We often notice collateral damage when we see it but do we ever stop to reflect on the many collateral benefits in our world? This morning as I was walking my German Shepherd pup I was appreciating that because of him I get to go for a walk every morning. Then I saw someone who just smiled at us probably because they saw my handsome dog.  This is what got me thinking about the incidental benefits.  

In our professional lives how many times have you found something unfold from one connection that you probably did not give much thought to, but years down the line you yield a happy result.  Like some time back when I started on my journey as a Leadership Coach I had to practice my coaching skills by coaching some senior leaders, during this journey I had the privilege of coaching one headteacher.  Three years later, someone out of the blue contacted me and asked if I would be their Coach.  Now we take it as given that if we do a good job our clients will recommend us, but when people are so busy we cannot take that for granted nor can we expect that from them. Goodwill cannot be deliberate it needs to be genuine, and often it will come out of nowhere!

©DMP

6th July, 2022