Javier Sanz

Lessons learned

After nearly 2 years dedicated to the multilingual business, I will take on new responsibilities within the company. It has been a really intense and enriching period, working with colleagues from different parts of the world in a multilingual and multicultural environment.

I am taking with me a few things:

1. Importance of active listening; any time you reach a new place, never take for granted that people will understand what you mean, that only happens when you listen to the people around you in a very active way. Language is not the barrier; you build a barrier when you do not listen.

2. Look after the short term without forgetting the long term; what you do today will have consequences tomorrow. Immediate results are the best option if what you do to get them does not compromise the future results.

3. The devil is in the detail; it is key to have a working methodology at hand but we must always consider the fine points of every reality. You cannot force reality in order to make the methodology work; you have to adjust your tools to the real needs.

4. People; to say that keeping people motivated may be a cliché. However, to improve the results while keeping healthy relationships keeps the wheels in motion but honestly, we cannot put all the responsibility for our motivation on the shoulders of others, this task is a shared responsibility. Looking inside for motivation will allow us to at least retain some motivation when external factors fail us