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Jenny Garratt
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Two weeks ago
I had my first shadowing day at Insight as their new ILM Centre Manager and
Social Care Specialist Training Associate. I was in Sandwell watching Terry
facilitate a Front Line Leaders course and how she expertly managing to impart
knowledge in ways that are both novel and interesting. So no pressure when I
start taking the helm in sessions! Actually I’m a
lot less nervous than I thought I would be and one of the main reasons for that
is the stark contrast between who I was when I first met John and Terry, as a
participant on the National Skills Academy for Social Care Graduate Scheme, and
who I am now. If you had asked me three years ago whether I would ever
voluntarily choose a career path where I had to regularly talk in front of
groups of people I would have laughed in your face. Seriously.
At University
I remember panic attacks, a lack of appetite and sleepless nights before any
kind of public speaking. Even when it was only in front my classmates that I
had known for years. The dreaded clammy hands was also a classic sign of my
nerves. So why am I here?
The reality is
that leadership and management training changed my life (possibly a bit over
dramatic but yes I went there and there’s no turning back now). What I mean by
this is that my perception of my own abilities, skills and strengths have
completely transformed and through that so has my confidence within the working
environment. There was no specific day that I can accredit this to and no task
that gave me that eureka moment, but in the course of a year I went from fresh
faced grad to a social care professional. So how did it happen?
One of the key
factors for me was having so much time for reflection. Thinking about learning types,
leadership styles, positive communication, managing teams and all the bits in-between
made me truly appreciate the fact that the key qualities needed to be a great
leader or manager are almost never based around knowledge. Knowledge can be
learnt from books and other people, but attitude
is a whole different ball game. This is something difficult to teach. Knowing
that this was a key component the National Skills Academy looked for when
recruiting its graduates was a massive confidence boost in itself and by the
end of the year I felt ready to tackle whatever came my way when I went into
the ‘real world’.
A few years later and here I am on the other side of the training getting ready to lead courses on my own. And judging from my first shadowing session is looks really fun! Being given an opportunity to work in an environment where engagement and laughter appear commonplace is something I don’t ever want to take for granted and I couldn't think of a more supportive organisation to do it with. Now just to brush up my knowledge… where are my grad scheme notes again?!
