavioural insights to challenges across a wide range of topics, from health to environmental sustainability to goats – yes, goats! Meaning we are constantly learning and exploring new topics, perfect for two ‘career butterflies’.
Despite our meandering paths to BC BIG, we are confident that our passion for behavioural insights and our broad range of skills and interests will allow us to support the creation of meaningful and supportive programs and services across the BC Public Service. To learn more about us or our work at BC BIG, please visit our website or e-mail us.