Four Key Business Lessons in my First Year
It was a surreal feeling being shaken by the HR Manager saying “Congratulations”. I was so happy; I could not keep it to myself- I am sure employees on the open floor who saw me knew what just happened. You can imagine how I was 😊.
Starting work with GTRC on the 20th of Oct 2019, I would say was the beginning of my proper professional career. I also joined one of the best teams in the business- we are the most diverse team in the whole company by gender and nationality- Nigeria, Philippines, Myanmar, India, Kuwait. Isn’t that cool? *wink*
My first day on the job was ecstatic but calm, I wore a shirt I just bought a day before to feel among *tongue out*. Let me tell you about the dress code of my company; very professional. You must always be tucked in with a proper shirt and pants- obviously, cooperate wear. I love it, it makes me feel like a professional which I am.
My experience for the last year has been one of the best times of my life as a professional and as an expatriate. My bosses have been my friends and I must say “I feel like they care about my career growth because they tutor me on every side”. I have played ping pong with my bosses and it was fun beating them. (do not tell them I enjoyed seeing I can beat them at something, *wink*).
I must also say, I am the only black guy in the company; it feels good and makes me easily seen. I would like to see myself with the eyes of others. Maybe I look lovely. *Wink*.
Let me share my Workplace lessons in the last 1 year.
· Your Line Manager has a huge impact on your successful onboarding process- I think I am blessed to have two great bosses and an accommodating team. They practically taught me what I know now; each one of them in so many ways taught me skills in operations, communication, even on personal levels. I know it is difficult to choose the kind of boss you want just as we can’t choose our parents, but we can be the kind of person that is teachable, patient, and humble.
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
· Employee Engagement is very important to mental health- Amazingly, at the time I was joining GTRC, there was this Gallup program that helps businesses with employee engagement which the company is part of. This helped the company encourage employee engagement by team building activities, also the way the company treats employees and how the employees treat one another. It has been researched that engaged employees produce better business outcomes than other employees. I am proud of my company to be part of this program.
· Who you are is who you attract- This saying is usually said for a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship; however, it also applies in the workplace. If you are a friendly employee, you will get to attract other friendly employees who would relate with you beyond and above business conversations. Having cool friends at work makes going to work fun and not always wondering why work is stressful. Be a better employee and you will attract great colleagues.
Be a better employee and you will attract great colleagues
· Learn to Drive Actions- One of the key business lessons I have learned so far is how to drive actions, thanks to my line manager and team members. It is important as a professional to know how to drive business actions especially with your stakeholders- there are business functions that you need reports from and if they delay, it affects your KPI; it is your duty to drive them to take actions so you can achieve your business objectives. I have driven the finance team, the trade marketing team, even my teammates. I feel proud of that- Thanks GTRC.
One of my best moment at GTRC amongst many others was during the end of the year party, I was just barely 3 months in the company, so I was relatively new to everybody but was treated like family. In fact, I got a quiz right and won a mixed blender for my Mom. I was feeling like a smart guy 😊. I enjoyed myself.
A lot to share about my experience in the last one year. Looking forward to many more years being promoted and growing exponentially in my career.
Trust me to catch you up! Peace out…
