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My first few weeks at The Happy Learning Company, by Becca Watson.
The story so far…
Hey everyone! My name is Becs (or Becca, Rebecca, I’ve never really minded) and I’m the newest recruit at The Happy Learning Company as Happiness and Learning Project Executive. As part of my ‘baptism of fire’ I’ve been asked to write my very first blog post on my first few weeks at The Happy Learning Company, and how I got here!
My previous role was a Security Officer at Stansted Airport, I started at the tender age of 19 with the idea of only staying for the summer whilst I figured out a long term plan, that was back in 2011! I was mainly based in the terminal checking passengers bags and sadly having to dispose of passenger's oversized liquids (Sorry!) This is where I got my first taste in the Learning and Development world, but from the operational side of things. The airport was in a period of change and growth, and with that came a lot of new opportunities, so I got involved in several projects based in Continuous Improvement, which lead me to discover my love of making a difference and improving my colleagues working life.
Every time a new project came up I put myself forward, each time learning a new part of the business and seeing what went on behind the scenes to make these changes happen. I was leading change from the front-line, getting involved in coaching my colleagues in the roll out of these changes, until they became part of our normal working life.
I managed to do all this whilst going back to my original role in between projects, sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes for a few months, but it was nice to have the safety of my original role to fall back on but this had a downside where I got too comfortable - I never really pushed myself out of my comfort zone, bar a couple of internal interviews for positions in the training team.
So, fast forward a few years and 2020, the year of the pandemic, which I spent the majority of on furlough. During this period, I had a lot of time to think about I wanted to do when the world was a bit more normal. When the time came and I was unfortunately made redundant, I had already made up my mind that I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone, I wanted to explore a new career.
Just after Christmas, I got stuck in the job hunting world, and realised I knew two amazing people who could help point me in the right direction, enter Helen and Andy! I’d long been an admirer of their work in the industry, and I loved The Happy Learning Company values so I quickly got in touch with them to see if I could chat with them about their experiences and how to sell myself as a potential employee for a Learning and Development company.
Our initial chat was about why I wanted to join the L&D world, my experiences so far, and they set me a little bit of homework before we chatted again. My homework was to look at my strengths and weaknesses, to look at what gives me meaning and purpose, and also how I like to work.
They also recommended a book to me, which was Shawn Achor - The Happiness Advantage (a great book! Read it if you get the chance). I came away from the meeting feeling uplifted and with a lot to think about, so I sat down and did a little self evaluation, and realised what I loved most was working in a team environment, and after so long of being in such a strict routine, maybe a bit of freedom in my work would be a good thing, and a good challenge for myself.
When thinking about what made me happy, a big part of it is being involved in making things happen, I love being behind the scenes contributing in any way possible to make something a success, and I also love being at the forefront of something and having a direct impact.
When we had our second chat I wasn’t expecting Helen and Andy to be suggesting I come and join them, little did I know they were actually looking at expanding the Happy Learning team, it seemed to be fate was stepping in! I was quickly enrolled in The Happy Learning Team as Happiness and Learning Project Executive, that was a month ago now and it’s been a real whirlwind! I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.
From the moment I found my welcome balloons on my doorstep the day before I joined (who doesn’t love balloons?!?) and my first team huddle on Zoom, I was made to feel one of the team and I was excited to get stuck in, getting up to speed on all our latest and ongoing projects, meeting the Happy Alliance and learning all the tricks of the trade.
No two days have been the same since my start date, and its a completely different way of working than what I’m used to but I’m loving it, there’s a real success culture in the company and celebrating milestones, big or small. It’s definitely different working remotely, and I’m excited for when we can all once again meet up and have our design labs in the same room and fist bump another fist instead of my computer screen.
So that is my story so far. It has been an exciting few weeks… with a steep learning curve. Overall, the things I have learnt so far during my time with The Happy Learning Company are:
1. How to supercharge my confidence, charisma and courage in order to engage and connect with others.
I attended a 'F.I.T to Facilitate' workshop for a client and ended up participating, it was a massive step outside my comfort zone but I’m so glad I did it, it’s given me so many skills I can take forward in my career, and in life!
2. When you do something you love, it doesn’t feel like work.
I never understood this sentence before now but it’s true, I relish new challenges I’m faced with every day, knowing I have support from all angles to help me succeed.
3. Stretch yourself (go out of your comfort zone).
It can feel scary and challenging at times, but it is critical if you want to grow, develop and be a better you! Using a term I learnt whilst on that workshop I mentioned, stretching yourself out of your comfort zone can bring the best out of you.
It has definitely confirmed to me that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can lead to great things, its an exciting start to 2021 for me in what is a funny old time in the world, and completely unexpected to where I thought I would be this time last year. I’m super excited for what the future holds for me at The Happy Learning Company.
A little quote I love to sum up this l post, and I apply to all of life’s many lessons in my personal life, and also now my career is:
"Don't go through life, grow through life."
- Eric Butterworth
We are always looking for amazing talent to join The Happy Learning team or Happy Alliance. If you think you've got a talent for creating happiness, why not get in touch? Email: gethappy@thehappylearningco.uk
Don't look for happiness, create it!
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