The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

JUNE 1st!!!

It seems like only 2 minutes since it was January 1 but here we are, half way through the year already.

It’s not been a bad 6 months for me so far, but I’m most excited about the next 6 months.

So much is – hopefully – going to happen.

From the amazing work we have on the table, to the holiday we’re going on to celebrate Jill’s big birthday, to finally starting my teaching at MIT, to officially starting The Kennedys … there’s a bunch of stuff for me to look forward to as we enter the second half of the year.

In fact the only downsides I can see are that it is my birthday in 12 days [because I doubt there’s a Raleigh Grifter waiting for me, let alone anything requiring wifi] and Otis will be hitting 2, which means he won’t be eligible for free flights anymore.

[Unless you’re willing to help me Lee. Cough Cough, Splutter Splutter]

Given how hard 2015 was for me last year, I needed this – but part of it is also because at the beginning of the year, I made a conscious decision to get back to some of the standards that have always served me well … standards that I had allowed to become a bit diluted as my mind focused on the terrible loss of my Mum.

Now I appreciate this post comes across as one massive humble brag – it’s not meant to be, but I suppose it is – but the real purpose of it is the importance of excitement.

Sure, you can argue a lot of it is down to your attitude towards life – and I agree with that – but it cannot be denied that the environment you live in has a lot to do with the attitude you develop.

I was – and am – fortunate that I have been continually supported by my parents, my wife and my friends.

It was only when I was older that I realised how fortunate I am to have this.

And it is this realisation that led me to my ‘management approach’.

I know the word ‘management’ and me sound ridiculous, but for some reason I’m in a semi-position of power and what has been massively important to me is to ensure my team can look forward with excitement.

That doesn’t mean I’ll pay for them to have holidays or buy them presents – though I do ensure they always have their holidays and they can rob me blind with coffee purchases – but it is about giving them a plan where they continually are given the space to explore, challenge and be challenged as well as the client opportunities that help them grow as well as shine.

Now of course you need to ask them if I’m full of shit or not, but as I’ve said many times, I see my job as helping members of my team to end up in situations where they get offered better opportunities than they ever could have imagined – opportunities where they have been chosen as much for who they are as it is what they do – and central to that is ensuring they believe the future is always more exciting than the past.

To do this requires a mixture of forward planning, clear objectives, undeniable support and big doses of tough love, but the reward you get is – hopefully – committed, loyal and more passionate colleagues who look at the future in terms of what they can do to shape it [and be shaped by it] than simply feeling work in one endless and relentless stream of monotony.

Of course it doesn’t always work out as you hoped, but my attitude is you can’t expect loyalty from your team if they don’t get it from you, which is why I believe that when you know the people who matter have your back it gives you the confidence to go further than you ever expected … and gives the people who had your back, a greater sense of reward and accomplishment than they ever could foresee.