We have started the year working with a number of new customers in a variety of settings across New Zealand. What a privilege we have had meeting such passionate, focused people. They all want to do the best they can to create top quality outcomes for whatever or whoever they are involved with. We are experiencing people filled with passion, wanting to thrive in their work and in their lives. They are on a pathway of continuous improvement of themselves as individuals and as a team. This, in essence, is life-long learning.
We human beings are interesting animals. We are complex, dynamic and each of us unique. Through our drive to learn, improve, grow and make deeper, more positive meaning in our lives we often complicate so much that could be simple. Couple that with the demands of technology that have us available to others every minute of the day (and night). In fact, we can have several conversations each day with a number of people about that very thing – how busy we all are! When do we take time to think, to create, to reflect, time to disconnect and just be?
What we are learning as we work with groups is that there is a need for everyone to clearly identify their REAL WORK. Some of us can identify the key purpose of our organisation and the focus of our own role. However, if we kept a diary of our own actions over a month, what percentage of our time would we find focused on delivering these two elements? It is surprising what gets in the way.
Collaboration has become a buzz word of late. It isn’t a new concept, it is one that has been around as long as man has inhabited the earth. Collaboration does however call for being aware of one’s skills and strengths and being open to sharing these in a collaborative, not competitive manner. It calls for team work and compromise. How would it look if each of us could leverage off our own personal strength for the common good of the organisation and of course ourselves? If all our actions were aligned to our shared purpose, we would not only be focused and fulfilled but also be highly successful asa team.
Ask yourself, what percentage of your week is made up of your real work? How aware are your colleagues of their real work? How much duplication is happening? Do you devote regular and deliberate time to collaborate and share? Or are you all too busy? True collaboration and leveraging off strength will create high levels of job satisfaction, high quality delivery, superior outcomes and sustainability.
Enjoy the rest of February
Mary and Lab Wilson (the Bats Team)
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