Over my 45-year career in the residential property industry I have gained an incredible amount of experience and have enjoyed some wonderful highlights but, along the way, there have been some darker moments where my resolve and resilience have been seriously tested.
Despite the hope created by the rollout of vaccines, today’s covid-dominated world continues to test our resilience and we are all having to deal with challenges that impact on our mental well-being both now and, most likely, into the future.
As one of the founder members of the charitable foundation Agents Together, I am acutely aware of the impact on individuals, businesses and the wider property industry. Our recent workplace survey produced some worrying statistics on the scale of the issues. The full 36-page report can be found in the hub section of the Agents Together website, and I urge you to take a look and think about yourself and your business. If you feel you can get involved or would benefit from some of the resources available, please make contact.
While there is a growing understanding that issues exist, it is vital that we seek solutions both for ourselves and to help others, as poor mental well-being results in absenteeism and is often responsible for poor productivity among those who still present themselves at work despite being ill.
It is vital that we seek solutions both for ourselves and to help others, as poor mental well-being is often responsible for poor productivity
Since starting in estate agency aged 16, I have always invested in trying to be the best I can be, improving my knowledge and skills and not simply hoping or relying on others to provide the necessary input by way of training and development. Of course I have benefited from the support and leadership of others, but I have never simply handed my career in at the door when joining a new employer and asked them to look after it for me!
I have no doubt that many enlightened employers already help their staff be the best they can be and support them through personal difficulties. There is, however, a need to do more. The payback will be immense for everyone concerned.
I believe that the right attitude, knowledge and skills help drive behaviour and success, and I have personally reinforced this through obtaining a wide range of qualifications. These have helped give me confidence that I can fall back on whenever I hit a bump in the road and have helped create business opportunities and a huge network of like-minded industry professionals to provide mutual support.
I surround myself with positive people and spend hours reading books and listening to recordings that inspire and motivate me and help me develop knowledge and skills (which have required ongoing practice). This drive for self-improvement also provides a focus and measurable milestones that generate a feeling of achievement and value, which in turn makes me more resilient when inevitable challenges arise. There is now so much high-quality content available, yet I still speak to people within the industry who seem oblivious to what is around them.
Getting involved in organisations and activities away from the workplace can be hugely beneficial in terms of providing focus, increasing knowledge, networking and helping develop skills and self-worth. I have always been involved as a volunteer in various community, sports and charitable organisations and these organisations have given me back far more than I have probably contributed and helped build my confidence and my leadership, presentational and organisational skills as well as introducing me to a large network of like-minded and positive people.
If you look you will find others who are experiencing the same challenges, and we need to find collective resilience at all levels – nationally, in our communities and individually
When things get tough, every day can seem like there is a mountain to climb. And every day it can seem like the same mountain. It often not helpful to see our needs for resilience as purely personal. If you look you will find others who are experiencing the same challenges, and we need to find collective resilience at all levels – nationally, in our communities and individually. This is so true of the current pandemic, a situation that touches us all.
Leading resilience expert Dr Lucy Hone talks about “ordinary magic” in becoming more resilient, that resilience is not an elusive trait and that we can all learn to become stronger.
We need to tune into the good. Avoid negativity bias and choose where we wish to focus. Ask yourself whether what you are currently doing is helping or hindering. Clearly, if it is not helping then pivot and focus on things that will make a positive difference rather than dwelling on all the thoughts of why something won’t, or might not, work. Edison once said that he had not failed, he had just found a thousand things that did not work.
Everyone has things they are proud of, no matter how large or small, and these can be part of the foundations for building a better future.
I am proud to be a founder member and of the work that Agents Together are doing in helping members of the estate agency community develop resilience through creating the awareness that they are not alone and that there are people who can, and want to, help.
