You don't have to go it alone!
The backdrop to this article was following on from a recent business meeting in London with a hugely important client carrying both financial and operational impact to the business...
We secured the deal.... and after a celebratory beer we made the journey home via the ever reliable east coast train line. The Wi-Fi was down and the food carriage was only accepting cash (that should set the mood amongst the passengers!).
Naturally, with a lack of the usual social media distractions my thoughts turned to reflection around not only the meeting but the personal journey I had taken to get to this point. Aside from a lot of genuine hard graft and networking, I started to think about all of the times I have met with mentors along the way and the personal growth they enabled me to achieve (I'm not Richard Branson here but we're all ambitious in different ways).
The point I'm trying to make is that we are all under pressure from different elements of our lives and in the current climate I believe it critical to find a professional outlet OUTSIDE of your organisation to be able to bounce ideas and air your thoughts. The outcome of this will be the self-enablement of growth from a skills, personality and goal setting perspective. Identify people within your network who you respect, perceive as achieving professional success and most of all... on your wavelength personally.
Too often we can not see the wood for the trees, too often we work with a blinkered approach for the wrong reasons. I have fallen into this trap many times in the past as i'm sure we all have at one point or another.
The remedy? Don't be afraid to be under pressure, just be aware that you don't have to go it alone, there are people within your network who will actively enjoy adding value to your growth and sharing best practice actually give them a break from their own daily routines.
I wouldn't be here today without the help of people I respected within my network and the advice they bring. Be open, be inquisitive, be ambitious, and be the best part of yourself!