Some people surprise me
I am curious to know what makes one person in an organization really stand out from the rest. As a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 10 years under my belt, I am constantly being reminded, if not surprised by the most interesting individuals in my team.
Today, I found out two things; the first is that I am not as bad as I thought when it comes to finding a solution to a problem and secondly, that if you give someone an opportunity, its the only way to see if they have the ability to shine or not.
As a person who is no stranger to having to pull up my sleeve, my first thoughts are always that I have to do it on my own - but I have something to share with you and it is that that is not always the case. In fact, if you reach out to your team and share your experiences and problems, they are usually the ones who come up with the solution that is best suited to your business or you personally. Your staff know you better than you think, and if you are delusional enough to think that by hiding in your office, that they don't, then you have a lot to learn.
I have been in Sydney for the last few days and I am so happy to experience the city that I love dearly, with my team. I usually waltz in and waltz out, within a day or two, and have my time so filled with meetings that I don't spend enough time getting to know the people around me.
We have a fairly big job to do this year and the only way we are going to achieve these goals are by working together as a team and knowing each others strengths and weaknesses. I have been engaging in our team and bringing them to meetings that normally I would not have and I have been pleasantly surprised by their contributions.
Take Nirmal, one of our web development and search engine optimisation specialists. He has been working with Marketing Eye for a couple of years and is always so polite and hardworking. The nature of his role is very much him working with a computer and not integrating too much with everyone else unless its to talk about SEO or website functionality. We have a finely tuned engine when it comes to website development and every single person who has a role does it to perfection.
I invited him into two meetings this week and both times he was a superstar. I am talking … major superstar. He spoke well, communicated what the solution was in an easy to understand manner and gave the client and myself confidence that he and his team can do some fairly substantial improvements to their website and help build their business.
Then there is Melissa. Its confusing having two Melissa's around of course and falling short of changing her name, we haven't a resolution other than Mellissah 1 and Melissa 2. Melissa is a newer staff member and she has undergone some fairly unusual induction situations and to be fair to her, had a situation that wasn't ideal in terms of a person that was on the team, that was best suited elsewhere.
Well, I came back and cleaned up the problem and immediately Melissa just got on with doing the job, being proactive and providing top-notch marketing consulting to our clients. She just needed a leader who believed in her and was there when she wanted to bounce ideas off. I have to say, she has been an incredible find and I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know her better.
So the theme of today is surprise in a very good way. I like these types of surprises, how about you?
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comment ( 1 )
Oleh Dubno
08 Jan 2014Hi Mellissah,
ReplyYour thoughts are employee centered, and I think that it’s an important variable that contributes towards productivity.
People are naturally driven to help each other and revealing your experiences and problems, to your employees, allows them to feel more connected. I believe that this requires a certain level of vulnerability from business leaders, to give their ear over to their employees, and allow the employees to be heard.
Thank you for the read. I enjoyed it thoroughly and it reminded me of why we have two ears and only one mouth.
Thank you,
Oleh