Helping others to achieve both the thinkable and the unthinkable in their careers or their lives is an important facet within the role of the manager. Having other people move up through the organisational ranks and start fulfilling their potential is a very rewarding experience.
What happened recently was I spotted a learning/professional development opportunity. As soon as I saw what was entailed and the relevancy of the content I instantly thought of a fellow employee whom I thought would enjoy the conference as well.
So there were a few key opportunities that I saw and pounced on that enabled my colleague to get the most out of the time we had while attending. Here are those times -
In the car. When you are travelling you have a captive audience. It's not like they can go anywhere. Before we left I thought of things to talk about such as career development and goals, as well as a number of commendations and recommendations. In the car - there isn't much time to think about anything else.- During the breaks - those we know. Others from our larger organisation were also in attendance yet the person I travelled with didn't register that he knew those people. So what I did was have an offline conversation and actually set the two on a path towards each other that was mutually beneficial. The outcome was that both sides have decided to co-operate more on specific projects and to continue the development long after the conference has finished.
- During the breaks - those we don't. I am a people person. I have no problem with talking to others. So one thing I always attempt to do while at conferences is meet others whom I can commend and recommend to my work colleagues. I look for SME's (subject matter experts) and set them up with people I know who need help in those areas. So I effectively do is become like the Yellow Pages and provide links between people with a need and those who can provide a solution.
Every minute of the day gives us opportunities. What we do with each minute is our choice. We can choose to embrace the time we have or watch it sail by. I prefer to invest my time. Invest in myself and my development as well as the development for others.
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