Reflection with the Boss

A couple of days ago, my head of department gave me some really great advice about working life:

Life is all about UNDERSTANDING people. That's the key formula Shahirah, you understand people and you can manage your working life. All those engineering subjects you learn  in college are just accessories...

It's a good advice. I believe that when you understand others, you figure out the reasons behind their actions. And why they act the way they do. You empathize and you encourage them to optimize their potentials.You help in their weaknesses. In understanding people, you need to be in touch with your own inner self. You have to understand yourself. Know what's your own weaknesses and most importantly, strengths.

For me, I know my strengths lie in presentations. I like to package my work and present them in a way that I hope to impress the viewers. This helps in my explaining to them the concepts behind the designs I've prepared. And to do this, I always have to understand my views and potential audiences' views towards the presentation. 

Will they be able to understand? What aspects of the design might make them confused? Can I simplify things to the basis of things to ensure people don't get a headache when viewing it?

Previous materials I had to prepare for a VIP Visit

It helps to ask these type of questions because your aim is simple by the end of the day: how do I add VALUE to the job I'm doing?

And you have to think of that one unique way to achieve that.

But, just like the rest of the human population, I do have my own weaknesses: I am not much of a talker. I'm a thinker, a do-er. But put me in a room where everyone's leisurely talking and mingling around, and you get one very, very, very awkward girl. I swear I dislike social gatherings especially in a room full of new faces, and I am expected to talk.

I am working on that. Being in Shell requires me to be more proactive socially, and I take it positively to make up for the lack of social interaction in the past 22 years. I've grown more eloquent and a little bit more comfortable meeting new people (though currently it's still restricted to ladies meh).

Another advice my boss gave me was,

To improve yourself, to constantly evolve, you have to throw yourself into the ocean. And deal with challenges. They might seem like a burden, but they are OPPORTUNITIES that someone is willing to give to you, to prove yourself and to learn.

I am so grateful to have found myself in a position where so many people are willing to trust me and throw me into the 'ocean' (with a life-buoy nearby) and allow me to learn to swim back to the shore.

So, here's to grabbing these challenges that very few people are willing to give, and turning them into opportunities to be the best that we can be.