"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." - Ralph Waldo Emerson"
Life is all about learning isn't it? From the moment we are conceived we begin to grow. The cells multiply, limbs and organs form and over the course of 9 months or so a baby grows and is born. An amazing miracle of life.
But it doesn't stop there....a baby is born and then grows....constantly learning....learning how to feed, how to communicate, how to hold things, to eat solid food, to roll over, crawl, walk and talk. It never stops....what about writing, reading, riding a bike, getting dressed by themselves.....I could keep going!!
How odd it would be if a child rode a bike with stabilisers and did that forever because they were so good at it. They'd never really need to take them off and learn how to ride the bike without them....but you don't see teenagers riding a bike with stabilisers do you???!!! Nope, once they can ride the bike with stabilisers the next thing is to be able to do it without stabilisers. And as they grow older they move on to scooters, motorbikes and cars!
It's all too easy to find a comfortable place in our lives where we just sit thinking that we've achieved enough, thinking we've reached the top of the game whether that is in our professional lives or otherwise. Being comfortable and confident, knowing we've achieved is a great place, but is it enough? Is it ok to stay there and not do anymore? Perhaps? Maybe for some people it is. However for others maybe it isn't......it's called aspiration isn't it? Wanting to achieve and to grow.
But what is this growth all about? Growing in knowledge? Gaining qualifications? Learning new skills?
I think it is more than just learning - I think it is about believing in yourself, about not giving up or giving in - to not be scared of challenges ahead and how they will change us.
What does it mean to you? Are you prepared to grow?
Friday, March 22, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
The value of the FM
I'm talking about the individual FM within an organisation, rather than the profession of FM.
I was talking on the telephone to someone the other day and we were discussing the profile of FMs amongst other areas of business and how our colleagues view the job we do. In my opinion, most of the low view of the FM is down to ignorance.
Over the years the FM role has evolved, perhaps from caretaker and handyman, along with the managing director's PA or office manager taking care of the admin side.
I'm currently studying a BIFM Level 4 Diploma in Facilities Management and whilst in the office late one evening, writing an assignment, a colleague asked why I was there after hours - i explained and his response was "oh, do you need a diploma to change a lightbulb?". He would have been delighted to know he wound me up with that comment, however my quick retort, which I couldn't possible repeat here, sent him on his way knowing I was less than impressed by his so-called humour.
From talking to other FMs I find they often say things like 'no-one knows what I do' and 'I don't get recognition for what I do'. I've mentioned in a previous post that people only notice what we do when it goes wrong or isn't done! So how do we change this view?
It's time to raise our own profile, to promote ourselves, time to let people in your organisation know what it is that you do. Let's not just tell people about the things that go wrong or are waiting to be fixed, tell them the good stuff too. In my experience, I started to get respect and recognition by sending out general emails to let people know the status of what I was doing. We have regular 'communication' meetings with the heads of departments and I will let the attendees know the types of things I've been working on and issues we face.
Don't just sit there waiting for someone to notice you and what you do - tell people!
I was talking on the telephone to someone the other day and we were discussing the profile of FMs amongst other areas of business and how our colleagues view the job we do. In my opinion, most of the low view of the FM is down to ignorance.
Over the years the FM role has evolved, perhaps from caretaker and handyman, along with the managing director's PA or office manager taking care of the admin side.
I'm currently studying a BIFM Level 4 Diploma in Facilities Management and whilst in the office late one evening, writing an assignment, a colleague asked why I was there after hours - i explained and his response was "oh, do you need a diploma to change a lightbulb?". He would have been delighted to know he wound me up with that comment, however my quick retort, which I couldn't possible repeat here, sent him on his way knowing I was less than impressed by his so-called humour.
From talking to other FMs I find they often say things like 'no-one knows what I do' and 'I don't get recognition for what I do'. I've mentioned in a previous post that people only notice what we do when it goes wrong or isn't done! So how do we change this view?
It's time to raise our own profile, to promote ourselves, time to let people in your organisation know what it is that you do. Let's not just tell people about the things that go wrong or are waiting to be fixed, tell them the good stuff too. In my experience, I started to get respect and recognition by sending out general emails to let people know the status of what I was doing. We have regular 'communication' meetings with the heads of departments and I will let the attendees know the types of things I've been working on and issues we face.
Don't just sit there waiting for someone to notice you and what you do - tell people!
Friday, March 1, 2013
True confidence or just a good actor?
I'm going to start this post with a recent personal experience...
I attended a work meeting by video conference. All the other participants (approx 12 people) were in one meeting room in London and I was the only one in my location. I didn't know all the people in the room I was looking at, just a few of them. It was all going well until I was asked to present the report from my location....everybody I could see on the television screen turned and looked at me! I froze!! I wasn't particularly confident about sharing the information as I don't know the subject as well as other people, so on top of my already nervous state I began to feel completely intimidated, tongue tied and went on to babble my way through the report, using the phrase 'it's all self explanatory' to get me out of most of it.
A week later and I'm still cross with myself for not knowing the subject as well as I should and for not being prepared enough (although I didn't know I'd have to talk about it)! But why, in all of this, was my confidence on the floor?
I look at other people in my office or even in the meeting that morning, and think about how well they come across, how they talk with confidence and authority in their subject(s) and yet I just fall apart (this isn't the first time it's happened!).
Are these other people really as confident as they seem or do they just come across as being confident. I always remember someone who once said "if you sound like you know what you're talking about you can get away with it!" I know it works....I've tried it. However, sometimes you do actually need to know what you're talking about, especially when other people know the same subject and will know if you're just talking rubbish!
So how do I grow in confidence?
I know that I have to believe what I have to say is just as important as what anyone else has to say. I have experienced heckling from other members of meetings when trying to say my piece....apart from being disrespectful I found this rude and felt for a while that perhaps people don't see what I have to offer as being valuable or important. Maybe I didn't feel it was important either - maybe I didn't speak with authority and confidence in my topic.
I attended a work meeting by video conference. All the other participants (approx 12 people) were in one meeting room in London and I was the only one in my location. I didn't know all the people in the room I was looking at, just a few of them. It was all going well until I was asked to present the report from my location....everybody I could see on the television screen turned and looked at me! I froze!! I wasn't particularly confident about sharing the information as I don't know the subject as well as other people, so on top of my already nervous state I began to feel completely intimidated, tongue tied and went on to babble my way through the report, using the phrase 'it's all self explanatory' to get me out of most of it.
A week later and I'm still cross with myself for not knowing the subject as well as I should and for not being prepared enough (although I didn't know I'd have to talk about it)! But why, in all of this, was my confidence on the floor?
I look at other people in my office or even in the meeting that morning, and think about how well they come across, how they talk with confidence and authority in their subject(s) and yet I just fall apart (this isn't the first time it's happened!).
Are these other people really as confident as they seem or do they just come across as being confident. I always remember someone who once said "if you sound like you know what you're talking about you can get away with it!" I know it works....I've tried it. However, sometimes you do actually need to know what you're talking about, especially when other people know the same subject and will know if you're just talking rubbish!
So how do I grow in confidence?
I know that I have to believe what I have to say is just as important as what anyone else has to say. I have experienced heckling from other members of meetings when trying to say my piece....apart from being disrespectful I found this rude and felt for a while that perhaps people don't see what I have to offer as being valuable or important. Maybe I didn't feel it was important either - maybe I didn't speak with authority and confidence in my topic.
- Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
- Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right. ~ Henry Ford
Am I too hard on myself? Sometimes I think I am. But at the same time, I want to be the best I can be at what I do. One of my colleagues I mentioned in my last post will often remind me to have belief in myself - he's right - I should.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)