There's no 'I' in team, but where has it gone in time?

Recently I have been feeling like I’m spread pretty thin, with mounting essays and group work, along with holding down a part time job. Everything is starting to feel rushed and the word stressed firmly springs to mind.

Although we had begun to set the ball rolling on our brief after synchronising diaries, it became apparent that what little time we had left to put the final touches to our piece would have to wait until the last minute. Fortunately, being ‘Team Workers’ (Belbin), we got the job done (and to a high standard if I do say so myself), all in the name of Nando’s!

Enjoying some well deserved downtime with the girls.

Right now, I feel like something or someone else is controlling how I spend my days and ‘me time’ has become a thing of the past. Believing the word ‘work’ is managing my life (and desperately disliking this fact), I got to thinking – how can you manage someone else’s time without the word ‘begrudge’ rearing its ugly head? What makes a good team leader? How can you delegate and not dictate?

It is all about respect, trust and confidence. Just like in Public Relations, you want your voice to be heard and make sure your key players are on your side, whether you are speaking to a colleague, journalist or even your target audiences. I do think I am a natural leader when it comes to work and I think it is more than safe to say that my friends and peers see a different side to me. It’s not that I want to take control as such; I just want tasks to be completed to a standard that I would consider satisfactory when carrying out my own individual work. Does that make me a control freak? Probably a little bit – yes – but I like to think that doesn’t make me a bully. After watching the film ‘Horrible Bosses’, I can categorically say I come across as mild mannered!

Davis suggests the purpose of Public Relations is communication and leadership. He states “A successful leader, in any environment, has to be an effective communicator in order to arouse confidence, sustain credibility and generate excitement.” I strongly believe that I am a communicator and that I do prefer to guide rather that control, listen rather than speak.

Interested to find out whether I was perceived the same by others, I asked my friend to speak honestly of how he saw me. Prompted by blurting out the phrase “am I a control freak?!” he said what he thought. I braced myself for the worst, as you do when you invite someone to tell you what they really think, the sudden realisation that maybe you aren’t the person you thought you were strikes and panic sets in. To my relief he stated that I just like what I like and I know the way I think things should be done. Close friends also stated similar answered.

When I put some thought into it I came to conclusion that my task emulated that of PR practitioners. It’s all about how you want to be seen and how people perceive you, making sure the scales are balanced. This statement is true whether within Public Relations, leadership, relationships or just life in general. Though between you and me, I’ll never complain if the scales are tipped in my favour!

Over and Out!
Rhi x