The reactionary shift.

Back in the days when I managed project managers, the Christmas period was the time of the skills review. It fell in to the pre-budget application process and was a quiet task I could do in the lull period when most people were off for a fortnight.

Whether it’s this still running round my head, or all the ‘new year, new you’ messages that you can’t help but see around you at the beginning of January, I subjected myself to a bit of a skills review this morning.

I figured that it’s alright manifesting a glowing future of success and happiness (yes, obviously I haven’t quite got on with that one yet), but I’m ultimately going to have to be the one who delivers it. Do I have the right skills to do that? A quick critical assessment in my quiet time this morning (also known as ten minutes in the bath), brought a few of the simpler things to mind.

Throughout my project management career I was incredibly comfortable managing the ‘scheduled’ with the ‘reactionary response’. When things were dropped on my plate, or something was spurred to mind, it was second nature to quickly review whether it would be most efficient/effective to do it straight away, or whether it was one thing to be delegated or scheduled (so as not to negatively effect other timescales). I felt no need to immediately complete every request as soon as possible, yet there was never any question of disappointing or letting anyone down. There was always more to do than hours in the day, isn’t that always the way in life, but it was about appropriately managing demands. I felt more than comfortable with my skills at that point.

Then I took time out of change management to manage my own change, motherhood, and 5 or 6 years down the line, I suspect I may be a tad rusty in this area and need to put a bit of polish to my skills.

If I’m offering myself some reflective, constructive, criticism, then I suspect I have started bending to try and meet the needs of everyone who demands something. That they usually want it now or yesterday, should be no surprise.

I could easily say I let no one down last year, but that would not be the full truth. There were times I let myself down, putting too much pressure on myself to keep everyone happy. If I am to get the most out of this year, if I am to be even slightly honest in my review of last year and my planning for this year, I have to acknowledge that I will need to be more conscious about my responses and the timing of them.

I don’t know whether the shift has been motherhood, and the fact that the needs of babies and smaller children usually need addressing immediately (or as soon as), or if it’s the loss of the security of being in ‘permanent employment’, or more likely a combination of a multitude of factors. I do know I have the skills, I just to consciously apply them to my new situation. I need to bend them to fit, and polish them ‘til they’re shiny, so they work for me in this new stage.

That said, I also want to allow myself to add ‘enjoyment’ in to the prioritisation factors. There are some tasks or jobs that I am enjoying more, that I am feeling excited and inspired by, and I want to make sure that I am including those factors, and myself, in the prioritisation.

You might need to wish me luck with that...

#highcroftwriting #skillsreview #prioritisation #reprioritisation #worklifebalance #planning #scheduling