Take 10 minutes together

I find the @one Alliance a great place to work - it’s interesting and fast-moving but it is often tough, demanding consistent high performance from us all ... and this can take it’s toll. We all cope with this differently, dealing with the day to day tasks and pressures. 

For me, it’s all about people. We are all full of interesting talents, skills, behaviours, knowledge, commitment, personalities - and the real pleasure is that everyone’s different. 

That means everyone is worth listening to and anyone might be willing to listen to you!

The flip-side of this is that it is also often people who can also cause the pressure and worry. We feel their expectations of who we are, what we do and how we do it and sometimes that can be uncomfortable or even downright stressful ... especially if they are a manager or a customer or even a team colleague. 

My way of dealing with these ups and downs is by talking and sharing. 

If I’m under-pressure from some particularly difficult problems - or perhaps feel like my head is going under water because of the sheer number of spinning plates - my first reaction is to think through the issues, perhaps make a list, and then I’ll find the right people to talk with and share. 

It’s enormously helpful. 

The old adage of “a problem shared is a problem halved” really does hold true, for me at least. 

It seems to give me energy, clarity of thought and I feel able to crack-on with sorting the issues - hopefully in an effective way. 

The Alliance is fast-paced and full of change - which means that feeling overwhelmed by the volume can be a fairly regular thing!

I enjoy it because I know I have a coping strategy that usually works. 

And I apply the same sort of thing when I’m developing ideas or more detailed plans - sharing my thoughts really helps me to build-on other’s opinions and suggestions. 

I guess that’s another old adage ... “two minds are better than one” ... or was it ‘hands’?

When I think back over my career, all the highs and lows - there wasn’t a difficult or painful time that couldn’t have been improved by talking and sharing. 

I just didn’t know that at the time!

Over the years, I’ve come to understand how I am, how I feel, work and react. And I know that this strategy works for me and it helps me deal with the multitude of ‘stuff’ without getting too worried or bothered by it. 

So - ‘build your network….or if you’d rather, just try sharing with your friends or colleagues that you trust - and even those that you might not. 

If you can bring yourself to do it, baring your own hopes, ideas and fears is a great way to build strong relationships.  After all, we are all just people. 

Richard george, Head of Operations, @one Alliance