Are you really listening?

I've always prided myself on being a good listener in work situations. I follow the 80/20 rule on site when talking to the workforce and take all concerns, suggestions and ideas seriously. When needed, I immediately intervene, and always follow up. It's a key part of behavioural safety and applies to anyone in a leadership role.

I also think I am an innovative thinker and not afraid to put myself out there to try something different.

So, I have been royally humbled in the last few weeks when my 13 year boomed 'YOU'RE NOT LISTENING'!!!!!

He is right. I hadn't been. Since COVID, he has been repeatedly asking to be home educated. The fact is, he excelled with home schooling during that time, but we were all clamming to get back to some normality at the end of 2022.

But, the fact is, the world was not the same, we had all changed. It was the impetus for me to reflect on my (then) 43 years and ask is this what work is all about? Will I be forever destined to report to an office every morning? I decided it was not, and my standard check of 'what will you say on your death bed', told me that remote working for myself had to be now or never.

So eventually, 4 weeks ago, I said you're right, I'm not listening as it's a ridiculous idea. How can I possibly home educate with a full time job? When I actually looked in to it, he already had of course, home ed these days doesn't need a full time parent, there are on line schools. Basically, COVID time teaching on steroids. All the cool tech that was developed when we were remote has been supercharged to create amazing learning experiences for kids who, for whatever reason, prefer to work at home.

This is a massive shift for us, and one we are still debating and researching. What is now obvious of course, is I, like most if not all parents, have created a mini (for now) version of myself. Someone who said, there must be something more/different to this daily grind.

And that is as scary as it is exciting! The possibilities of not being tied to a bricks and mortar school timetable are insane, and the potential experiences we can create as a result, utterly mind blowing!

The moral of the story is 2 fold for me, always listen, however left field an idea and always be mindful of the image you are portraying.

Our kids, and the people we can influence at work, are a living, breathing mirror image of us, for good and bad. Terrifying😱, enlightening💡 and inspirational🥹 all rolled in to one!