All the things I get to be involved with, get to work on and get to hear about are things that I feel really matter, that make EY a good place to work - for the first time in a long time I feel like my work is important, and that by doing the best I can there is a direct impact on improving how the business works. Mostly that's because Liz (my boss) allows Anne-Marie & I to be involved, she doesn't hold back information just because its not directly related to the tasks we have to complete, but allows us to do as much as we want, and gives us the opportunity to have a go.
This week was exactly that - TAS Japan needed someone to help with a major recruiting initiative; Liz put forward Anne-Marie - she spent Wednesday to Saturday in Japan and will potentially go again in the near future to make sure it's a successful roll out. Wednesday Liz got a call to say one of the facilitators for the HR strategic retreat in Macau was ill, could she help. Liz's passport was in getting a new China visa, so she asked me if I'd be interested. Of course!! I said yes, she coached me over the phone at about 9.30pm, negotiated a night's stay in the Mandarin Oriental, and told me I'd be fine! Guess what? I was fine, it went really well, I got to meet the China People Leader, the China COO and the heads of all the areas of HR in China. I also got to see what a fabulous team they have, the challenges, but also the way they want to move forward to cope with the growth of China in the next couple of years. And hell, its not every day in Australia you get sent to Macau!! The best bit was, Liz not only offered the opportunity, she had no expectation that I would go, but was really proud that I did it, and that it went well! Just the fact that she was proud of me meant more than any other part.
This is why I came to HK, that's why I pulled Trent here. I have opportunities here that would take me years to get in Australia. Asia, and especially China is so big, and growing so fast, that if you want to do it, chances are you just have to ask. The politics still play, the culture is very different, but that aside, there's an expectation that if you say you're an expert, then you must be. Thursday proved that I am knowledgeable in my field, I do have a skill set that is specialised, and here it was recognised properly for the first time, at least that's the way it felt.
I included a couple of photos of Macau which I took on the way back to the hotel after dinner, to avoid the Karaoke.... apparently everyone had a great time, and next time I won't get away with not coming!! ;-)
ps, for those of you who what to keep track of Gilko too while she's overseas, her blog is now a link on ours.
