My first vocational day

So I traded my office cubical for the great outdoors today for my first official vocational day in Denmark. I spent the day in the life of a Forest Manager. Per and I went exploring through the state forest which Per managers. The nature lover in me had the most incredible day as did my brain which was primed with my professional curiosity.

So i started the day with the intention to take lessons from all my experiences ....because on face value i thought what could a city chick like me learn about organisational development frolicking in the forest? Well...as it seems...a lot. 2 key things stood out for me today.

1. Managers even over the other side of the world in a completely different industry face the same staffing challenges. Team dynamics and individual and team performance. After speaking with Per about the nature of his work it became evident that he really saw his primary role was managing his staff. This may not sound profound, but it got me thinking about managers - or to be precise, the people who have manager in their title. I wondered if they are unclear what this means day to day? There really are different responsibilities as a manager than as an individual contributor and i think sometimes it is assumed that people know the difference...is their a place to make sure clear expectations on managers are set? I think the answer is an obvious yes...but the question is what is the best way? If you ask Per, the answer is simple...have the conversation!!!

2. The other lesson today came from nature. So today it dawned on me that sometimes thriving requires great change. For the forest to thrive it needed a "reason" to change and adapt and allow new shoots and trees to grow. Per talked about how fires and plowing the ground are key strategies for renewal in the forest. I wonder if in organisations for them to flourish there needs to be a "fire" or something that disrupts business in a controlled way that it causes renewal. Where i work currently, things are slow and difficult to change...but to be honest the organisation is still running an operating profit doing the things it has always done, so the attitude seems to be why do we need to change...? There are really good reasons...greater effectiveness, better customer service, meeting future challenges which if they are not addressed soon will put great strain on the business. But how do we make the challenges of the future seem real now? And is there a way to create a fire designed to create positive growth just like in the forest? Hmm food for thought!!