I missed my boss

If you read my previous blog a few months ago, you will know that working here at AJB HR Consultancy Services is the first job where I have really felt valued.  Andrew has trusted me with a lot, and I really appreciate it.

A little while ago, he told me he is going on holiday.

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It was different this time

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I didn’t think anything of it, as he has been on holiday before and everything has been fine.  However, this time, Andrew told me that he’s leaving his laptop at home and taking his emails off his phone.

The closer the holiday got, the more fearful I became of having to do things myself.  I didn’t know how I was going to cope.

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Your people are your biggest asset

Before he went away, Andrew also told his wider team – his VA Louise and his social media manager Gus – that they would be working alongside me to ensure we that work together to sort through any issues and answer any questions that each other may have. We could only contact Andrew in an emergency.

Thankfully, in the two weeks that he was away, this only happened once and it was resolved very quickly.

Louise has been a great help and I can’t really fault her – I’m just so used to picking up the phone to Andrew that it took a bit of time to get used to.

I missed my boss (don't tell him)

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It has been quite crazy and weird without Andrew around, and while he was away, I couldn’t wait to have my boss back (yes, I know it sounds sad, but I felt a bit lost without Andrew to turn to for advice and instructions).

It has been nerve-racking as this is the longest that Andrew has gone away – and I feel like I’m still learning.  It has been challenging when issues or questions have arisen for which I didn’t know the answer.

Over time, I have got to know all of our clients.  Usually, they would go directly to Andrew.  I had a few messages from clients and enjoyed dealing with their enquiries.  I have also started to use Trello (a project management software) which I’m finding works well to keep a track of things. Before this job, I didn’t know what Trello was and, if someone had explained it to me, I would never have been able to see me using it!

Trust is a big thing

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While Andrew was away, I managed to cope okay.  Unfortunately, I don’t know the answers to everything and it is sometimes difficult not knowing where I can go to find the relevant information.  Some things had to wait till Andrew is back, for which I’m a little frustrated at myself, as I was hoping that I would be able to compete everything before Andrew came back.

However, for the most part, things have run quite smoothly.

It is nice that Andrew has put his trust in me, Louise, and Gus to keep the business running whilst he has been away, even though it’s scary – it just shows that Andrew put every bit of faith into us (it means alot to me) and I really appreciated his regular emails to reassure me that I would be fine whilst he was away.  

But, I did definitely miss having my boss around, and that is a first for me.

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