Anni Townend

I am new to bee-keeping and there is much that I have to learn! We took possession of our first swarm of bees last June and we soon discovered just how many different views there are on the best way of keeping bees. What I also quickly realised was that although I was now officially a ‘bee-keeper’ I did not feel myself to be a ‘bee-keeper’.

This absolutely parallels the experience of many leaders who on finding themselves to be a ‘leader’ do not feel like they are a ‘leader’. They, like me, think that they know what the essential first steps are only to discover that all is not quite as they had thought! They set out full of the best of intentions and soon find that people aren’t behaving quite in the way the books tell them and there are a hundred different views on how to get the best from their people.

So lesson #1 has been to increase my knowledge and understanding of bee-keeping through reading and asking for help from people who are already bee-keepers whilst finding my own way.

And herein would seem to lie the key for leaders – that there is something about acknowledging a ‘newness’ to a role combined with our eagerness to learn more that has us ask for help from others who have more experience of leading at the same time as finding our own way. So who can you see who is already getting great results from their people and could you ask them for some leadership support?

Learn more about Anni Townend, the author of this article – click here