From disheartened and an all time low to re-energised, confident and motivated
Before Jack came into the Ignite Programme, he had had a pretty rough time. His manager had been off sick for a while, and a temporary manager was standing in. Jack wasn’t getting on with the temporary manager’s style of coaching at all. He had also been removed from his work support role before he had even done it for a week. He was very disheartened and at an all-time low, both personally and professionally. Jack felt that work had got very repetitive as a result of being around the same people for the last few years. When he joined the team, Jack wondered why he was in it and what he was going to gain from the programme.
Once he understood a little more about what was going to happen over the 12 weeks and realised that he knew some of the people on the team, he felt more at ease. The main reason Jack took the opportunity to join the Ignite team was that he wanted to prove he had lots of potential and that the reason he had previously been given opportunities was not just because he did well in an interview. He knew that if the Ignite concept was successful, he would probably be considered for new opportunities. Jack found that just being on the team enhanced his relationship with more experienced members of staff who worked in the contact centre.
Jack learnt lots of new techniques through the coaching challenges and was able to experience a variety of approaches to managing different kinds of customer and life situations. Jack enjoyed the reflection exercises where he had to assess himself so he could discover the type of person he is and the type of person he wants to be. He was able to focus on becoming an emotionally stronger and more agile individual. Jack found it helpful to complete the SWOT analysis and asked his manager to complete it too so that he could compare what he believed about his situation with what others saw. By doing this, he was able to understand what his strengths and weaknesses were and what opportunities he was able to develop. He used this for his goal setting exercise.
This is what Jack had to say about his experience in Ignite “I’ve not seen any financial impact of team Ignite personally, however at the time I didn’t have any financial motivation because I was going through a very difficult situation and so I just wanted some stability and normality to help me through a rough time.”
“Team Ignite helped me to get back on my feet, and it re-energised me as a person so I could look at situations in a whole new light compared to how I used to do it. Personally, I feel more confident and motivated both in and outside work. Others have noticed this too.”
“At work, it has helped me to deliver a higher level of customer service, and my energy has increased around my team as a result. I now want to do more things around the team. I’m hoping to use everything that I learnt during my time on ignite with the new starters that I have been chosen to mentor.”
“I hope to use my newly-found confidence to deliver presentations, give feedback and praise and also help mould new staff into working in the organisation’s unique way. I’m really looking forward to the new challenges.”
What Jack is doing 18 months later?
Jack continues to display his confidence and has since decided to pursue a career with another company so he can more easily play to his strengths. He still works in financial services and has taken all his learning to a new level.