Nurturing Potential.

Over the last few weeks, I have been helping a new member of our administration team, Jovan Nell, settle into his role.

He's tried to get to grips with the procedures and processes, and while he is enthusiastic enough, I could tell right from the start that this role wasn't really for him.

I would even go so far as to say he was quite miserable in administration. So, I decided to help, not by trying to make him happy in his current role, but by helping him find where he would truly thrive.

I looked closely at his skills and interests, and it didn't take long to realize he had a real talent and passion for engineering.

I spoke with James, who was more than happy to let Jovan shadow him for a week. We set it up as if he were helping James with administrative tasks, but the real goal was for James to encourage and draw out Jovan's engineering skills.

The outcome was even better than expected. Over the week, Jovan put his engineering skills to great use while also combining them with his administrative strengths. He found a sweet spot where he enjoys both aspects.

As a result, starting next week, Jovan will officially join James's team, and both of them are thrilled. I thanked James for his support, but I also thanked Jovan for his hard work on my team. Administration may not have been his ideal path, but he did a great job nonetheless.

We all have potential; we just need the right encouragement and nurturing to take that first step.

As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Image from Unsplash by Greg Rakozy.