One of my most vivid learning points when it comes to areas of growth in service to the organization, was quite unexpected.

 I was travelling in a delegation of representatives from the Shareholder of a company with all logistics being taken care of by the Chief Executive Officer/Company Secretary of that company.

 What struck me was the level of commitment to duty demonstrated by the gentleman. He coordinated our travel and meeting attendance with attention to every aspect of our needs from end to end!

The ease at which he went about his duties was admirable. He was clearly happy to do it and a self-starter. He carried us along, but he was also very accessible, hospitable, consultative and respected our individual and collective privacy.

 I had met someone who I could learn from, and I immediately positioned myself to consciously put a rationale for most of his conduct towards his task…and he was multitasking!

 The biggest lesson I learned was that it is important for us to be comfortable to be of service. We should subject ourselves to ensuring the best experience for those receiving our service and that entails that we form a character around ourselves that resonates with effective service. For instance, as an actor in service, you hardly wait for things to come to you…you are expected to go after them and use them as your means to the end. Being ahead of the curve is your safe zone as it gives you an opportunity to deal with any unexpected events.

Keeping the character of service that you have built for yourself, requires that you have a personal strategy that assists you to attain a balance between the life of service and your other life, spend time with yourself to introspect on growth and potential growth areas and creating systems that will ensure that careless mistakes are avoided or not repeated at the same scale.

 I returned from the trip as a new actor in my role as Company Secretary, challenging myself to be able to deliver an optimal service and working on the character that I needed to be able to relate with colleagues in the organization and other stakeholders.

 Learning by observation is, in my view, one of the most powerful tools. Take advantage of every opportunity to consume knowledge and skills in your pursuit to serve.

 Let’s share!