I had the good fortune to be in Albuquerque for work during the Balloon Fiesta. It was a beautiful event. The colorful balloons going up in the air with the blue sky as a backdrop was amazing. It doesn’t look like it in the pictures, but there were thousands of people on the field and it was pretty cool that you could talk to the balloonists and see everything up close.
Portugal is beautiful in its own ramshackle, unkempt way. Accept her beauty as she gives it to you; even though she is unassuming and even unaware of what she offers visitors. Each cobblestone street, each narrow passageway is similar to unwrapping a gift. I perused these gifts during a two week, solo trip in September 2018. This was my first solo trip; I was nervous and excited. I recently read that Portugal has a 26% unemployment rate, but I only witnessed bustling streets with tons of European and British tourists, downright honesty and some unbelievable prices on food.
I landed in Lisbon on a early evening on Tuesday and had decided to stay in a shared apartment (a first for me). The metro station is a walkway from the airport and the ticket machines are easy to navigate. For $1.20 Euro I could go anywhere in the city! Lisbon was my only pre-planned hotel and the rest of the trip would be spontaneous reservations based on where I landed for the day.
I will confess, I spent a lot of time lost. It is easy to do when street names are not in English, not visible and windy, cobbled streets begin to all look the same. When I got off the appointed station, I exited the wrong direction which left me wandering the Bairro Alto/Bica neighborhood for about an hour looking for my reserved apartment. It was hot and roller bags (even small ones) coupled with cobblestone streets don’t make for easy travel. I did finally find the apartment and fortunately it was in a great location.
I wandered all over Lisbon for the next two days seeing all the sites and even taking the streetcar to Belem. On my third day, I made the day trip to Sintra. I headed to the Rossio train station where a round trip ticket was $5.00 Euro. It was an easy 20 minute train ride out and a quick walk from the station to town.
On my fourth day, I took the metro to the airport to pick up my rental car. I am pretty sure I was the only person in the country that wanted an automatic, but I guess this distinction gave me a BMW, so it all worked out. 🙂 I headed to Obidos. It was a quaint (dare I say fake) medieval town (but also the wedding capital apparently). I walked through the main drag littered with trinket shops and cafes. I climbed the wall of the castle to see the countryside. Overall it was an easy in, easy out trip completed in one hour.
My plan was to head to Coimbra next but I saw the sign for Nazare and decided to take a detour! Nazare was the quintessential fishing village. It was clouded over with fog, but it had a wonderful, long, sandy beach. I found a cafe (there were many to choose from) and had my first fish dish in Portugal. The Dourada was good and came with salad and potatoes (a theme I would see in many of my meals).
Nine miles outside of Coimbra were Roman ruins that I stopped to see. The mosaics were incredibly preserved and an interesting museum provided a little relief from the unrelenting heat. Next stop was Coimbra. It was crowded, traffic-filled and I never was able to find the location of my airbnb. So after one and a half hours circling the city I gave up and decided to find a hotel in a town on the way to Porto. I ended up in Aveiro (Portugal’s Venice) and sure enough there were gondolas and canal.
In the morning I made my way to Porto and since I had read that driving in Porto was not recommended, I decided to stay north of the city. It ended up being an industrial area with little charm but the metro was easy to find and dropped me right in the downtown area. While waiting on the platform, I met a man from Morocco. He was doing some work in Porto so I asked him what he thought I should see. He suggested an itinerary and even made sure I got off on the correct metro stop before releasing me to explore.
The metro stop put me in this amazing garden across from the city. What an amazing way to be introduced to Porto. I walked across the bridge and walked up and down the many hills. The Ribiera walk was crowded and people watching was at its finest. I also visited the most beautiful train station with tile work more impressive than anything else I had seen.
After spending the night in Porto, I head to the Douro Valley where a spent two nights in Pinhao. This little town was the perfect central location to an amazing gorgeous area. I stayed at the Hotel Douro, which was family run and the perfect refuge. The hotel was smack in the middle of town and an easy walk to several Quintas and the river. I immediately walked the bridge and did a port tasting at Quinta Das Carvalhas. I had never had port before and also did not realize the variety. White, rose and red ports exist! Who knew?!
For $10 Euro I took a one hour boat ride down the Douro. It was the perfect amount of time and blessed me with more amazing views of the rolling hills, vineyards and Quintas along the way. I ended the day by watching the sunset from the veranda of my hotel…absolutely perfect.
I mentioned to the hotel owner that I wanted to do a hike and he suggested visiting the village of Provesende. It was 10 Km and ALL uphill but the rewarding vistas were worth every bead of sweat down my forehead. The stunning hills, valleys, and many Quintas made the time pass and I ended in a tiny town lost in time. It was perfect. I roamed the tiny, very quiet town, had a coffee and knew there was no way I was walking back down with the stifling heat. Fortunately, this tiny town was not too small for a taxi. !0 minutes later at $11 Euros (money well-spent!) I found myself back in Pinhao.
After two heavenly days in Pinhao it was time to head south with the ultimate destination of Evora. But I was in no rush…and had identified four small towns that I wanted to see. I stopped in Belmonte, Sortelha, Marvao and Castelo de Vide. Each of these towns were smaller, with few tourists and even fewer touristy shops. In other words, pure heaven. Of course, each town had a church and a castle and all were beautiful. Castelo de Vide was not on my list but I needed a hotel and just happened upon this town…what a find! Small, quaint, full of character and beautiful. I feel like I have used the word beautiful way to much, but pictures and words truly cannot describe the Portugal I discovered, wandered through and embraced.
The next day, I headed to Evora. Again, a last minute hotel find ended up being perfect. The location of the hotel coupled with its beautiful details made my visit even better. Evora was a nice-sized town with a university, Roman ruins and of course, an amazing array of churches. St. Francis church (Igreja de São Francisco) was spectacular and Bones Chapel, with it entrance saying, “We bones that are here, for yours we wait” created an eerie experience for $5 Euro. A bonus of entry was the nativity display on the other side of the building, 2600 nativity sets were displayed from around the world and in many different mediums. There was also a small art gallery. This was definitely, overall, worth a visit. I dined outside on a cobblestone, hidden street and truly enjoyed Evora’s vibe.
After spending the night, I headed down to the Algarve. This was the one area that not having a hotel in advance worked against me. Similar to Lisbon, the Algarve was overcrowded with tourists. I ended up staying in Lagos and it was not my favorite. I did a day trip to Salema, a quiet kind-of-fishing village. It was small and the beach was empty. Sagres, with its dramatic cliffs was a worthwhile day trip from Lagos.
Portugal was a gracious hostess. She gave me beauty, history lessons, long lasting memories and the knowledge that I can travel alone. Portugal is well worth the effort. I will definitely return.
Something phenomenal has happened recently in my workplace—an entire behavior shift that I at first believed would never take hold in our fast-paced, ever-changing environment. I decided to put learning in the employee’s hands in the form of an Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
Our company culture advocates the “51 percent” rule, which dictates that employees determine what to work on and go after it with a zeal not commonly found in a typical organization. In other words, no rules, no asking permission, but instead just do it. And so I figured: Why not take that approach in employee development, too?
Every road trip starts with a good map. Whether electronic or an old-fashioned paper map, good up-front planning allows for a more successful outcome (including seeing all the famed attractions) and potentially the trip of a lifetime. So, imagine a world where your employees know exactly what they are good at, what they need to work on, and what tools to explore on their path to self-development. It is possible—with some up-front planning and targeted conversations throughout the year, coupled with a detailed document, the Individual Learning Plan. I am a strong proponent of the almighty (and highly underutilized) ILP. Learning plans are the customized, individualized road map for your employees to ensure they are aware of both the skills they need to develop and a defined path to achieve those skills.
Your ILP should contain a minimum of three things:
Essentially, ask the employee to document answers to these three questions:
Allow the employee to search for resources internally and externally. Suggest a mix of self-paced seminars, courses, and learning situations to develop the identified weak skill.
For example, let’s say you have an employee who needs to develop their communication skills. You might have an internal training session on that specific topic. Or perhaps this employee would be better served by learning and practicing communication skills with an outside resource—or maybe signing up for a group that meets weekly is a better fit. Perhaps there is another employee who has honed their communication skills to perfection and could provide guidance to this employee. Whatever the resource, let the employee figure out the best fit. But guide the employee with resources they might not be aware of. There is no one path to reach the desired destination; allow the available resources and best fit to define the route. During this process, the employee receives targeted feedback on how they are doing that gets documented in the learning plan, too.
No one likes to search aimlessly for the correct exit or next tourist destination, so provide a road map so that your employees can reach skill nirvana while dealing with the day-to-day challenges of completing their job tasks. The employees benefit from better self-esteem and higher productivity, the company benefits from employees who feel nurtured and supported, and ultimately, everyone reaches the intended destination in a more effective, positive manner.
Surprisingly enough, at a recent all-company meeting, ILPs were mentioned in several sessions. It appears the entire vernacular of the company now includes the Individual Learning Plan as a path to employee development—and ultimately engagement—that the employee controls, drives, and benefits from in their career path.
…is actually the bathroom! We decided to update the bathroom that is right off the kitchen. We tried wallpaper which we don’t have anywhere else in the house. It adds the perfect pop of color next to the very neutral kitchen. The choices seem to be endless with wallpaper. I will now look for a rug for the kitchen that plays off the wallpaper.
Just a few punch list items left including under cabinet lighting. What a vast difference from our old kitchen! Getting rid of the dark ceiling and installing tile and counter tops that were white (instead of dark) makes such a difference for this relatively small kitchen. More work space and a much larger sink have made this kitchen much more functional, too. The cabinet maker and general contractor were some of the best guys I have worked with in a long time.
Tile in, appliances in. Next week the counters go in, as well as, the sink, disposal and dishwasher. Getting closer…
Well the kitchen is moving along, of course not as fast as I would like (but frankly nothing does!). New floors are in and they look beautiful. Cabinets are in but lots of finish work needs to happen. Then about a two week gap before the counters can go in. But I have to say, even with just the minimal cabinets installed, it is going to look great in the end, I can already tell.
It seems like I am constantly being asked to complete a survey. And as a trainer, I ask all my participants to provide feedback via a survey. But I have noticed that often I do not get the complete, insightful answers I hoped to get. So, we need to teach people how to answer a survey effectively. This does not mean “lead the witness” or direct responders to give you the answer you are looking for. Instead, help the responder by giving him the tools to answer the question, so that meaningful information can be gleaned from the response.
Teaching your employees to answer thoughtfully and thoroughly when questions are asked, gives the organization the information they need. Getting the needed information ensures that the organization can make the intended change or improvements. Also, showing your employees how the survey responses can benefit them with improved processes or communication can gain buy-in from the employees. So set your employees up for success by teaching them how to be effective survey responders.
So often when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, we are in a rush to throw out the old and move onto the new. But I think it is important to acknowledge where we have been and what we have accomplished. Frankly, it is an important employee communication piece and an important motivational piece.
Whenever you are in “build mode” it is taxing on those involved. There is a high degree of heavy lifting in the content development phase and an increased level of anxiousness from a change management perspective. Subject matter experts are tasked with extra work beyond their “day job” and fellow employees worry about their world changing including expectations and tasks.
In early 2016 I took a project identifying performance gaps in Fortis Construction Inc.’s employee development. After numerous surveys, interviews and content reviews the gaps became obvious. The areas of focus became:
With such robust focus areas determined, one can imagine the fast and furious pace to achieve some of these items for 2016, given the rapid-paced environment that Fortis works under. The accomplishments for the year were tremendous. An on boarding curriculum was created with 14 new classes developed. New hire paperwork became an electronic process instead of a time- consuming paper process on the new hire’s first day. Customizable learning plans were developed and rolled out.
There is much more to achieve including a 2017 training strategy, a LMS to figure out and branding to develop. But it is important to stop for a moment and acknowledge what has been accomplished and the work it took to achieve these audacious goals, so I developed a one- pager titled the 2016 Employee Development Snapshot.
The snapshot highlights development accomplishments, training attended (both required and optional; internal and external). I also highlighted number of SME hours and freelance hours. While putting together the snapshot, I learned a few things:
Record-keeping is key. I learned that as an organization, we haven’t been too good about keeping track of things. So for next year, I have already created tracking documents. This is important since I will be developing snapshots for each year going forward.
Short and sweet ensures it gets read. Given the fast-paced nature of our environment and the information overload that we all deal with, the snapshot is one page, with graphical representation where possible. It is also a color document so that it stands out visually. Wording is bulleted rather than full sentences for scanning readability.
Celebrate the wins and lay the ground work for future work. The snapshot is meant to remind all employees of how far we have come and how the organization values the employee and their development. It hopefully will inspire some employees to get involved in the next phase of work that needs to be completed, too.
A look back is as important as future planning. Employees need the “pat on the back” for goals met. The snapshot ensures employees stop for a moment and recognize what they have achieved before moving forward to conquer the future.
seniyegroff 