I’m rubbish at maths. That’s the story that I told myself for I literally don’t know how many years. At age sixteen, I actually managed to get a U in my maths O’Level which was pretty much as far down the scale as you can get.
I carried on studying for my O’Level exams for the next couple of years while I was still at school. I still didn’t get above a D – C was a pass. I even went to night school to try to get it. Still didn’t reach the magic C. So, after five times of trying, I stopped trying to study maths to pass an exam. As it wasn’t required for any of the jobs I was applying for, I moved on to other things.
Jonas Jacobson, Unsplash
For more years than I care to mention since, I’ve had to use maths in different ways. I’ve run department budgets, my own business accounts and customer reports when I worked in logistics and I’ve delivered psychometric and research results to clients, without a hitch.
As I used to work in pubs and shops, my mental arithmetic isn’t that bad either.
So, by and large, things have been OK. I’ve made sure I can ask for help from folks whose skills in numbers are better than mine if I get stuck.
Over the years, as I’ve said less to myself, “I’m no good at maths” and instead considered where I just don’t get it (algebra and trigonometry…), it’s helped me change the story in my head. I’ve learned to really enjoy the stories that numbers and data can tell. That’s helped me make all sorts of changes in my work and thinking that have, in turn, been useful for my business and my clients.
I often work with engineers and project managers who can be really good with numbers and can see patterns in data that I can’t. I used to get intimidated by that. Instead, what I’ve learned to do is ask questions (to build my own understanding) and add these folks to my team of helpers.
So, if you’re telling yourself a story – maybe about what you or your organisation does – can you challenge it? Is it time for a new chapter, a new way of working or a twist to the tale? The stories we tell ourselves – and in our organisations – just sometimes need a rewrite to create a real change that get us on a different track or a change that people want to get behind.
If you’d like to chat about changing stories, either for yourself, a project you’re working on or your organisation, get in touch.
If you’d like to get more number literate, then check out Kathy Salaman