I was working with a person a few weeks ago who was applying for a new role following the unexpected close of her place of work. There is more and more news about company closures in Ireland although the unemployment level remains at a very low level. And this can be a tough time for those affected. It can also open up new opportunities. I expect that most people feel some degree of fear when redundancies are announced, no matter their outlook. #mindset #managingchange
I expect that most people feel some degree of fear when redundancies are announced, no matter their outlook.
She had done a good job in her role, been reliable, met her sales targets and got on well with her colleagues. The company has a hard earned reputation for being family orientated, and has carved out a market for themselves here. #workculture
So, she was upset when the unexpected news came to her, the colleagues had done a good job, met their targets and dealt well with any new circumstance during her time there. A decision was made and that was that, there would be lay-offs and a business closure. #businesslife
There was a possibility of a different role in another side of the business in the same city and this role would be hotly contested. A chance, an opportunity to stay in employment in an enjoyable place to work, generate an income, and grow. #careerchoice #selfdevelopment
When we started to look at the opportunity and challenge, because now it’s a competition, we landed on competitive advantage. There is one place and 4-5 people going for it, each with own talents and merits. And a point of differentiation, she was low on experience having only worked in the company for a shorter period of time that others who would be applying for the role. #loyalty #experience #careercoach
So how to compete? She was nervous, unsure, though she has a natural confidence and is usually at ease amongst people. In her job her sales numbers were strong. We looked at that. And decided to approach the interview playing to her strengths. Interviews are about performing to
your strengths. #likeability
Knowing where she couldn’t compete and where she could, was key. I was looking for a way to depict the connection between competency and likeability and I had found this chart on Linked-In #linkedin, and we worked with it.
That she was prepared for the interview was important, that she was confident in stepping forward was important too, as was her ability to find a way to compete, though on the surface it may have seemed that the odds were against her. Her motto going into the interview was
I’m going to make it as hard as I can for them to say “no” to me
When I first heard Shane MacGowan he was with The Pogues and they were on The Late Late Show with The Dubliners. I loved The Dubliners so I sat back and listened because I was allowed stay up late for the 25th Anniversary Celebration. Then I came upon his albums, and I loved the screaming and the bad language and the rhythm. And then I listened carefully. Many didn’t like The Pogues. The songs and the band’s style were seen as an affront to common decency. At least two generations of people have passed on since then and in trad music strongholds at the time, such my own homeplace County Clare, the voices were loud and not complimentary.
Back in the mid 90’s I visited Shane’s parents for a project I was doing. She loaned me her copy of this book of Shane’s songs. It was signed by Shane. This is my own copy
Over the past few days many nice things have been said about Shane, even going back as far as receiving national recognition from Michael D in The National Concert Hall at his 60th birthday celebration. However, I can vividly remember a time where he was the subject to criticism for his appearance, his personal habits and he was seen to have wasted his talents.
My favorite singers; Luke, Ronnie and Shane on my wall at hom
So what changed in the meantime, after all we haven’t heard any significant new musical output since 1997’s Crock of Gold album? I think what changed was that his songs – and not to overlook that he had brilliant musicians behind him, highly talented musicians – began to be sang in social events and gatherings in the much the same way as Spancill Hill, The Fields of Athenry, or The Wild Rover, the folk songs that are part of any gathering that involves a singsong. Everyone knows at least some of the words and there’s comfort in familiarity. And they are covered regularly by other musicians.
It takes time for new songs to become part of culture, and it is rare that we can put a songwriter’s name to these songs. We don’t know who wrote so many folk songs, The Clancys, The Dubliners, The Woman’s Heart gang, Mary Coughlan or Paddy Reilly may well have interpreted them and kept them to the fore, but these songs seemed to have just been handed down through the years.
In Shane’s case he was alive during our time, we could see him on the telly, or he may turn up and play a song at a gig we’re at. It’s special when the song writer who also sings the songs is alive while the songs seeped into lore. Pete St John, Mick Hanly, Christy Hennessy, Paul Brady are other examples. So, there has to be something else. The something else, in my opinion, is that Shane crossed boundaries and stuck to his guns. He gave us a new dimension to our heritage by telling us that when it comes to folk songs there is room for everyone, regardless of accent, demeanour, appearance or predilection. So when the young lad arrives in home raving about music – it’s a great time for that young person.
Folk songs belong to the people and are there to be sang by the people. It may explain why so many people were touched to hear the news of his passing.
“Though I’m going way and I may never return here, there is always one thing I will keep within me, deep in my heart a furious devotion to the love of old Ireland and to mother mo chroi”
Walking through the gate at Shane’s relations’ home place at Carney Commons Summer 2023
For a very long time, I’ve wanted to find a way to give expression to how organizations can enhance loyalty in their business development plans for those who value creativity.
After almost twenty five years, last week I met a friend who I met during the early days of our careers. He is now a CEO and has a very successful career which will leave an enduring legacy in his locality creating employment while promoting new technologies.
Afterwards it struck me that we were not only colleagues at one time, but our friendship had at its core, music. If you play music or are interested in it, it is an expression of creativity. There are many other forms, but as it’s my favourite, I’ll stick with music in this blog. His career choice gave him abundant access to creativity.
When we first met in the workplace, we fell into conversation and music came up, as it does when you’re brought up to love music. He liked folk and punk music and so did I. We both still do. We enjoyed listening to musicians who went against the grain and spoke up about important things like social justice, romance, love and the less trodden path.
From those I’ve met, those people have a musical background, like the sound and the fluency of sound and it invigorates them. They are spiritual non-conformists and when they enter the structured workplace they then operate in an environment that does not always accommodate that form of creativity. This is particularly the case in large organizations (#corporatelife) where there can be a larger degree of structure than there often is in smaller companies or Small Medium Enterprises (#SME). Larger companies with offices and factories and centres all over the world need a higher degree of conformity to support their brands and to copper-fasten the reputation they have worked so hard to establish. They work hard to have a local culture under the overall corporate banner. (#inclusivity)
Artistically creative people are often smart, clever, in tune with the written or spoken word and they learn to curtail their passion in order to sate a specific need (paying the bills) and companies benefit from this. But the question arises, how do these people and how do companies get the right balance? It’s very rare to find to a song about gross margin, Return on Investment, or shareholder satisfaction, let alone imagining that it could be enjoyable.
People who love music – and music can be anything to anyone – enjoy the themes within the music. My favourite type are those that tell stories about the underdog or about love. So then, for example, how can you empathize about the underdog or express love when there are millions of dollars of revenue on the line or when your team is working hard to keep the organization together at a challenging time?
What if there was a cohort of people dutifully performing their tasks to a high standard and weren’t fully able to express their views, be forthright, and while having a holistic understanding of the need for business and the need for profit, they get tired or disillusioned but at the same time are smart enough to put on the mask of contentment and motivation. Doesn’t that sound tough? They create trade-offs. Duty and responsibility vs the traditions of self-expression. They adjust their language and their dialect, such is their talent.
There is a strong tradition of music in many countries around the world. Ireland has a deeply embedded culture of music; traditional, folk, country and western and rock music (and others). #folkmusic
All these people with creativity, with talent with a dulled voiced. High performing people, in a confined workplace. The kicker is, most of these people have very little interest in wealth, they have more of an interest in society and the possibilities of talent. They are interested in people. They are perfect workers, they have a high work ethic and they understand values like loyalty, creativity, kindness, fun, expression and empathy.
I watch Curfa on TnaG (#TG4). It’s a show where choirs get to showcase their talents. The HSE (#HSE) in Ireland is subject to high profile scrutiny in the media. The provision of health services is a life and death one. High stakes.
In this TV show, they sang together brilliantly. Those workers are under pressure to meet customer expectations with low levels of recognition nationally. From a public perspective are simply not performing. My own personal experience has been a positive one so far.
It was terrific to see them sing together; a natural stress buster for them and an opportunity to see the HSE through a different lens. It was brilliant. (#stressmanagement)
In one sense music is a past time, it’s entertainment, and if you’ve enough talent – go and be a musician. It’s not like that with music or having an artistic flair. It can be important without having any talent to play an instrument or write a lyric. We can pay passing glances to the message and talent of the musician and not everyone enjoys music in the way that many do. But why overlook that natural part of peoples’ lives? #diversityintheworkplace
I know someone who has a young daughter. She is highly talented artistically and academically with a deep conviction about women’s rights and social justice. She plays the piano and sings for her own pleasure. She has a handle on maths and science and has an easy way about her when it comes to dealing with people.
She studies and has as a part time job, where she excels as a young salesperson. She is torn between continuing to understand and contribute to the advancement of women’s rights in society, but is afraid that after all her efforts she wont be able to pay her bills and life in humble comfort. How can she generate an income to support herself in life?
Could she work in a manufacturing, in a services environment, and work her way up to be a manager or a director, or VP? – absolutely, unequivocally she has the talent, the work ethic and natural leadership characteristics. But she’s so reluctant, would she find an outlet for that creativity within a company culture. She is taking the time to work the trade-offs and the pros and cons. She is anxious. The allure of the dollar is strong. Where is the balance? Soul vs practicality.
Self-awareness, trust and standing by your convictions are key. #selfawareness
What advice would a career coach (#careercoach) give to someone who has these sensibilities at any stages of their careers:
· Recognize creativity as an important value and as a source of enjoyment for you.
· If your role doesn’t give you sufficient latitude to express your creativity then find an outlet – it can often happen that talented people go from one fire fight to the next in the workplace requiring long hours and deep stakeholder engagement – this can limit the available time for artistic flair in the evening or weekends. Time will eventually be available. Having patience and having a purpose helps.
· Dissonance between your natural talents and your role can give rise to stress and upset. Recognize that and find different outlets for your talents.
· We can find creativity in all our roles, it’s a matter of identifying the value of creativity and serving it.
· Good leaders will give you the opportunity to find an outlet, poor one’s wont. Identify and explore that #strongleadership
· Work your trade-offs. What am I trading off and is it worth it?
· Loyalty to yourself is key, and there are many outlets for creativity
And for companies:
· Many people are brilliant at steering between the lines and enjoy straightforward routine, others get drained from it eventually. Promotions or role changes often act as a temporary fix for them.
· All companies want their colleagues to find fulfilment in their roles, be motivated and contribute to society. #motivation#careerfulfillment
· Your leaders should be able to develop their skills to identify creative talent and nurture that that in some way. I had a boss once who would push me into areas such as marketing and community engagement even though my role was in procurement. I could accommodate my own role and take on new tasks in areas I had a flair for. It was a great way to sate my value of creativity and it was fun and enjoyable. It was a highly enjoyable part of my career. He was an insightful guy. It worked worked for me and for the company #strongleadership
· Those with an artistic leaning or value have an inbuilt flexibility to adjust and adapt within organizations as long as there’s an incentive and the incentive doesn’t always have to effect financial performance #costcontainment
When IBEC published its report this month showing the findings of their survey with industry leaders one of their key findings was on staff retention.
Cultivating talent from within or retaining talent that have been developed is one of the key challenges facing all industries in Ireland. The cost of living will drive certain behaviour and the survey also showed that employers expect to pass wage increases to their staff in 2024.
For companies with a Global presence and have sufficient margins passing on increases isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Every company, large and small, has their financial model and a budget that allows them to allocate their resources accordingly. They have to be disciplined and work within their own guidelines.
For Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) that challenge can be even more acute. Often large multi-national companies offer other benefits that are beyond the reach of SME’s financially and these can be looked at covetously by those in the SME sector when making decisions about their careers. Ireland has a competitive marketplace when it comes to talent and has a highly educated and skilled work-force. The economy has grown so much since the economic crash of 2008/9 that more and more people are coming to live here to fill the talent gaps.
Money can only be one piece of the motivation pie for professionals. Yes, bills need to be paid, and it’s reasonable to expect that we should all have a few bob in our pockets to go to a match or a concert when we want to.
What other motivations could there be especially for those working in SME’s currently?
The Multinational sector in Ireland could not exist without SME’s – local suppliers with expertise and skin in the game have the agility and flexibility that comes from having a small team with a strong customer focus
When working in SME’s the pace of learning is accelerated because there’s more to be done and there are easier insights to other departments and other customers
Feeling successful can come more readily from being part of a small team solving complicated issues.
Usually in an SME, the visionary behind the company is the Leader/Managing Director – and his/her team gets daily contact to learn first hand on how to handle issues. These become life-skills. There’s a connection with the Leader.
We learn about responsibility and how to manage it on behalf of the company and its owner.
There is usually more autonomy to be creative and get the job done.
So there are downsides to working for an SME, like every other industry sector, but sometimes the downsides are over-emphasised and this can effect staff retention at SME’s.
In casual conversation I’ve often heard people say – I loved working there in that small company, I wonder should I have left.
Far away fields are often greener until we land on our feet. Money isn’t always the primary motivation then if staff are moving on there may be other issues worth exploring and taking the time within the SME community to figure these out may help improve staff retention.
Coaching is a very effective way to get a handle on what you want most from your career.
At an event I presented at recently, a member of the audience raised a point about how the means of communication had evolved so quickly over the last ten or fifteen years. It resonated with me. Where once relationships were formed around the table, deals were made, disagreements thrashed out and results achieved. Now, it’s different. Many people prefer texts, e-mails, or messenger rather than chatting on the phone or meeting in person. The point was made that things had changed and many were finding this difficult to adjust to….even after all this time.
I can remember when the RiM Blackberry was in vogue, popular and very effective. Suddenly we could email from the airport, at home, in the cafe, or at the side of the pitch when there was a match on at any hour of the day or night. It was an effective way to deal with matters as they arose in Asia or West Coast USA where there is a significant time zone difference. It helped with relationships. Meetings were commonplace as were phone calls too with others in our same time zone.
We can often think or assume that e-mail, text and so on is here to stay and that there is no room for “the olden ways”. There was some frustration and even a little despair in the person’s voice as he said “that’s the way people are”.
And a generation has grown up with a smart phone in their hands. For some of us – we’re known as “middle aged :0)” – we were brought up with looking across the table and chewing the fat, where you thought on your feet, and made your point. And we dealt with the slings and arrows of dispute and disagreement to find a common ground.
There are cultural differences that come to the fore in communication, and personality types too, there’s time as well , and some people are more comfortable with the written word.
Often it can be more comforting to communicate in the written word. We have time to chose our words, think through the topic and assess on potential consequences. Fear comes into play a lot, when relationships are going through a tricky period or when the pressure is on. Irrational fear is the big enemy of progression.
Some simple approaches to consider if you are responsible for third party engagements, in a procurement or supply chain role.
Allow others to get to know you. If you can get results from speaking and dealing with people in person then create that environment. It can be useful to put a short reminder in your calendar to make a phone call to specific people/or companies and share the news of the day. Find out a little about the person and chat about it. We can give short updates too about how business has been. In this way we’re informing others that we value the personal touch and we can create room for relationship development. It makes it easier then for them to call back.
Be conscious about your approach. If we are in a position when we mostly pick up the phone or call a meeting when there is an issue, then when your number comes up on the recipient’s phone, it’s likely to give rise to an attitude of “here’s trouble, I better get my ducks lined up” – in a professional way.
In most successful companies, engagement is desirable. Friendly professionalism enhances a company’s reputation. We are approachable, we listen, we’re friendly and this doesn’t have to lower our standards of professional performance.
If your preferred way of doing business is having a nice balance of personal engagement in your working day, then you can let this be known by your action and approach. Not everyone will come along, but many will.
Adapting to the written word as the primary means of communication takes time and effort. We have to shift our mindset to accommodate this, so we can learn this too by developing our own style and accepting that this is change and a skill that can be developed.
When there’s emails with lengthy mailing lists with various levels of seniority, it can be difficult to know who’s responsible and who’s accountable, but what we can do is pick up the phone to our counterpart and have a chat. It becomes easier and easier, once you don’t give up.
Company culture is big factor. When you look around are most people hunched over their laptops? No matter what pressure or deadlines are there most people welcome an authentic “how are you getting on?” Many people have the view that unless they “look busy” they will be labelled negatively. Getting on with people forges better teams.
I used to have very senior person who would call to my office and I see him coming would make it my business to have my facts and figures ready so that I could assure him that I was on top of my portfolio. I would usually blurt them out after a few minutes. After a while, it dawned on me that he just wanted a chat, to talk about sport, family, the industry. So I would approach this differently. He knew I was on my game, he just wanted to chat, and he probably wanted some down time from the challenges on his plate. By my own style I’d let it be known that I was friendly and approachable, it’s just it took me a while to remember to be myself.
I was working and chatting with a client earlier this week. A young mom with two young kids who has a lot going on and is also looking at her career. She’s qualified, proven, and has lots of talent. When there’s so much on, it’s hard for her to keep a handle on things. She can’t help caring and gets a kick out of helping others, though she’s not a person who sets out “to help.” It’s a natural characteristic for her.
She is strong-willed and of course gets afraid and all those natural feelings.
When looking at one’s career, it’s important to be both positive and realistic. The comment “anyone can do that” is true, but it comes down to a matter of how well they can do it. In a sense, I’m sure I could drive a rocket – someone could show me how to get into the rocket and what buttons to press – but it would most likely crash or not take off, and that would be expensive.
Fairness is an admirable attribute to possess. It signifies possessing a just and equitable perspective. It is crucial, however, to maintain a well-rounded understanding of fairness, encompassing the idea of non-discrimination and impartiality. This extends to treating oneself fairly as well, considering past accomplishments and the ability to learn and adapt. Equally important is maintaining fair expectations.
When we start at this point of having a handle on that, then we can move forward, ready to deal with the challenges of a career change. Simple, realistic, and attainable goals which we can progress towards in a measured way, where we can deal with setbacks and progress in equal measure.
In 2023 there is a lot of choice when it comes to career options in Ireland, especially when compared to the 1970’s (the decade in which I was born) and for several decades after. In this small open economy, joining the EEC in 1973 was one of the transformative steps in our economic development. Ireland’s economy is export-led, so we need markets. http://www.cso.ie
It is the third largest island in Europe and has a population of 5.01 million people, the first time it has reached that level since 1851.
Overall, the consensus is that the employment market in general provides, more choice. Record unemployment levels (though one of the quirks of a Small Open Economy with a low corporate tax rate, means that can change at short notice), and a well-educated workforce gives options and choice.
The traditional indigenous industry stars, agriculture and tourism are growing though the poor weather has hurt the tourist industry this year.
The food and drink industries http://www.anbordbia.ie with agriculture as the cornerstone are forging on.
Add to that late 20th century developments in IT and between indigenous and foreign companies, we’re in a better place. Successive governments have espoused the need to improve on “high-end” jobs; biotech, pharma, IT.
The public sector has some strife, rising inflation, budgetary pressures, and conditions mean that vital services are going through some challenges. All these services, once functioning optimally, are vital to the citizens of this country.
As an island nation, surrounded by water; the Atlantic ocean, and the Irish Sea, sourcing products and services is vital. We are not a self-sustaining nation.
The old adage “I’d rather be looking at it (inventory) than looking for it (supply)” holds a place in our psyche. And that age old debate between financial targets, liabilities, market fluctuations on commodity prices and continuity of supply continues in every forward thinking company and organization. No-one wants to call their customer and say “we don’t have it”, or equally report poor financial performance because of bloated inventories/obsolesce, or lose market share because of a lack of competitiveness caused by a weak contracting strategy.
The supply chain is critical for Ireland as are partnerships. Agents, brokers, and distributors can take on de facto ownership for the supply of imported items and put logistics solutions in place on our behalf. China, USA, mainland Europe are logistically getting closer but there are always risks.
Ireland in 2023 has some very positive indicators and fundamental, and yet still many risks.
Careers in procurement and supply chain, though gaining a greater sense of importance, since the Covid pandemic are important careers and very worthwhile getting involved in.
Yes, technology has made some tasks more efficient and new procurement models have gradually streamlined markets, but relationships are key. Ireland is in the process of centralizing public procurement at a national level. For every €5 spent in Ireland, €1 of this is spent by public authorities. While this re-organization is happening, the business will need to continue, just like many other organizations – the show must go on.
Handy tools to have when working in supply chain/procurement in addition to the various technical skills
A sense of perspective
An understanding that there’s risk and it needs to be managed – fixed if possible, but, if not…manage it
A grasp of the fundamentals of the relevant commodity market
Hobbies when you need to de-stress
A sense of serving
Friendliness
Well-formed values (there’s money at play)
Numeracy skills
An island nation, needs a high performing sustainable supply chain function.
Understanding and appreciating different personality styles can greatly enhance our ability to build rapport and engage with others effectively. I would often wonder and frankly be a little perplexed as to how some of my peers and colleagues could “get away” with things in the workplace.
When it’s cloudy we don’t see everything
In one role I had my boss was interested in detail so every time we would have a work related topic I knew to give him facts, figures, supporting evidence and DETAIL. Most of the meetings would go well, and there were others like him in that working culture. It was a fast moving business so I guess, looking back, there was need for action quickly. Take the facts and move.
When I moved to a different industry, it was quite an experience for me to go to my first high-level meeting and take the same, tried and trusted approach. I didn’t get the outcome I wanted for the business. I had done the same level of research and analysis before the meeting and presented my information clearly but I tripped up early on. What happened? What happened was I hadn’t taken the time to adjust. This new boss has a different style (though I hadn’t been aware of that at the time); he wanted a chat, to settle in and to have a conversation. I wanted to present…..
I watched another colleague make a presentation later on and I thought he was unprepared, so I braced for more challenging moments. I knew he hadn’t done much data gathering. What he had done though was he had focussed on engaging in the meeting. He took a conversational approach, he gave descriptions and talked about the market environment. He shared anecdotes. He flavoured his contribution with humour. In other words, he made the key decision makers comfortable and gave them time to get a feel for the challenge that needed to be taken on. Here are some further tips and useful hints to keep in mind,
No judgment: Recognize that there is no inherent superiority or inferiority associated with different personality styles. Each style brings unique strengths and preferences to the table.
Academic qualifications and technical expertise: While academic qualifications and technical expertise are important, they are not the sole determinants of success. Strengthening rapport with others is crucial for holistic engagement and can benefit both individuals and organizations.
The power of storytelling: Some individuals, like my former colleague, excel at building rapport through storytelling and creativity. They can engage others through describing people, problems, and potential solutions. Understanding and appreciating this approach can help you see the value in different communication styles.
Facts and figures: On the other hand, some individuals, like myself, rely on data, facts, figures, and analysis to influence others. Appreciate the importance of your analytical approach and the value it brings to those who prefer a more detail-oriented style.
Balancing approaches: In a high-performing environment, it’s important to recognize and balance different communication and decision-making styles. By understanding the preferences and strengths of each style, you can tailor your approach to effectively engage with decision makers and stakeholders.
So what did I do? I have my own personality style, just like we all do. I adjusted to the environment. I did my analysis, and my forensics but I learned to slow down, to alter my pace and instead of potentially overwhelming folks with data I learned to segue information into discussions, so that I could bring people with me.
The clouds can lift when you take into consideration that we all have different personality styles
Awareness and adaptability: Developing an awareness of your colleagues’ personality styles can help you adjust your communication style accordingly. This doesn’t mean surrendering your own style, but rather finding a common ground that fosters collaboration and builds trust.
Respect for differences: Remember that having a different personality style than your colleagues does not make them better or worse. Embrace the diversity of styles and recognize that each one contributes to a well-rounded team.
By incorporating these tips and hints into your interactions, you can foster better relationships, collaborate more effectively, and ultimately achieve success both individually and collectively.
So, the expressive style works well with
Regular engagement and follow up (as they mull ideas over)
Change is constant and unavoidable in every industry and when we have a vision or a sense that something could be better, a metric improved, a relationship turned around, or a way of working optimised, what can we do to make that change happen?
Having worked in a variety of industries, each one moving at different paces, with different business models, and different cultures, all of whom were highly customer focussed, there are a few things I learned that held through across all the business. The means by which each company got there was different but they all got there and drove the business on. In these companies the margins were very different at both the lower and higher end of the scale.
As individuals within those teams our role is to contribute, lead, facilitate and make contributions to impact to the bottom line. And how can we keep that goal of changing a process in front of us as the day to day challenges arise and take our attention?
Facilitation – creating a structure making it easier for people to collaborate
Day to day challenges arise and take our attention, but only temporarily. The objective is the objective and that is our overall focus for the week/month/quarter/year. This is what leaders do.
Central is that everyone knows their role and conducts their duties efficiently and on-time. This one is key. Everyone knows their role.
Everyone is important but the key people are those who not only know their role, but they know the business or are SME’s. What does that mean? It means they’re battle-hardened, knowledgeable and experienced. They’re not afraid to ask the questions and are willing to take on the response when the question is asked.
The strength of job descriptions these days is that they usually contain a statement like “or other activities as required”. I’d take this as a statement that organizations want you to be interested and to give constructive opinion. And what’s more to be ready to not just be a commentator.
They’re the basic building blocks. In real life converting that into achievement takes skill and support and critically an ability to influence and work together. Each year most companies lay down their goals and objectives. These goals are tied to their mission statement and their vision. Some of the biggest changes take time and sometimes we can only take baby steps, but if we don’t start we don’t get there. Some of the most longstanding and beneficial changes have come about with specific intent. Specific intent is powerful. Intent with the right people can go a long way.
Let me give you a simple example. I spent many years working on cost models and projections. Doing this can be a really time consuming task, or a straightforward one. In each case the model I took on would consume weeks’ of work, gather data, creating projections, reviewing variations, analysing past performance, giving presentations, loads of stakeholder engagement and taking input and giving feedback. It was time for change. A good process but it was clunky and time consuming.
So what four steps were beneficial:
Having the intent to change and improve
A willingness to take on extra work in the short term so that the future would be different
Influencing others to show that an improvement in this area would benefit the business in terms of time, accuracy and focussing on the items that would bring “greatest bang for you buck”
How did this change align with the company goal of meeting a financial target? The creation of a new model through collaboration and gave everyone had a clearer sight on financial performance and gave rise to actionable items in order to hit the goal before it was too late.
In real life converting that into achievement takes skill and support and critically an ability to influence and work together.
When we start out on our careers, it may not fully sink in, but we need to take time to adjust. In the best companies, you’ll hear the phrase “you’ll get there, keep going”, and training and mentoring is provided for development purposes.
For many, we find ourselves in the ideal career where our skills and talents can be developed at the right pace for us and we work alongside like-minded people. When this happens, it’s a great feeling; we are paid a salary commensurate with our qualifications, we live within a reasonable distance from the job, we get on well with our colleagues and enjoy a decent work/life balance. This is the ideal scenario; role/colleagues/company are an ideal match.
It can happen that the stars don’t line up for us and one or two pieces of the jigsaw may not fit. We may have financial aspirations that the role doesn’t provide for, or we may have an uneasy relationship with one or more of our colleagues, or our role is too complicated for us at that stage of our career, or we have private circumstances that require energy and attention, so it’s difficult to find the right balance
So, what to do? How to make sense of it all? It can happen that work friendships are formed where we can share ideas and opinions in a trustworthy way, it can also happen that we fall in with folks who are not being genuine, for whatever reason. Often, in my experience, it’s the case that we move in circles in work where there are happy, loyal, committed, motivated, helpful and focussed colleagues who share our interests in life and we can blend in easily. We reciprocate those characteristics and challenges are overcome routinely. Ups and downs, yes, but there are common interests and they get us through the tough days. And of course, we can chat through the experiences when we get home with friends and family. Many people either over talk these topics and many others can’t put words on what they feel, not because they’re not eloquent or wordy, it’s just the words don’t come out.
A lot of people though like to figure out things by themselves; those who others may call independent people, those who back their own instincts and their first port of call is; “whatever happens I’ll figure it out.”
As our professions and careers matter to us we want to get the most from them. Many people come to a point in their careers where the view is “I’ll just pick up my pay-check and my pension is a year closer, it’s grand.” That view doesn’t work for others though. Both views are equally valid, equally real.
I was in a coaching meeting recently when I was told, “it’s the peoples’ role to motivate themselves, motivation is a personal responsibility”. “Fine”, I said, “but it’s your role not to demotivate them.” Coaches don’t sugar-coat it.
So, what can we do, to give ourselves a good chance at fulfilling a significant part of our professional potential whether we’re starting out or at a more advanced stage? We can read a lot about people who express the view that “as long as we dream it, we will achieve it”, which is fair enough but I’d be sceptical of that assertion as a stand-alone view point. Laying in bed dreaming about running the 100 meters in less than 10 seconds isn’t going to happen by just laying in bed. It requires action and there are other factors too.
Steps that do work through are:
Having an informed and balanced view of self-care
Having healthy past-times that give you down-time
Cultivating friendships with like-minded people…befriending yourself is a pretty good starting point.
Allowing yourself to rest (not just your body, but your mind too)
Facts and analysis first, then reach a conclusion and plan.
When we have these in place, I find that we can move better and engage our minds to do what it’s intended to do, to put structure and clarity to how you feel. We can reduce the amount of over-analysis and we get a better view of what we want. From this point we move to a decision.
There’s a lovely folk song written years ago by the Australian songwriter Eric Bogle, it’s called “Now I’m easy”. In the song he lists all the challenges he experienced, and as he’s coming to the evening of his life, he looks back and says;
“This country’s dust and mud has seen my tears and blood
But its’ nearly over now, and now I’m easy”
He reflects back to say to himself “I did my best”. Within it, I get the impression that he knew how to look out for himself, and he got the most he could get out of what he had. He was an Australian farmer who experienced all the ups and down of raring a family, suffering loss, feeling marginalised and keeping going. The unfortunate part of it is that it was only in the embers of his life that he arrived at “I’m easy”.
“Being easy”, during the afternoon or morning of our lives is a very real possibility.