Dean Longstaff!

I consider myself to have powerful interpersonal skills. I naturally work well with others in the workplace and outside the world. I’m attentive when listening to others and respond positively and enthusiastically to assure others they are being heard. Communication is vital in collaboration, especially in today’s online communications. I can effectively use all communication platforms from online collaboration tools, phone calls, direct messages, and face-to-face speaking to maximize productivity and camaraderie.

I am naturally a strong, effective leader for the following reasons. I am very self-aware and have always prioritized personal development, not just in the workplace but also in my personal life. I am always working hard to improve myself as a person, to be the best I can be for myself and the people around me. I get motivated when helping others achieve. Achieving myself is a great feeling; it gives me a sense of pride and power; however, allowing someone else to achieve multiplies the feeling by ten. To help others succeed and move up in life is what I want to do; it’s a passion of mine and gives me a good feeling. There are many more traits I have that I could mention here, but I would like to say that I am always looking for “what’s next.” I am innovative, open to change, and passionate about improving or building on things for others to benefit. I make a great effort to ensure that my staff members feel comfortable at work, enjoy their work, and most importantly, feel like they have a voice that is heard.

I have a powerful ability to understand and manage not only my own emotions but also that of the people around me. With this comes a high level of empathy, allowing me to understand how others are feeling, view things from their perspective, and respond to those feelings accordingly. I think it is imperative to understand a team member’s feelings, passions, and indifferences, to ensure that I can make them happy at work and get them running at the same pace as everyone else.

I have worked in customer service since the age of 14, and with this, I have gained much experience and learned a lot of skills. Putting the customer at the centre of everything is the most crucial factor in customer satisfaction; they want to feel like whoever is on the other side of the phone or counter is trying their hardest to resolve the issue at hand or provide a quality service. With this comes a lot of reassurance skills and persuasive speaking. Controlling a customer’s emotions can be tricky at times, but I can successfully manage to keep a customer calm and collected whilst there may be any delays. A sense of humour and small talk skills go a long way when interacting with customers, which I employ in all my interactions.

Prioritisation is something that I naturally employ in all situations where there may be a high workload. It is a crucial skill which contributes massively to a team’s success. I like to refer to the “Pareto Analysis” technique, which is premised on the idea that 80% of a projects benefit can be achieved by doing 20% of the work. That can be hard to understand at first, but conversely, 80% of problems can be traced back to 20% of the causes. Prioritisation can be hard in big groups since everyone will have different opinions on what is most important. In these scenarios, I ask everyone to write down and submit their opinion on what they feel is essential and then count the results to identify the most popular items amongst the group. This makes the group feel like they have been heard and helps identify real priorities. Once items have been sorted and categorised by urgency, I would create a strategy to complete these tasks.

I take accountability for issues and am very proactive in searching for potential problems. I always drive for results in all I do and focus on the attention needed for success. I have high courage to tell the truth, if a project falls behind, and I don’t beat around the bush. I always keep a direct line of sight with the end goal, giving a clear vision and sense of direction. There is an old Chinese proverb I like which is to do with the way many organisations operate: “The hunter that chases two rabbits catches neither one.” In organisations, people often chase multiple rabbits at a time and don’t catch any of them. Chasing one rabbit at a time is the key to success.

I am a natural contributor and leader within teamwork. I like to maintain an upbeat outlook on the goal the team will achieve. Decisiveness is essential in collaboration, and I employ this skill well. This may sound straightforward, but everything changes when opinions start to differ and you need to make an unpopular decision. What distinguishes great team players from the average ones is the ability to see the big picture, put their egos aside, and work towards a common goal.

I am excellent at performing under pressure; it gives me a massive pump of motivation and drive. Overcoming problems is something that has always naturally come to me. I quickly identify the cause of an issue and develop alternative solutions. I am very adaptable, stay focused on what needs to be done, and never lose sight of the end goal.

I am the type of person that enjoys living life outside of my comfort zone. As a result of living life like this, I have learnt a lot about myself, including my strengths and weaknesses, but most importantly, I have always learnt from my mistakes. I have high confidence in myself with whatever task I face in the workplace, and in my personal life, I know that with a good strategy, plan, and positive energy, I will achieve the end goal.

Frustration is simply an emotion that stems from challenges that stand in the way of goals. Many may view these ‘setbacks’ as an inconvenience, which can frustrate some individuals. I am the opposite of said individuals. A setback or obstacle in a plan is simply another challenge to face. I find challenges exciting, and I think the world would be boring without them.

I don’t believe I could be any more open-minded if I tried. I am the most diverse, open-minded person I know, both in the workplace and in my personal life. I am always keen to change and improve outdated ways of working, and I have a good effect on people who aren’t so open to change. I easily persuade people to believe my vision is the best and that we should work towards it. Overall, I love change and new things; they motivate me massively.

I am a very observant person, and I have a good eye for detail. As well as being an excellent communicator to others, I am a very attentive listener. At times, I can act like a sponge, soaking all the information in front of me, from verbal communication to body language. I believe a lot of what I have learnt up to today has been primarily influenced by others who haven’t even realised; I have paid close attention to how senior staff operate and adopted some of their practices into my ways of working.

I have always had a substantial internal drive as far back as I can remember. My passion for what I do and the quality I produce has always been immense. On certain occasions, goals have felt impossible, but with my internal push, I developed myself further, created what I needed to produce and achieved an excellent outcome. Self-motivation itself motivates me; I know that by encouraging myself to achieve a particular goal, I am then rewarded at the end with more motivation!

I am a very analytical person who naturally feels inclined to investigate, research and brainstorm any given situation. For more delicate decisions that require more attention and time, I can apply data-driven critical thinking to compose a firm decision. In other cases where a decision is immediately needed, I am excellent at doing so and taking accountability for those decisions.

I am naturally a highly creative and design-oriented person. Like many people in this world, I am attracted to visually unique items, so any work I produce/develop, I make sure looks good too.

I have many natural project management skills, ranging from effective communication, scheduling, problem-solving and technical expertise. I believe project managers should understand the ins and outs of the project they manage to fully understand any risks involved and communicate more effectively with their teams. I have an extremely high level of technical understanding, which helps me communicate with senior staff and engineering teams.

I have always taught myself how to do things, having grown up in the generation of YouTube where you can learn anything at all with the click of a button, anytime, anywhere. With this fantastic tool, I have dedicated at least 70% of my time outside work, developing myself and learning new skills and trades. This is a natural gift I have obtained, and I have learned entire development platforms in the space of four months.

Problem-solving is natural to me. When I get notified of an issue, especially highly technical issues, I love to sit down, investigate, and plan a resolution. I must also add that I have incredible patience with this, I can spend hours on end investigating, and I stay motivated right until the very end. Of course, if other tasks take priority, then I prioritise tasks accordingly.