This week has been an interesting week where I’ve managed to do a little reflecting; it’s the first week since I started my new job that I’ve had a bit of time to catch up with myself! The sharp learning curve has evened out a bit, our team has fallen into a comfortable flow with each other & The Bear & I have managed in just 8 short weeks to figure out each other’s strengths & weaknesses; we’ve gotten past that weird circling & sizing each other up stage & its now down to serious business.
I also got to catch up with some Mentors of mine this week too; I dinned out with my old Head Chef & one of my ex-bosses popped in to see me as well. It was awesome to chat about old times & even though its not quiet how I remember it, I was blown away by their reflections of my career journey to date (seen through their eyes) & I got to thinking how challenging it was initially to learn how to work with these guys & how much they’ve both taught me about teamwork, working with & understanding massively different management & teaching styles. I doubt if I’d be where I am now if it weren’t for them.
Me? Even I think I’m borderline obsessive with the way I like things done sometimes. I love order & being prepared & I’m all about putting systems in place. I’ve always been a pretty calm & prepared worker, so you can imagine it’s been an interesting journey for me as I learnt to work with people who were polar opposites. I spent a LOT of time trying to figure out my old bosses ways, in fact, it was unthinkable for me that anyone could work without a system; why on earth does anyone think creating havoc on their workbench or desk mean they will be able to create a masterpiece I reasoned! 
I confess there were many difficult learning curves along the way with much hand wringing & far too much time spent tactfully trying to create order for them before I figured it out & began to fully appreciate the magic we can all bring to the team when we allow each other to bring our own unique skills & abilities together for a common cause. What first appears to be flying without a net turns out to be an amazing ability to intuit their way through dramatic situations & improvise by thinking quickly on their feet, all good stuff I’m grateful I’ve learnt.
Now, I’m not saying that having the ability to appreciate The Bears behavioural traits is the answer, but I can definitely say, I am a little more equipped with some swift & agile manoeuvres of my own & an understanding of what it’s like to live in a wild world without systems and order, thanks to all the great teachers & mentors who are thankfully still in my life guiding me.
Cheers Guys!
Meet Anna
Contact
20 Comments and Pings on A Blast from the Past – Mentors, Teamwork & Lessons Learnt!
Hey Anna, what a great story! Sometimes we have to be aware that life is really chaos. Take it from me…a borderline OCD Workaholic, I’ve learned the chaos energy. Yes, I map out my business, my short and long term goals. But when you realize the chaos of the universe (which is a natural energy) you have to just laugh sometimes. My advice is to control what you can and leave the rest up to God, The Universe, whatever word you use for the Higher Power. Things do fall into place.
I just enjoyed reading this.
Regards, Donna
Cheers Donna! Yep, the journey has been fun indeed!
Hi Anna,
I enjoyed your post. It made me think back to a summer job I had in college working as a breakfast cook at a pancake house. I was still new. I can remember my boss nudging (pushing) me to move quicker. We were falling behind and were in the weeds with orders all across the wheel. He was just standing there telling me how many eggs to put in the pan and how to cook them. Learning to juggle 8 different egg pans on the burners and get them cooked just right without any broken yolks was a real challenge that day. By the end of the summer when I left to go back to school he told me that I was one of the best breakfast cooks he ever had. It’s a skill I hardly ever use anymore but boy do I remember that day and the way he worked with me.
Thanks for jogging a trip down memory lane for me.
.-= Don Enck´s last blog ..Are You Participating in an Online Tribal Community =-.
LOVE IT Don!
LOL, I have so many very similar memories, being pushed to the limits over the strangest things! Note to self, book a breakie function at your place! 
Thanks for stopping by!
Love it Anna, I wear a bear around my neck! Not literally but my best friend gave me a beautiful necklace…..I love bear energy x
.-= kay hebbourn´s last blog ..Are you Linkedin as Well as You Could Be =-.
Kay, yep, bear energy is a treat, once you figure it out! Ha!
Its bruce the bear!!!!! (got a problem go see Bruce)…, love the article. I agree though if i sit down to work i need to clean my desk. :>) Now i know where it comes from. So true.
Most the times i find its not problems with the staff, it problems with the system, if the system don’t work change it. If it does, stick with it. Nice article
Tarlo! BaaaRuce! Bruce the bear… LOL… Almost always it is the systems that are not functioning properly that cause the problems, it pleases me greatly you clean the desk up before you work at it.
Thanks for all your leadership and advice and support over the years Mark, your an amazing friend! 
Very true post Anna! I think everyone excels when they are allowed to bring their own unique talents to the stage
.-= Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last blog ..Molten- Mount Eden- New Zealand =-.
Anna,
Sounds like you took some time to reflect on your journey up to the present. What a great way to assess your progress by letting others hold a mirror to you and give you their insights.
What a great way to empower your journey and move forward from this point on!
Val
.-= Val Wilcox´s last blog ..Empower Your Dream Life =-.
Yes Val, it was amazing actually, we sometimes lose sight of where we are at with things, having these fabulous people in my life is a grounding and awesome thing. I am truly lucky! Thank you for your lovely words, I appreciate you stopping by!
Hi Anna! Thank you for popping by my blog – I hadn’t known of yours before but I’m really enjoying reading it. (Gosh, that sounds trite, doesn’t it?) I love chestnuts heart-and-soul, so just spent a few minutes poring over your Christmas menu
I’m glad your working situation is easing up a bit, too. Hurrah for not dreading the workplace! 
P.S. From your comment, I’m guessing you’re Canberran too? This is exciting, methinks…
.-= Hannah´s last blog ..The Curious Chocolatier Pistachio and Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate =-.
Great to meet you Hannah!
I am loving your blog, your a fabulous writer, very amusing! 
Chestnuts are delish, I will never forget the 12 hour shift as an apprentice I spent peeling them, It was a real BEEP….LOL! But, well worth it for the food we produced out of it!
I’m in the Berra yep… Really looking forward to getting to know you further….
Our mentors are such important people in our lives, they almost always challenge us & sometimes not in a comfortable sort of way either, but, bit by bit we rise to the challenge & grow & its the headiest feeling in the world when we find ourselves achieving and all thanks to the contrast they offered & sometimes, if we’re very luck, we get to become fabulous life friends. Sounds like your mentors have given you wings to fly girl. Great post.
Hi Anna,
I really like hearing about other people’s stories and how they got to be where they are today. I appreciate you sharing this with us.
~ Tim
Empowered Tribe Member
.-= Tim Colletti´s last blog ..Great Social Media Tool For Twitter And Facebook! =-.
Cheers Tim! I appreciate you stopping by my blog!
Sometimes we are so busy looking forward to where er want to be that we need to remember how far we have come. Our mentors can remind us and inspire us to greater efforts.
.-= InTolerantChef´s last blog ..Fat is Flavour =-.
I really loved reading this post Anna!! You brought me back and I too went through my inventory of mentors; not only in the hospitality end of it but just life in general. Thank you for that for I had some tremendous figures I still look up to today although many have passed on. As always it is a pleasure to read about and learn from you! Namaste, vanda
Great story. Work is always something that takes a lot of thinking and rethinking for me – especially being basically self-employed I always need to add more structure to it and lots of routines for sure!
.-= Margarita´s last blog ..Gaiam Yoga Kicked My Ass in 10 Minutes =-.
education2…
[...]A Blast from the Past – Mentors, Teamwork & Lessons Learnt! | The Hospitality Guru | Canberra blog on great food, wine, cooking and the hospitality industry.[...]…
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 11:03 am and is filed under Hospitality Capers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.