What if… -

April 22, 2021

What if…

Control; who should have it and who shouldn’t…

Hello Folks, here we are on another Thursday, it’s cold but sunny and looking promising for the weekend so let’s keep those fingers crossed!

Are you either the go-to person in the office for all things computery software applications or do you have a go-to person in the office that everyone goes to for help (hence the name)?

If you are the Go-To do you recognise this scenario?

‘Hey Alex, have you got a minute, I could really do with some help with [insert as appropriate here]?’

If providing support on use of software isn’t Alex’s day job then it’s likely that they haven’t got a minute because, as much as they love helping people, helping people means that the tasks that they need to do get pushed to one side meaning they have to catch up later. Yes they could learn to say no more often but if someone really needs help and they can provide it saying no can be really tough if you know that you are who they rely on for help with this stuff.

If you go to the Go-To, do you recognise these thoughts?

‘I really need Alex’s help but I’ve already asked them loads this week so I really don’t want to ask again but I need to get this done and I just haven’t got the time to try and work it out, they will get it done in a flash and I’ll take ages.‘

Here’s a couple of other things to think about too;

1. What if Alex leaves the organisation? Who to ask then? Jo in Admin knows their stuff but they always roll their eyes when I ask so I don’t want to.

2. What if Alex isn’t ‘helpful what a Star’ Alex but Alex ‘hog all the knowledge in an attempt to make themselves indispensable Alex?‘ I’m sure you’ve experienced hearing someone very smugly say ‘this place would fall apart if I left’.

Truth: We need to do something about Alex (we probably need to give Jo in Admin some communications training as well but we’ll park that for now!)

Knowledge management and access to support is something that when companies nail it, gives them a real competitive edge.

It’s my mission when supporting the individuals and organisations I work with to help the ‘Good Alex’s’ spread the load and to stop the ‘Bad Alex’s’ from abusing their knowledge to exert control over those that they work for and with.

This week’s very worthy mention goes to someone I am so very pleased to have the pleasure of working with, Sharon MacArthur. Alongside her other many accomplishments, Sharon has made it her mission to speak to organisations large and small about the commercial benefits of making talking about the Menopause a key part of any wellness programme. I can’t recommend her highly enough to be honest and were it not for her, I know I wouldn’t be on the road to getting the treatment I need for my own symptoms.

If you want to book Sharon to come and talk to your workforce (and I really really suggest that you do), check the website out at https://www.missmenopause.co.uk/

What Does This Button Do?

Many Moons ago, in a land far away in the past, I produced an interactive CD-Rom (remember them) which when you went through it walked you through every key on the keyboard.

The keyboard is something many of us use every day but I thought just for a bit of fun and with the help of Microsoft I would wander down memory lane and share this support page from Microsoft that takes you on a tour of the keys and some actions that you might have forgotten. It mentions the F Keys that sit at the top of the keyboard in passing but these really deserve a helpful tip of their own or maybe even an entire ‘Tuesdays How-To’ all of their own so I shall ponder that over the weekend!

Click the keyboard here to take you to the article.

kateCMLW