The services we provide are of immense importance to our communities.
The successful delivery of these asset management consulting services relies on the combined efforts of a broad and varied team of internal and external service providers bringing together unique skills that combine to provide the required performance.
In an ideal world, the necessary skills would be in plentiful supply, readily available to offer the support and expertise needed.
Sadly, the world is not ideal, and the skills necessary to support our services are in strong demand from other sectors. The result is often a deficit in available, suitable, established skills internally and within our contract providers.
Filling this deficit is, and will continue to be, a growing challenge.
To meet this challenge, a fresh approach focusing on developing people will be necessary. This in itself will present a challenge to managers, particularly in the field of nurturing talent.
Nurturing requires a shift in mindset, often requiring an acceptance of slowed progress as organisational values are explored and developed and established business culture is imparted.
Nurturing requires a willingness to:
- depart from the safety of our technical training,
- a move from the typically adversarial thinking associated with our standard contracting methods,
- and an acceptance of a more humanised approach to the people who support us on our journey to support our communities.
The efforts involved in nurturing talent, growing value and building your culture and values are significant, requiring up-front acceptance of the need to develop people not to complete tasks and a sustained commitment, effort and time.
Long-term, the benefits of nurturing our people, irrespective of which side of the contractual equation they are on, are immense, with the potential to truly develop a culture and ethics, bringing the best possible result for our communities.
Should you feel like challenging yourself, consider taking the time to look in the mirror and consider whether the people who support you on your journey are genuinely valued and humanised or simply a resource for completing a task.
Is criticism of “them” your go-to, or do you seek to understand how and when you could have become involved and added value through supporting and nurturing their plentiful skills and energy?
[…] We need to talk. We need to reach out to one another – irrespective of the relationship. See David Brown’s blog ‘Is Nurturing the New Norm?’ […]