Leveraging Your Strengths

Embrace Who You Are (and skip those New Years Resolutions)

“Dare to be what you are and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel

I am inviting you all to skip the New Year’s Resolutions this year. By now you should all know that I am a big proponent of personal growth. I’m not suggesting that you mail it in. We should all be working towards becoming more aware of the things that are holding us back. But…

What if we applied our energy towards leveraging our strengths vs trying to overcome our weaknesses?

“The point here is not that you should always forgo this kind of weakness fixing. The point is that you should see it for what it is: damage control, not development… damage control can prevent failure, but it will never elevate you to excellence.” ― Donald Clifton

Ultimately, we chose to do the things we WANT to do.

When was the last time you were so engrossed in what you were doing that you lost track of time? Do more of that.

What is a goal that is exciting and maybe scares you a little bit? Move in that direction.

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity. Perhaps the greatest misconception of all is that of the well-rounded leader.”
― Tom Rath

So how do we do this?

In our organizations, we need to be aware of our strengths and surround ourselves with those with complementary strengths. The goal here is to be spending more time doing what you are passionate about and what you are uniquely gifted to do.

I’m willing to bet that we can accomplish more by leveraging our strengths than we can by trying to improve our weaknesses.

A quick side note on culture and structure within the workplace – to do what I am suggesting will take an egalitarian structure in your organization if you don’t already have one. We have to share power if we want to grow. No one person has all the tools/answers. Protectionism is inefficient, not cool and will chase away our most talented people.

Finally, on a personal note - this year has been full of growth, challenges and change and as always I am incredibly grateful for those who have shown up for me personally and professionally. This isn’t possible without you. None of us knows what this year will bring, but I trust that our ability to navigate change and EVOLV together will bring us to a healthier, happier and maybe unexpected place. I wish you all the happiest of New Years. Talk soon.

Until then,

Embrace Who You Are (and skip those New Years Resolutions)

“Dare to be what you are and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel

“The point here is not that you should always forgo this kind of weakness fixing. The point is that you should see it for what it is: damage control, not development… damage control can prevent failure, but it will never elevate you to excellence.” ― Donald Clifton

Ultimately, we chose to do the things we WANT to do.

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity. Perhaps the greatest misconception of all is that of the well-rounded leader.”
― Tom Rath

Leveraging Your Strengths

Embrace Who You Are (and skip those New Years Resolutions)

“Dare to be what you are and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.” ― Henri-Frédéric Amiel

“The point here is not that you should always forgo this kind of weakness fixing. The point is that you should see it for what it is: damage control, not development… damage control can prevent failure, but it will never elevate you to excellence.” ― Donald Clifton

Ultimately, we chose to do the things we WANT to do.

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity. Perhaps the greatest misconception of all is that of the well-rounded leader.” ― Tom Rath

Year 2 — Behind the Scenes

“Dare to be what you are and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity. Perhaps the greatest misconception of all is that of the well-rounded leader.”
― Tom Rath