Thursday 31 March 2011

Is being an FM like being a politician?



I was lucky enough to be invited to the first Bee Craft dinner at the Wax Chandler’s Guild yesterday, where the after dinner speaker was Lord Hattersley. He spoke about his career in both politics and literature.

What particularly caught my attention was the distinction he made between today’s ‘career politicians’ and those of yesteryear, who had worked in industry, been in the forces and so on, moving into politics later on, because they genuinely wanted to make a difference.

I’ve never met anyone yet who works in facilities management who genuinely planned to be in FM when they grew up – so many of us ‘fell into’ FM from other sectors. So my question to you is, is this a good thing? Are we like the politicians of the past, who bring their experience of the commercial world to the House of Commons? Should we promote FM as a second career?

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts – comment below or email Liz Kentish The FM Coach coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Listen...do you want to know a secret?

Did you know there are three levels of listening? I wonder if we listen actively enough to the people we have conversations with? Which of these do you practice most often?

Level 1
It’s like being at a party, where you hear that background noise but don’t really tune in. That is, until you hear one word – your name! Part of our brain kicks in when something is important to us, and our name certainly is. It’s the same thing that happens when we buy a new car, a new jacket and so on. We haven’t seen one of those for ages, and as soon as we’ve bought one, we see them everywhere. So level 1 listening – no thanks.

Level 2
This is the type of listening that goes on most days in the workplace – where we focus on the words someone is speaking – and sometimes (often?) we are even formulating our response while they are still speaking. By focusing on the words, we could be missing a vital message, which brings us to level 3.

Level 3
This is where we focus not only on the words – what is being said – but also on what is not being said, and this means the tone of voice and body language. There’s a great line in the ‘rainbow ‘ song that goes, ‘listen with your eyes..’, and that’s what we need to do. So often we can get the true meaning in communication from everything but the words. You know, when your other half asks what’s wrong and you say ‘nothing’ in a defensive tone of voice and your body language is closed too. They know that it’s certainly not nothing!

So, let’s aim for level 3 – pay close attention not just to the words, but to the tone of voice and all those non-verbal messages contained in the body language.

Want to know more about effective communication skills training for your teams? Contact Liz Kentish The FM Coach coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk or call us on 01778 561326 / 07717 787077

Sunday 20 March 2011

Remember work/life balance? Here's some inspiration...

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

W. H. Davies

Thursday 10 March 2011

Who has inspired you?

International Women's Day took place this week - I asked my friends, clients and colleagues to tell us about the women, working in FM, who have inspired them.

Here are some of their comments:

Claire McDonald says, I have found the contract manager at my site a great inspiration. Caroline Laver came back from maternity leave to become the manager of the largest contract we serve, in terms of people, and the broadest range of services we offer. To do this while also having a family life is a great inspiration to me and I think she deserves great recognition for it.

Tracy Peters - I think ladies like Julie Kortens, Sam Bowman and Liana Sinclair prove how successful a women can be in the Fm industry. They are all great role models.

Alison Girdiefski tells us,
I would like to say that Sam Bowman is one of the most inspirational women that I have met for a long time. She continues to overcome challenges and have a positive outlook on life and I have never once seen her defeated. When I have been at a loss in my career, she has encouraged me and given me direction. I don’t know where she gets the energy from. Not only is she a busy business woman striving to improve her knowledge and carve out a successful career path she is a Mother and Mentor to many. But for me, most of all she has demonstrated that success cannot be quantified by one measure alone, on a professional level Sam’s success for me is the positive impact that she has on the lives of others. For those of you that heard Sam’s presentation on her FM Journey – “When I grow up Sam, I want to be just a little like You!”

Helen Versloot - In my top 5, Lucy Jeynes for setting up mentoring in WIFM, I've gained so much from it. Diana Kilmartin for being such a fantastic support & mentor, Julie Kortens, Sam Bowman and you of course Liz. Fantastic people all. Thank you for the inspiration, energy, willingness to share your experiences and fun that you bring to FM.

Liana Sinclair says, I'd like to wish everyone Happy International Womens Day. I think each and every woman in the group is an inspiration in so many different ways. So thank you and enjoy the day!

Here's a great response from Aileen Peverell,
I admire Annette McGill, Chair of the Charities FM Group who has shown tenacity and dedication to assist the charitable sector. Men also have been inspirational in promoting the rights of women in facilities. The first public toilets in the UK were built in Victorian times, around 1850 - but were exclusively for men. There was a general feeling at the time that having public toilets for women were indecent! So along comes a hero - the socialist writer George Bernard Shaw. He campaigned for facilities for women as well as men, and was responsible for the building of the first ladies' conveniences in the country in Parkway, Camden Town. When they were opened in 1905, local men demonstrated, as they did not believe women should have such a facility. They were regarded "as a feature so gross as to contaminate the value of all property in the neighbourhood". Thank-you Mr Shaw.

Vikki Wootton - What a great idea for discussion! I have to say Alison Hartigan for the encouragement and confidence she gave me when I started my FM career as part of the supply chain at British Airways. Alison put her trust in me and gave me opportunities to work to my full potential.

Alice Omolade tells us,
Happy International Women’s day, I am inspired by all women who make a contribution (in their own special way) towards the success of FM

And from Liz Lloyd Chapman - Happy International Women's Day to all! I am inspired also by all women who make a contribution but especially Jane Wiggins (my FM Tutor) who has got me through my PART 2 BIFM Qual and always gave me the confidence to continue with my studies. Jane has also guided me through my application for CBIFM of which I am awaiting my results. Thank you Jane for believing in me when I didnt.

One of my own inspirations in FM is Julie Kortens, Head of Corporate Services at Channel 4. You can see her in a short FM World video talking about her role - she is truly passionate about people, that's what makes her successful. (And she is BIFM's FM of the Year!)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdgFm0g3C-Y