There is a plethora of skills and knowledge we obtain through a role, job, year, or project. All those tasks we do; surely, this knowledge is useful elsewhere, right? All that work we did on that project, in that company, or for that demanding boss, surely it’s worth something, when we change jobs!

Yes, it is. However, it’s important to realise that the transfer of knowledge from one context to another is not automatic. It must be a conscious process. In a new context, take the time to understand the context, then ask questions, and then be ready to listen.

If you’ve worked on an engineering project, you know about the project org chart. It names the roles (titles) in hierarchical boxes on a lovely diagram. For infrastructure projects, the titles usually default to Project Manager, Engineering Manager, Construction Manager, Project Engineers etc.

Here's a thought: what about an org chart based on tasks or deliverables? A big list of tasks to be done, organised logically. And then the project team looks through the list and picks out the tasks they want to do, and/or are good at.

Hmmm, I’ll need more than a hundred words to develop this idea!

I read a lot: books, articles, Facebook(!), LinkedIn, novels, and magazines. I also listen to podcasts and audiobooks. That’s adds up to a lot of time spent taking information in.

Most of it is because I’m interested in it, but it’s not strategic reading.

If I were strategic about it, it’d be “just in time” reading rather than “just in case”. If I got organised in my reading, I’d have a more strategic approach, being purposeful about a topic or arena I want to know more about. Nah, I think I’d rather not. I’ll stick with reading ‘just in case’.

Skills develop through repetition and practise. This especially applies to technical skills like calculations and problem solving. Solving something once, even done well that one time, doesn’t mean you’re skilled at it. We’re not “skilled” at something until it is second nature, or a habit. It’s a skill when, for example, a problem to solve comes up and you don’t have to think about how to solve it, you just do.

The problem with advancing quickly through a career, is that there’s little opportunity to practise, or repeat, a skill, after demonstrating it once. Developing skills takes time. And repetition.

Determining competence with some certainty, for a task to be done or a role to be filled, is a challenge for all involved. However, there are ways to streamline it, beyond typical competency lists and frameworks. Though these artefacts certainly do help.

Credible competence is having relevant knowledge, skills and experience. More tangibly, to me, this means having demonstrable outputs (words and pictures), interactions (having spoken to or otherwise interacted with others), and stories (what other people say about you and the topic).

Competence and credibility are intertwined concepts. I don’t think you can legitimately have one without the other.

Knowing our work preferences (i.e., working with people or working with data/documents) helps with our leadership aspirations. Do we want to excel at people leadership, or technical leadership? Both are an important part of most jobs, of course.

Knowing yourself (self-awareness) is knowledge worth exploring. It means asking questions of yourself often, and being honest about what you like to do, and knowing what work brings satisfaction and contentment.

Similarly, knowing what you are known for, is also important. Are you known for being principled, tardy, or explosive? Negative, positive, or get-it-done? Pay attention to what you’re known for, too.

When contemplating your career trajectory, here’s a little test. There’s no right or wrong answer. And, the answer might change over your career, and it might change depending on the project you have in mind.

Consider there are two rooms in front of you. One is full of people in heated discussion, and they need to be coached and facilitated through to a consensus on a decision about something important.

In the other room, there are stacks and stacks of books and articles and digital information, which need to be read, sorted through and organised.

Which room do you choose?

Fifty-two, in twenty-twenty-two

Marching forth, what’s up with you

Now fifty-two, it’s some debut

But, ok, let’s begin anew

Fifty-two, a little subdued

And now, it’s phew-

And Twenty-twenty-two?

What’s with you!

100 words are far too few,

To give a proper overview

Not much have you amounted to

Not from this point of view.

Fifty-two, what’s with you

Alright, ok, it’s to drink to

Meanwhile, I take issue

With what we’re going through.

But hey, there should be a queue

And a review

At the recovery barbeque.

Fifty-two, what’s with you

Ok, I’ll find some great value

At fifty-two.

This evening I watched the 2017 Netflix show, “Jerry Before Seinfeld”. I needed a little laughter, and it didn’t disappoint. I got the light-hearted chuckles I needed tonight.

I wasn’t a big Seinfeld watcher in the 1990s of its hey-days. But I appreciate his clever humour, especially his wordplay around normal everyday activities and behaviours.

I noticed his own observation around a clear and unequivocal desire to be a comedian. That’s job certainty: deciding that if he could make enough to buy a loaf of bread, he’d be happy.

A great example of working hard to do something you love.

I was pleased to meet with a young engineer today, who has several goals and ideals. And, lots of energy and enthusiasm. One of the goals mentioned was: “to stand out from the crowd”.

So then, ok, what makes a person ‘stand out from the crowd’? I asked her to name some. It could be other professionals, maybe an actor, musician, or family member or friend.

Then we discussed, what characteristics or achievements do they have, that make them stand out so. That’s where the magic is, identifying that. What it is, that makes someone ‘stand out’ from the crowd.

“One of your primary assets in life, is a feeling of confidence.” This statement is not from a self-help book, nor is it from a motivational speaker. It’s the first sentence in the chapter “Approach the job with confidence”, from a 2007 book “Project Engineering: The Essential Toolbox for Young Engineers”. Even project engineers need confidence to do a good job.

It goes on to say, more eloquently, that “if you expect a positive outcome, your intentions will bring energy and add reality to successfully achieving that outcome.”

I like that frame: it’s a little more tangible than “be confident”.

When facing a problem, especially one involving other people, it’s useful to consider the variety of viewpoints. As most problems involve other people in some way, it’s always important to take a moment to think differently.

I know it’s difficult to stop our train of thoughts, it’s time-consuming to have to take a moment to think in any way besides that firmly from our own viewpoint. Our viewpoint includes our experiences and our expectations, the internal monologue, and our level of certainty.

Just remember, the other person has a whole set of those too, and they’re probably different to yours.

After four days of steady, heavy rain over Brisbane, it’s certainly been a deluge. Brisbane is facing another anxious time ahead. The enormous amount of water has to go somewhere, and it ends up in the wrong places. I’m not affected directly, but my heart hurts for those facing the difficult clean up challenge ahead.

Deluges are like that: a massive amount of something that all arrives at the same time. Working our way through is exhausting and seems never-ending. It feels too dismissive to just say “ it does end, eventually.” “Blue skies eventually appear”.

Take care out there.

A key feature of being hireable, promotable, and successful, is your reliability. We can’t be reminded enough about it, that being reliable is often why many people advance in their career (ok, I know many are promoted in spite of not being reliable, but let’s focus on the positive here).

Being reliable means doing what you said you’d do; showing up to meetings on time; performing your work to the best of your ability; and even calling yourself out when you know you won’t be able to be relied upon for something. Being honest is part of being reliable, too.

When a problem arises, it should be faced, focussed, and figured. And because I love the symmetry of threes, those three steps have three expansions each.

To face a problem, we need to identify it, realise it, and recognise it. It has to be described, before it can be solved.

Next we focus on the problem. In the context of problems within projects, the focus could be on people, information, or processes that might help resolve the problem.

Then we figure it out. Here we need to consider documentation, communication, and change management.

Face it, focus, then figure it out.

The word ‘pilot’ can be a noun, verb, or adjective. As a noun, it’s a person who operates an aircraft, ship, or who is the one showing the way, or, an example. As a verb, it’s controlling the position, or providing guidance. As an adjective, it’s an experiment or test for something before being introduced more widely.

So: we could have a pilot, piloting a pilot attempt at a pilot.

In any case, great things often start as a pilot, preliminary trial, or experiment. Here’s to always having a pilot on the go, so that we’re always trying something new.

Having a low level of hope, or being uninspired in recent times, is not unexpected given the past two years. It’s been a hard slog, and we have some way to go still, to repair the damage done. I have immense hope that we’ll overcome the difficulties and retrieve our collective joy. That’s what keeps me looking ahead.

There’s a direct relationship between hope and accomplishment. Sure, we must always have hope; but when things are difficult, we also need to be accomplishing things. Moving forward a little bit every day provides some confidence that the hope is not misplaced.

How knowledge is transferred influences how effective it is.

Information-based: think of the teacher as the ‘sage on the stage’, presenting information outwardly. Historically, information was scarce and expensive. Not now: information is free and google-able.

Advice-based: advice-based learning is predicated on a protected version of the information, only provided from someone ‘on high’. Not as useful or results oriented as it could be.

Experience-based: this is where the magic is. When learning is experiential, or including sharing of past experiences and learnings, then information, advice, and emotion are all included in the exchange. It’s the best way to learn.

Late in 2021, I had to give up my regular timeslot volunteering at the RSPCA. It was a tough but obvious decision; my days were just too full. Something had to give.

The half day I spent with the cats (or sometimes the laundry room) was what had to give. Work and family were priorities, and that was the right decision at the time.

We evaluate commitments every day, at every decision, and whenever we’re overwhelmed. It’s our commitments, or principles in other words, that help determine our decisions.

Fortunately, I’ve found a timeslot again and I’m back at it.

Networks are complicated things. Whether we’re talking about electrical networks, sewer or pipeline networks, or people networks, they are complicated.

Networks are more than one-to-one, of course. One-to-one is not a network. A network has many nodes, many connections, and, conversely, the possibility of many points of failure.

Networks need to be nurtured. The pipelines, the wiring, the cables need maintenance. Our personal and professional networks also need nurturing. I’m not sure what it will look like in the new normal of choice around workplaces, travel restrictions and online meetings. We’ll need to learn some new networking skills this year.