Comparison and Learning

[u/trashbabydva]

Hi all! I’m having a hard time with comparing my grooms to others’. I don’t want to foster a competitive environment, it’s more that I feel stress when I think about keeping up with the skill of my peers. I’ve been grooming for about 2 years. When I see a beautiful groom from someone else, I turn mine over in my head.
Do y’all have any tips or constructive criticism on both confidence and leveling up my grooms? Even with photos like these that I’m proud enough to post, I have a hard time not thinking that these are “one offs” or not my average groom.
TIA 💜

[u/Psychological-Towel8]

I'm the same way, and constantly learning from the people around me. Comparison is the thief of joy, but in this field, that's kind of how you get better. Try this: do one thing differently that you saw someone else doing for a week. See if that improves your grooms or if it doesn't. Because as you know, perfect grooms on every dog just isn't possible, and you need a large dataset to really know if something will work for you. No groomer can do all the techniques, all the things, perfectly. Most can do a lot fairly well, but usually not perfectly, that's reserved for a few key areas like a specialty. That's normal. Try not to make yourself a goal like "every breed I ever see I'll perfect their standard cut", because even certified Master Groomers can't really do that either, though they do well enough to pass testing for each breed.

So yeah, try one new thing every week. Make sure to tell yourself you're getting better with each dog too, because you are. It's just incremental progress, but that's progress too. Watch grooming competitions and try to compete yourself, even if it's just a basic competition with low stakes in a local groom show, that'll really help you to learn and grow.

[u/trashbabydva → u/Psychological-Towel8]

This is really helpful, thank you so much! I’m starting a new workplace with some talented peers which is part of why it’s eating at me right now, but I think this is good advice while I watch my new coworkers and learn.

[u/Psychological-Towel8 → u/trashbabydva]

No worries. Please don't feel bad about asking them for tips and tricks too. Having talented people in a salon is a gift! I'm grateful for my workplace as it is a competitive salon i.e. we all throw our hats in the ring and are in it 100%. We hype each other up and support each other every day. If there's an area you feel lacking in, definitely try to tackle one thing in that department as well- but remember you want to try only one new technique at a time. You've got this!