Back when we were starting out as fresh graduate process engineers, we were struggling to understand the basics how to do our work. We didn’t have senior engineers or TP’s, overwhelmed by standards and guidelines with no idea how to use them, and our competency development was a slog.
Thankfully, somewhere along the way, we managed to get our hands on something known as “Haji Nik’s slides”.
Haji Nik, a process manager from another region, had prepared a collection of simplified process engineering notes, organized by subjects and easy to understand. These slides were immensely useful and became our favorite references! Whenever assessment time would come (ahh ACD, those were the days…) we would whoop out the Haji Nik slides, going thru them together to prepare.
Haji Nik has already retired, and although I only met him a few times and never had the privilege to attend any of his sharing / classroom sessions, I always viewed Haji Nik as a Legend. An inspiration, motivating me for years to come, charting my personal aspiration of the legacy I want to leave behind: If I ever get promoted to manager, I want to be a leader that has left the workplace a better place. Leave behind content and knowledge that’s useful and beneficial for others young engineers to develop, while simultaneously inspire them to also share with others, in the hopes that they, too can carry the torch and inspire others, making the workplace better for others, long after we are gone.
I took it to heart. Throughout the years, Alhamdulillah I’ve conducted dozens of knowledge sharing sessions, ranging from technical engineering content (separator adequacy, life cycle cost analysis, HAZOP best practices), islamic knowledge (e.g. Life and Leadership Lessons from Surah Yusuf), productivity (personal knowledge management / building your competency Time Capsule), communication (how to deliver Bulletproof Presentations), career development (TMTP personal journey / how to obtain Chartered Engineer certification), and yes, even fitness 😂.
All of these sessions were voluntary, not done out of compulsory “development gaps” or meeting KPI.
Why bother?
Once, our boss asked us, in what seemed like sarcastic undertones: “you guys have so much time on your hands to do these sharing, kah?”
i.e. “so free, meh?” 😏
Immediately, I just straight up said, “we MAKE time.”
So, here’s the thing. The truth is, sharing knowledge demands a lot of effort. A 1-hour session can take up to 5 hours of research, compilation, slide preparation, editing, scripting and rehearsing (yes, I still need to do those).
My recent knowledge sharing on Phase Behavior (which lasted 2.5 hrs) took at least 10-20 hours of prep. My philosophy is, If people are going to spend time and valuable manhours to listen to you, put in the effort to make it worth it.
Preparing for these sessions requires me to spend hours at night, over weekends, during break times.
So to me, it isn’t about “finding free time”. It’s about making time, of putting in the deliberate effort to invest in a higher purpose, a cause greater than yourself.
Tying it back to the big picture: Our Purpose in Life.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “When a person dies, all of his deeds are cut off, except for three: a recurring charity, knowledge which is continued to be benefitted from, and a righteous child who continues praying and supplicating for a parent” (Muslim)
For Muslims, we consider working - earning halal income to provide for ourselves and our family - a form of worship (ibadah). And to create content that HELPS others to improve their work is a form of facilitating this act of worship.
I'd like to hope that somewhere along the way, I could leave my own trail of "Haji Nik slides" to help others, with content that continues benefitting them even after I go.
If you want to strive for a higher purpose, you can’t "find time". You MAKE time.
Those hours on weekends, burning the midnight oil: Totally worth it ❤️
If you’re serious about sharing knowledge, start now in ANY capacity that you are available. Utilize whatever platforms that you have, even if it’s just a personal interactions. Don’t wait until you become a manager. It’s not like when you get promotion, all of a sudden you magically flip a switch and become inspired to share. Kita ni bukan Neo in the Matrix - “I know Kung Fu”.
If you don’t start sharing knowledge now, what makes you think you will do it later, when you are more busy, have more responsibilities on your hands? You have even more legitimate excuse.
When you get into the habit, then the leadership responsibilities only amplify your reach even more.
These are two thoughts I always audit myself:
Knowledge is a trust. An Amanah. A privilege that Allah grants you. What will you do with that trust? You will be questioned for your knowledge, as you will be for your wealth - what answers do you have?
After all, professionals come and go. Achievements will be rejoiced, then forgotten. At the end of the day, what legacy will YOU leave behind, after you go?
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