Personal growth and development at The Shepherd Group

We love to share our customers’ experiences. But today, we want to share about the people working behind the scenes to create those experiences. David joined us last September in a data analytics capacity. This is his story in his words.TSG is my first ever workplace. Coming here, I did not expect to grow as a person. My old thinking was that people didn’t grow in their workplace. My perception was that office work is stuffy and full of politics.I had this perception based on what I was hearing from people in my network and I expected TSG to be the same. What I experienced blew me away. It was a complete fresh start. I saw that TSG takes a stand for its team members; that it invests in coaching and opportunities for growth; that it cares. In short, TSG has set the bar very high for any future organization that I join.What I learned at TSGThis may sound funny, I learned how to interact with adults. As a young person, this is crucial for me. Having the opportunity to nail down this specific skill at a very young age opens tremendous opportunities for me.Another impact of this learning is that I became more mature. There is a particular way of being our team strives for that boosted my development: they acknowledge mistakes, instead of hiding; innovate and challenge instead of stagnating; and create radical transformations and improvements in all areas of their lives.And when I say “all areas” I mean it. We are ready, willing and able to be vulnerable with each other. This greatly enriches our interactions with each other and creates a tight bond between all of us.Our interactions become richer, deeper and more meaningful as we become vulnerable with each other. Embracing vulnerability with my team members has made me a better friend to the people in my life.Now that I’ve had this transformative experience, I am bringing the TSG way of being to other areas of my life. For one, I deepened my relationships with my family. I will also be much more responsible than before when I return to school later this year.Final thoughtsI’ll close with this: we hear a lot about how workplaces are looking to make their employees happy. Some sigh with envy that Google has slides and pool tables.Sure, there is a time and place for these things, but that’s not the only way of creating lasting employee engagement and satisfaction. It may not even be the best way. Instead, TSG takes the time and effort to engage with each team member to discover their dreams, goals, aspirations and fears. It gives us tools overcome the things that deplete our power.In the short term, this probably won’t make you as happy as a pool table or bean ball pit might. Genuine personal development is not a cakewalk. It will have its grueling and unpleasant moments. But it will be worth the effort once you emerge on the other side.You will have a better understanding of yourself, strong relationships with the people in your life, and the freedom to create a meaningful and beautiful life.Before coming to TSG, I didn’t know what I was doing. This place helps you find yourself and I found a new mindset for myself. Now that is worth fighting for and that’s what I’m up to at TSG.