Seven Samurai, The Secret Seven, Seven Dwarves, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Seven Deadly Sins (okay that example is perhaps not as good) – as I write my seventh blog, now seems as good a time as any to draw things to a close; and unfortunately now is also the time to bring my 9 months mentoring Harry to a close too.
However, we have both worked hard
to make sure that our remaining time together has ended on a high note, with
Harry gaining several more opportunities to gain experience of working life
within several more different parts of Zurich (in fact I have so many amazing
people to recognise that I need to make sure that the many thank yous I will have
to say in this final blog doesn’t end up reading like a teary Oscars acceptance
speech)
Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to Paul Beasley (from IT) who took time out of his busy schedule to run a 1:1 session with Harry sharing a little of the IT knowledge that he has built up over the last 25 years. Paul remarked that “if Harry went away with learning even one thing then that’s one thing more than when he first walked into the room”, which I think you’ll agree is a fantastic attitude to have, for mentoring or for life in general –
and the way that Harry re-counted all he
knew about Zurich’s computer networks during our catch-up afterwards (don’t
worry folks – no security risk) made me feel pretty confident that it was more
than one thing he had picked up about IT. (Paul also told me that I can use
some pictures of them for the blog “as long as they’re flattering”, so I hope
you’ll agree with my judgement here Paul!)
My next thanks goes out to Rita,
Shellie and Jane, from TC1 reception desk, who have always been so kind and
patient with Harry while he has been waiting at reception for me to come down
and collect him (often for a bit too long on the odd occasion when I have been
caught in the middle of something and lost track of time) for our sessions.
They were kind enough recently to have Harry shadow them behind the desk for an
afternoon, an experience which I would like to think was mutually enjoyable
given how much they all seem to love Harry! I think he also got a lot out of
this session given how busy he was helping Zurich’s visitors sign in (being his
usual amiable self) and helped set them up on the Wi-Fi – Shellie remarked that
he seemed to “know more about computers than us”, whilst she also noted that he
taught them “loads about Doctor Who” so I definitely see a running trend in
that respect. The ladies did find it amusing when Harry remarked that he was
tired from “having to get up at 7:30”, I think the early starts that are a
necessary evil of adult life are something that may still take a bit of getting
used to yet (that or he just develops a chronic caffeine dependency like yours
truly).
I want to also give a huge
shout-out to Gareth “Oz” Osbourne, who not only spent an afternoon letting
Harry shadow him around Zurich’s kitchen and restaurant, but after hearing
about Harry’s dream of working in admin he was keen to arrange a second visit
for Harry so he could help him with the more office-based side of his job! Oz
remarked to me afterwards about how taken aback he was by how good Harry was at
recalling all of the different numbers and processes involved in this side of
the job. I found this especially gratifying to hear, as before I had even met
Harry his application form had said that he “wanted to work in admin” and I had
spent a fair chunk of time in our sessions trying to speak with him about exactly
why it was that he had put this, and to try and make sure that the dream he was
expressing was his own, and not a dream that he thought others wanted to hear
him say – something which I think many of us, yours truly included, have 
been
guilty of at certain points in our lives. So after everything I have witnessed
over the months, to have it further confirmed by someone else that he does
really seem to have a knack for this particular type of role, was incredibly satisfying
for me giving me further confirmation that he is continuing down the right path
for him as he continues his journey. Oz was in fact so kind and generous with
his time that he asked me if there was any time to try and arrange a third
work-shadowing session between the two of them; I replied that unfortunately
not, although on the bright side he now probably had enough Dalek and Cybermen
anecdotes to make it through the next few months.
Alas, after all of these months
of working hard (both with myself and with my much more knowledgeable colleagues),
the time had come for our final session. It was one of the first beautiful days
of the year so we went out for burgers at a local café as we discussed his
development over the last year and some of the things that I had tried to teach
him (with the occasional segue into another Doctor Who discussion of course).
As I have remarked on previous blogs, the step from leaving school/college into
entering the “adult” world is an incredibly daunting one, and to see the change
in Harry from our first session together when he was at that daunting point himself –
though handling it with more chutzpah than I remember having at the same point;
to where he is now where he has continued to develop into an incredibly
friendly, funny, self-assured young man, confident and aware of his
capabilities and potential does bring a tear to the eye (something which I was
luckily able to blame on the sunny conditions as we were out for lunch). Harry
is not “there” yet (but then who is?) as he still searches for his own dream
job and continues to work out his own strengths and weaknesses, but he has
developed so much since last summer and it is fantastic to see how busy he is
now working, volunteering and rehearsing for his play basically every day of
the week, and I feel honoured to have been part of one small chapter of his
story. There was then one final touching moment as we returned after lunch when
I signed Harry out one last time, as all of the ladies at the front desk and Oz
said goodbye to Harry and made me promise to bring him back soon. Rest assured
I feel that this is more of a “see you later” than a goodbye – for one thing I
am hoping to swing front row tickets for his autumn show that he has been
rehearsing for all year with his Monday group!
Another quick word of thanks
before I bring things to a complete close, as well as all of the legends who
have directly helped myself and Harry all year, I also want to give a massive
shout-out to everyone at Zurich’s amazing Disability Inclusion Group and our
incomparable Zurich Community Trust for making this whole endeavour possible in
the first place, as well as all of the other mentors dotted around our other
offices quietly doing brilliant jobs too. And it would be remiss if I didn’t
recognise the amazing comms guys for taking my disjointed, spelling-mistake
riddled ramblings each month and turning them into something approaching a
coherent piece of writing, and then promoting them so people get a chance to
read them!
And now just to quickly mention something
I’ve avoided talking about much in these musings – myself. I had never done
anything like mentoring before, and although it has certainly taken me out of
my comfort zone at times I can honestly say I have relished every minute of it.
At the start it felt like a huge amount of pressure having someone at a
vulnerable stage in their life look up to you for some guidance and support,
but making your best effort to try to rise and meet those expectations has been
so rewarding. What is more, teaching Harry about some of the skills required to
be successful in the workplace has ended up helping myself in my own career too,
consciously expressing a lot of skills and habits that I had inadvertently
picked up throughout the years. (I had also never blogged before or been
exposed to the joy that is writer’s block and can now fully empathise with the
famous Dorothy Parker quote “I hate writing, I love having written.”) For
anyone out there who has never considering mentoring (or any similar endeavour)
I would strongly urge they take a second to reconsider that notion – I will
personally guarantee (no refunds) that however much you think you don’t, you
have so much to teach someone else out there to help them on their own
development journey, as I’m sure others have helped you in the past get to
where you are today (The Circle of Life and all that). And for anyone that has
considered mentoring but is still on the fence all I would say is take the leap
and go for it! At times it may be challenging and stressful, but the rewards
involved in helping someone else will dwarf any of the extra work or stress
involved.
Finally, the diligent readers out there may have
remembered that I promised in the last blog we would hear from Harry himself in
this final blog, and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate person to have the
final word:
until the next time...
Pete.
#MyMenteeAndMe #LoveVolunteering #LoveZCT #LifeatZurich
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