Am I making an impact? We are past the halfway mark of the financial year. It is customary to take a pause and reflect on how one is performing against targets set at the beginning of the year. A look in the mirror can throw up a cause for celebration or cause for concern.
Luckily at an organisational level, we have much to be happy about. We are on a fabulous growth trajectory and a rising tide lifts all boats. So, it is easy to just focus on the celebration. In the aftermath of the half-yearly review meeting, I paused to review how I was doing personally. The simple questions I asked myself – Am I making an impact? Could I be doing more? Am I focused on the right things?
For certain I have much to be grateful for. Work, learning, family, health and so many other areas are flourishing. All the more reason I believe to ask oneself – am I focusing on the right things? Every choice I make when I say yes to something, means I am knowingly or unknowingly saying no to something else.
Each one of us has only so much time and energy to give. It makes sense to be mindful of where I focus my attention. A few weeks ago, I wrote that learning comes from doing. So, one of the priorities I need to double down on as the world is tentatively opening up is meeting with team members and clients. It is in the meeting that minds will open, relationships will grow and creative solutions emerge.
The online work world that I have inhabited has inhibited my natural tendency to build strong and meaningful connections. Time has been spent, many hours logged, the effort put in but the relationship scape escapes me. I am doing work with people, but truly working collaboratively happens when we move from transactions to transformational work. Where a common vision and shared belief system bring alive meaning in the everyday ordinary work we do, making it magical. This is where I must focus my energies as we move forward. Mask on, all caution in place meeting my targets for making an impact will come from meeting people.
The relationships will emerge and that is the fertile ground in which public relations creates the space for trust and understanding. Head and heart align to deliver a powerful solution when relationships are strong and meaningful. I often teach and preach the line “people don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care”. Time to put theory into practice.
On a lighter note, talking about targets, in a role play during a recent media training, I heard a fantastic response by the spokesperson, to a journalist asking about targets. After a few deft ‘bridges’ away from the topic, the journalist was not giving up. Trying to pin the spokesperson down to a number, he said “I am sure your organisation must have a target, what is it?” Without batting an eyelid the spokesperson smiled and said.. “Yes, off course, our target is to be a role model.”
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher or the author’s organisation.
A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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