Steve at LD TodayOne of my Mentors is my wife Joyce, we call her the Oracle.  Why?  Because she is always right. An example of one of her gems was back in 1996 when she said to me:  “Steve, you are a long time at work so it is important you do something you love and enjoy” – that really focused me on deciding what I was going to do as I was being demobbed from the Army.  Fast forward 18 years…. On one of my long journeys I was listening to one of my Audio CDs from the USA ‘Success’ magazine and this message resonated with me:

  • “Do something you are good at, do something you are passionate about and find someone to pay you to do it” 
  • When Seth Godin (author and broadcaster) was asked to give one piece of advice for listeners to take away from his interview, he said “blog every day about your job and why you love it”

While I am not going to blog every day about why I love my job, I do want to share with you why I love what I do and explain what a great job looks like to me.

For the last five years I have had the good fortune of being the Managing Director for Dosh Ltd (Financial Advocacy for people with a learning disability). I recently told ‘Learning Disability Today’ magazine in their ‘Me and My job” series the following:

  • What would be your dream job? “I am already doing it – I love what I do everyday”
  • What is your ambition? “I reached my professional ambition when I became MD for Dosh”

So why do I love my job?

I enjoy being able to be involved in all aspects of our company and our support which includes:

  • Personally supporting a person with  a learning disability and supporting him or her with an Individual Budget; being part of his or her Circle of Support and being involved in all aspects of his or her life.
  • Building a winning team which is known for having a “can do” attitude and also seeking out and recruiting talented individuals to our company.
  • Working with Support Providers (thirty at the last count!) and local authority care management teams – especially when I am asked to deliver a presentation (I love talking about Dosh).
  • Travelling – yes I actually like doing all that driving across England, Scotland and Wales. I get to see some amazing countryside.
  • Project managing new opportunities.
  • Spending time with great colleagues. Last Friday I was in the grounds of Bury St Edmund’s Cathedral for a 1-1 with one of the team – what a way to finish the week!!
  • And the important part of being MD – Strategic Management. Business Planning! Thinking and planning our Strategic Direction which includes our growth, our marketing and the never ending challenge to do something completely different for our company and the people we support (at least once a month).

However, being responsible for Dosh is not the only reason I love my job.  Being part of the Thera Group of companies means I have the opportunity (which I take) to be involved in my other passion of Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring.  Previously it was designing and developing a Leadership Development Programme for first line managers and currently I am responsible for Thera Group’s Project Management Workshop for the new ILM Level 5 Management Qualification as well as a monthly leadership newsletter.

So what are my top tips (that have worked for me) for a dream job?

  • As the man said “do something you are good at and something you are passionate about”.
  • Find an organisation that you believe in and then embrace their values.
  • Find an organisation that you will be proud to work for.
  • Work hard for your organisation every day, bring added value (not just what you are being paid to do) and opportunities will open up for you.
  • Surround yourself with talent.
  • Remember to recognise and appreciate what you have every day.

What makes a great job for you?