Dear readers, I’m back from summer vacation. If you are a regular reader, and I hope you are, you know that I am an American proud to call Ireland home. I’m back from “vacation” instead of “holiday”. Whatever you call it, it is imperative to take it. Each of us needs a break from our busy work life to refresh and rejuvenate.
oh where did we go Thanks for asking. After three years, my daughter Lulu and I (along with her mistress Damian) are back in Tuscany, one of my favorite places for her. In particular, we stayed in a certain agriturismo, or country inn. Il Pozzo. It is named after an ancient well discovered on the property that served the farm’s inhabitants hundreds of years ago.
It is now owned and managed by my great friend Carla Veneri. During the pandemic, while hospitality was on lockdown, Carla found a way to take care of her staff even though her own livelihood was at stake. Il Pozzo It has been able to reopen to guests and her loyal employees have returned.
I received a heartfelt voice.”bentonati‘ or ‘welcome back’, from people we hadn’t seen in years, like Gioia, Valentina, Alessandro, who took care of us like they used to.
Teach People Skills, Not Management Skills
This experience reminded me of a recent interview with Rob Peacock. Based in the UK and an online retailer, he is responsible for talent development for the Very Group. Specifically, I remembered a part of the conversation when Very explained to me that his focus was on teaching leaders “interpersonal skills” rather than “managerial skills.” “We teach people how to tap into their sources of inspiration,” he said.
“We teach them how to show up every day. How to develop themselves. How to be interested in the people around them.
“Knowing all these things will make you a better manager. Good management will follow.”
Rob also shared how, throughout his own career, he discovered the importance of learning and leveraging people’s skills. He started with his banking in retail.
“As a graduate, I started selling personal loans and insurance products. ”
Having successfully achieved his goal, Rob was immediately offered the role of bank manager. That’s when he realized he didn’t want to make any more sales.
“What energized me was encouraging people to do their best. It made me a good boss, but it didn’t make me a good bank manager. I wasn’t tracking people as to whether they had business meetings and whether they hit their goals.
In addition to his passion for being a husband and father, Rob is now filled with his position of helping “everyone do what they are naturally capable of doing each day to maximize their ability to thrive.” Is called.
build a talent democracy
Rob said one of his recent pursuits in the field of talent development is finding more ways to infuse social mobility into businesses.
“How do you know there are no future leaders in the operations department? But are they just not discovered or sponsored? How do you give them an opportunity? How do we provide opportunities for learning to the next generation? It is important to recognize everyone as a talent and build a talent democracy.”
He said he used to work in a business where people were often put in boxes. “There is high potential in some areas and other potential in other areas. It would be better if we could recognize equally that everyone has potential,” he said. I got
ask a question
He also wants to encourage organizations to take a step back and let managers think of coaching as an art that helps them avoid overmanaging their teams by asking catalytic questions.
“Ask open-ended questions such as ‘What do you enjoy about your role?’ or ‘What do you think you are doing that you are not currently doing? let people think. ”
Rob wants the manager to be seen as holding the container for the conversation rather than just being the performance dictator.
Explore and Experiment
Looking back, Rob says he believes exploration and experimentation are among the most important things you can do in your career.
“There is value in getting things wrong. There is value in being in the wrong career for you. There is value in waking up every morning to go to a job you hate. It’s more difficult when it’s just OK to be, because OK makes you comfortable and you can get stuck in just being OK.”
keep making mistakes
“Stop making mistakes when you’re dead. Keep making mistakes while you’re breathing. Live.”
That pearl of wisdom is from my wonderful friend Teresa, whose father Peter Hart recently died peacefully at his home in Ryfield, County Cork, with his wife and daughter. He was 98 years old and had, according to Teresa, a “beautiful and blessed” life. Please continue, dear readers. experiment. make mistakes Best of all: live.
