What talent do you naturally have that makes you successful?
I’ve always been quite perceptive and find I can pick up on other’s moods and state of mind quite easily. My other natural talent is the ability to be calm even when everyone around me is running about in a state of panic, or in pressured situations. I’ve been told that this gives me a naturally reassuring presence!
When did you first realise that talent was going to help you, and how do you use it?
I probably first used it as a child in order to get out of trouble by trying to gauge which parent was in the best mood before owning up to something. In adult life, I’ve put it to far more sensible use in the world of work. I’ve worked within Human Resources for the last 10 years, and I realised that this talent had been spotted by the Director of HR in one of my earliest roles – she decided to give me HR responsibility for the most demanding departments in the organisation as she knew that I would be able to interact successfully with all the people in them, whatever their personality or grade.
Due to the nature of my job, I’m constantly faced with challenging scenarios and being able to accurately assess the motivation, frame of mind, and feelings of the individuals involved in each situation is invaluable.
What emotional attachment do you have to your work?
I become committed to the success of each organisation that I work for fairly quickly, and find that I focus most of my efforts at improving things at the individual level – I genuinely love seeing people grow and develop within the workplace. My role can be emotionally demanding so I like to unwind with my favourite pastime of photography!
What tips do you have for other women who’d like to do your job?
Reach beyond your comfort zone – the thought of standing up in front of lots of people and delivering a workshop once terrified me; which is exactly why I then decided to make myself do just that...and found I was actually quite good at it!
Be interested and curious – the quality of HR support you give is improved ten-fold by learning about what people in your organisation do, why they do it, how they do it, and about the direction and mission of the business overall. It also helps in building great working relationships with senior managers.
Be resilient and retain a sense of humour! The life of a HR professional is usually an eventful one – being able to stay positive will do wonders for your well-being (and sanity).
Sarbjit is also currently on the UK Coaching Partnership Diploma in Coaching Course, she has just started a coaching blog, so do pop over and see what she has to say!
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