The missing pronouns in TEAM...

A reflective thought for today's blog, as I'm sat waiting for a client in a quiet country lane with no wifi and only the birds for company.

I was writing a job description for a client last week, and the role stipulated that applicants had to be comfortable working as part of a team and independently. It made me think about self employment and the type of career I've chosen.

My previous role was incredibly independent and whilst I worked with a large cross section of people it was as a consultant or gatekeeper rather than as part of a team, even working on a project team isn't true team working when it's just one project in your daily workload.

When I chose to start Spinning Plates I knew there would be a lot of solitary time and that the ability to work alone was a key skill that I needed. It's been 3 years now and I can honestly say that I enjoy my own company and that I've developed techniques for ensuring I have the motivation to stay on top of things each day. I also love the time I'm able to spend time physically with my clients, it's a nice change of pace.

However, I'll also admit that at times it's lonely and I'm sure anyone who owns their own business will tell you the same thing. There are ways round that though, I've done a lot of face to face networking over the years, I take opportunities to speak to people I come across in day to day life and I've found a fabulous new virtual networking app called Shapr which I've really enjoyed having conversations on.

These are networks though, relationships, peer groups and venting points- they are not the same as true teams... and that was what I was reflecting on. It's been a great I'd few years since I've worked as part of a team and although I'm confident it's something I could do (I'm not confrontational or difficult to work with!), it's a skill muscle I've not used in a while and something I'd like to make sure I kept supple.

I have no solution to this, as I said it's just a thought that occurred to me but I will look fit opportunities and I'll keep you updated.