Your uniqueness is actually your greatest strength and it could be the very reason you get the mining job you want.
We aren’t all equal, and I’m ok with that. (And you should be, too.)
Each and every one of us is different. We have unique strengths and weaknesses. There are things we like and don’t like and things we are interested in and things we’re not. Some people are academically smarter; others excel as athletes, artists or writers.
Every single person has things they are good at and things they struggle with.
And you know what? That is OK.
These differences allow each of us to bring our unique set of experiences, skills, likes and dislikes to our workplace, social groups and teams. Your uniqueness gives you talents and skills unlike anyone else’s.
The person alongside of you in your team may well be great at the thing you struggle with and struggle with the things you are good at. With the right mix of differences, the ideal outcome will be a functional and successful team.
We all talk about diversity, yet too few of us embrace our uniqueness. You need to accept there will always be differences between you and others. Often, we don’t embrace the unique perspective our experiences have provided us.
Don’t blend in; be who you are
We try to fit in, we try to be someone whom we’re not, or we adapt to suit our surroundings. We don’t speak up, and remain silent, in case we might be laughed at, be wrong, or have someone disagree with us. Fear overtakes, and conformity sets in.
Worst of all, some of us give up accepting our uniqueness as an individual.
Your uniqueness could be of interest to the person sitting next to you. It could be the key factor in you getting the mining job you want. It is the differences in the talents and skills of individuals that introduce a variety of perspectives into a workplace, creating engagement and innovation.
Finding and identifying these differences when building teams and hiring employees ensures a team is engaged, diverse and ultimately inclusive.
Let’s encourage people to make the most of their uniqueness. Let’s look at what people can bring to our team, not what they don’t have. Let’s celebrate what makes us unique and recognise that it is our greatest asset.
Let’s all start to talk about our uniqueness and encourage others to do the same. After all, isn’t that the basis of a diverse workforce?
What are your unique skills? If you’re not sure, perhaps it is time to explore them with a career assessment?