Building Anything New Takes Time

It’s a stunning day here in Sydney today.

We’re still in winter but it’s 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) and our front porch is the perfect place to sit and eat my lunch.

I’ve been out for a walk this morning with our dog Sally and absorbed the sights and sounds of Manly beach. Exercise has been so good for my soul in 2020 aside from the positive impact it’s had on my physical health. 

Funny anecdote for you from todays walk. Our dog Sally who is a miniature Cavoodle (cross Toy Poodle and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) decided that at about the 30 minute mark when I was heading up a rather steep (and long) hill climb that she’d had quite enough of this walking caper.

For a tiny dog she can pull on the lead quite firmly and she just stopped in her tracks.

Rather than attempt to drag her up the hill, I just bent down and picked her up and kept walking. I held her with one arm and felt her letting out little noises of relief and when I’d turned the corner at the top of the hill I put her back down on the ground (much to the amusement of some tradesmen working on a house I was standing next to). 

Fortunately that little respite was all she needed and we continued on our walk for another 30 minutes with no further complaints from my little furry companion. 

What a ratbag!!!

Anyway, back to the front porch. As I was sitting there eating my lunch (Quiche Lorraine and a green salad for the inquisitive minds) the sound of Kookaburras in the nearby trees was overtaken by the easy-listening radio booming from the building site across the road.

In March, just when Covid-19 lockdowns were commencing, the owners of the block of land commenced a new build. As someone who’s only ever been involved in fairly minor house renovations (and that was enough to convince me that I don’t have the stamina to be a property flipper), I’ve watched with curiosity the construction proceed.  

S.L.O.W….that’s my biggest takeaway. 

Slow with many, many days of minimal or no activity on the site. 

Lots of moving soil only for it to be moved again to a different location on the site. A pool concreted in and then more concrete footings constructed. I feel frustrated and I’m not even the owners. I can’t imagine how they’ve felt watching the slow progress.

This week though, things have started moving. The easy-listening radio fans are bricklayers and they’ve been working away constructing the perimeter foundations for the house and garage. Before they started laying their rows of bricks it had been hard to get a sense of the size of the house. Now that they’ve made a start I can picture it much more clearly. 

After all these months, it looks real. Again, I can only imagine how the owners must be feeling. 

Why am I telling you about the construction across the road?

Because it reminded me of an unavoidable fact when you undertake any development. Be it constructing a house or constructing a new way of doing things in your role…it’s going to take time to see the progress.

It’s going to involve a period of time where you might wonder if all the effort is worthwhile. But then you’ll start to see the possibilities that this investment in your development has to offer.

The house across the road still has a long way to go before it’s finally completed and even then, it will continue to evolve and grow into itself. The newly landscaped garden will take root and show new growth. The owners will decide on colours and decor. But before anything can happen, the foundations need to be built.

Strong bricks and mortar on solid footings. 

Your growth and development as an Executive Assistant is no different. Building new skills takes time. It takes commitment and determination……but the results are worth waiting for.

As you listen to podcasts (hopefully mine), read articles, attend training events, remember this. And be kind to yourself. 

Until next time.

Liz Van Vliet

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Liz Van Vliet, The Linchpin Assistant

Meet Liz

I work with Executive Assistants and Administrative Assistants to deliver the confidence, consistency and career development that transforms them into thriving Linchpin Assistants. 

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