Do you have a few habits and you’re not really sure where they came from? One of mine is the tendency to find analogies for situations, some of which can be a bit long winded, but hopefully not this one!

Over the last few weeks, I've been adjusting to my new life of home-schooling, working from home, and supporting clients and candidates as they pivot, adjust and navigate this pretty frustrating time. I've been reflecting on my values and how they guide the support and advice I give others, and the experience they have when interacting with me. And that got me thinking about making pizza! Specifically, how similar it is to nurturing and maintaining strong relationships at home and with my work family and clients.

When I’m interacting with people, I focus on doing what needs to be done, in a thoroughly human way. In this new world we’re all living in, some decisions and actions can be pretty tough ones. Even when making these tough decisions or having difficult conversations, I always strive to do them in an empathetic and engaging way.

So, I give you my pizza making analogy:

At home, we’ve been making quite a few things from scratch lately, like pizza. This is partly because I have the skills to do this (?!), the ingredients on hand, and it meets multiple needs in our house. It keeps the kids happy, fills their bellies and saves some dough (dad joke).

Like building relationships, Pizza can be created a few different ways; you can buy your pizza base from a local supermarket, or you can use a handful of ingredients to create a home-made base. Both ways achieve the outcome you want, but in choosing to make your own, you keep your family engaged, happy and part of the pizza making journey. And you create incredible pizza! Taking time and care makes all the difference, just as it does in our relationships.

Pizza making all starts with knowing your ingredients; you know what your pizza needs, and what the right products are to make an amazing dough. As all great chef's say, you've got to treat your ingredients with respect.

Measure your ingredients carefully. Take the time to make sure you put the right quantity of ingredients into the dough mix. Too little yeast and the whole thing can fall flat, too much flour and it’s tough and dry. Kind of like communication, the right amount of information, in the right order makes all the difference.

Leave your dough to rise. When you make a new dough or tweak your favourite recipe, give your ingredients some time to do their thing. This difference might see your dough really rise, with a great reaction and help you to make the most amazing pizza. Giving relationships time to flourish is equally important.

Rolling your dough. Your dough won't be the right shape when it has risen, but with careful handling and a gentle touch, you can create a perfect circle. This gentle touch has sure come in handy while I’ve been home schooling!

The pizza recipe I used for this analogy was from our wonderful local legend Annabelle Langbein. It's really worth a try.

While I was pondering over my pizza making, it got me thinking. At Kin, we deliver recruitment services as many in the market do, but we do it in a way that makes a freakin great pizza and one that I'm always really proud of.

Kia kaha - kia noho haumaru