Reconnecting to the past, work edition

One of the amazing things about my job is that I've been with my company (minus a 3-month hiccup) for nearly 12 years now. In that time I've lived on both sides of the US, worked on 3-5 software products (depending on how you count my projects), held at least three or four different titles, had half a dozen amazing mentors, and gone from the most junior person around to an experienced design practitioner. I've worked with hundreds of people in many countries, learned entire new industries and fields, and been able to grow my skills and knowledge a ton. All while with one company. And this isn't really unique to me. A lot of people stay with my company for long periods of time.

So, given the way my company holds on to people pretty well, I think an extra fun thing about that is how people from past positions, past offices, and past work can come back into my up-and-coming projects. People I worked with 11 years ago, and haven't worked with in the last 10 years (although Facebook makes for an easier keeping-in-touch!) are now people I get to talk to and work with again. They have new and different roles, I have a new and different role, but we get to build on what we already know about each other. And that's just really neat.

It also gives me pause to thank my young self for not getting into too much trouble! :)

The hidden talent surfaces

Remember that hidden-to-me talent? After multiple conversations with my fiancée, my best friend, my mom, and my manager, I have a better understanding of what others were seeing that I was not. The talent has surfaced! And has also given me a realization.

With a competency "strength" that I am aware of, I also have an awareness that not everyone else has that same strength. This is important because it helps me realize that others' strengths, which are different than mine, may make them react differently, care about different things, or discuss issues using a different style.

Photo by runintherain

But because I wasn't aware of this particular strength that I have, I made the assumption that most people would approach certain situations with the same mindset as me. Now I see that it's not only a bad assumption, it's actually a dangerous one. I might miss entire reasons and motivations behind why people are doing something. Even more important, when I'm considering how to make an impact, discuss an issue, or help change a process, this bad assumption could undermine my efforts.

And I cannot describe how great the feeling is to have an ah-ha! moment about that. I love learning new things about myself and I love every little piece of information that makes working together with others more effective. Now to put that knowledge to use!

Are you being hamstrung by a hidden talent?

Hidden talents

Have you ever had a talent that was hidden? No, not hidden to others, but one YOU didn't realize you had?

Today was my performance review. It was a really nice conversation with my manager, and an extension of the many things we have spoken about throughout the year. As it should be.

In terms of development areas in reviews, I probably spend a lot more time thinking about my weaknesses than anybody else does, so I don't find that I'm usually surprised in this part of the talk. I try to be realistic, but not too hard on myself. In the discussion of strengths, I'm generally quite confident in the areas I'm strong in and I believe I have a pretty good self-awareness about what those areas are (though I completely believe I have tons to learn in them).

But today during my review, I found myself in the rare situation of being a bit surprised by a strength recognized in me by others. Apparently I have a positive quality/competency that others see in me that I... I have never thought about. I'm almost not believing it, but I guess I've just never thought of it in the way that some of my peers have.

It's fascinating, really. I have a hidden talent. Only, it's hidden to me and not others. I spent years with hidden talents that I had that others weren't aware of, but this orientation of it is pretty unusual. And it makes me wonder how I can build on it now that I know about it.

It also makes me wonder how I can help other people see the talents they have. Not the ones they know about, but the ones that are hidden to them.

Productivity through illness

I was sick yesterday. My head was pounding mightily and in such a way that I was thinking trepanning sounded like a brilliant idea. Since it was Saturday, I was able to take advantage of no plans and really chill out. That was great because I am feeling better today. Yay!

But it left me thinking about the fact that sometimes, when I am at the tail end of a cold, or feeling just slightly under the weather, I actually get really productive at work and am able to get through a huge chunk of my to-do list. This is just the things I need to do, not including meetings, which are much more difficult when my brain is foggy. Anyway, I've thought about this in the last few years and decided that it's because I'm too tired to get distracted and go into ADD mode, thinking of every little thing that needs to get done. When I'm not feeling that great, but not feeling that awful, I just look at my list of things that need to get done and start working through them.

It seems the barrier to more productivity when I'm feeling well is that I want to get EVEN MORE done. Which is really rather silly. Perhaps I need to bring a mind-stilling meditation to some of my to-do-list-handling at work (and at home, for that matter), and not get distracted by the other ideas that pop up.