Since March I’ve been privileged to be working on a project which aims to make my department not only a fabulous place to work but also an environment where people want to come to work every day.

Trust me, this project has been challenging.

It involves many intangibles. People issues. Dealing with culture. Team dynamics. A lot of ‘fuzzy’ issues that you can’t exactly put your finger on, but you know they exist.

As the months have gone by, the project has lost traction and as team member’s workloads have increased, the project unfortunately has taken a back seat. There appeared to be a lack of commitment as meetings started to drop out of diaries and initial plans fell by the way side.

This week, the team re-convened and set out with a renewed commitment to getting things done.

Something was different. The team dynamic had changed. A new team member had joined the project. She sat in our first meeting dead quiet, not saying a word, just listening (note to self: learn this skill).

However, today, she came to sit at my desk and we started talking about the project. Within 20 minutes, she had inspired me with over 10 different ideas. Simple ideas, but awesome ones! I couldn’t contain myself at all the amazing possibilities that exist and what we could be capable of achieving and more than anything, what it would mean for my colleagues!  It’s going to be so awesome!

But what amazed me more is that we had been working on this project for so many months, and it took one person, with fresh eyes and enthusiasm like I’ve never seen before to pull it all together.

I smell success. I smell fun! I cannot wait to get this going. But more than anything, I cannot wait to start working with her! She’s such an inspiration that you don’t often find every day!

I urge you to seek out people like her. They can make all the difference.