Find the Good

Life is hard. Work is hard. Competing is hard. Winning is really hard.

So why in the world do we spend so much time focusing on the negatives when being successful requires so much energy?

You're Surrounded
One of the wonderful things about how we choose to see the world is that we don't have to be stuck in a cesspool of defeat and fatalism if we don't want to. We have a choice. We can make the conscious decision to view the world with unlimited possibilities.

Just think about your team for a moment. Does your mind quickly go to which one is "struggling" or having a "hard time?" Why do we do that? 

Consider instead all of the incredible strengths your team members have that you might be overlooking. Instead of "building a case" against them, perhaps we should build a plan that aligns their strengths with our business needs? Maybe, just maybe, if we allow them to do what they do best...and focus that effort on what needs to be done...we might achieve our goals.

We are literally surrounded with people who are good at some things, but not all things. Yet, we still try to have everyone fit into a specific job description that has an unspoken expectation that each person will be interchangeable with the next.

Does this really make sense in 2016?

What happens when we try to force the square peg into the round hole?
- lost time
- lost productivity
- massive amounts of frustration for everyone on the team, including you

You Too
This philosophy also applies to you and me. We shouldn't try to be everything in every situation...why? 

Because,
- we can't know everything
- we need to play to our strengths too
- and we shouldn't be afraid to bring people onto our teams who are stronger in areas we are not

Our job is to get results...not to embarrass ourselves trying to be Superwoman or Superman.

How About You
When you hit a roadblock in a project, or as part of the execution of your corporate strategy don't throw your hands up in frustration. Look for the strengths on your team to work through, around, or over your problem. If you find the good in your team and in yourself you will be amazed at the results.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Strength = Weakness

We all do a little self-talk from time to time. Okay, everyday we practice this technique whether we know it or not. It just seems to happen. We strategize options, consider our strengths, and then make decisions to move forward. We rely on what has worked for us in the past to help determine what the appropriate steps are moving forward. At least we have our strengths to rely on when faced with adversity.

Unless our strengths will do us no good.

Strengths Are No Good
You might be wondering if I've lost my mind, but hear me out. We all have skills and approaches that have proven to not only fit well with our personalities and comfort level in the workplace, but they have also brought us a measure of success. We rely on these approaches and use them frequently. Sometimes we are described as "driven" and we push hard for things to get accomplished. That is a good thing.

The problem arises when we are unable to recognize that in certain situations our passion for being "driven" is no longer an appropriate leadership behavior to work through a particular situation. Now what? Are we lost? Do we throw our hands up in the air? Or worse, do we let our emotions dictate our behavior which typically leads down a slippery slope of lost credibility?

It's Not About Strengths
The solution lies in the very early stages of the various conflicts and issues that present themselves in our lives. If we leverage our self-talk so intensely that we convince ourselves we should keep pushing for what we believe in, versus leveraging another leadership skill - humility - we risk never being able to solve problems collaboratively.

"If your leadership style is about winning at all costs, you are guaranteed to lose. However, if you are willing to leverage your passion with a healthy dose of humility, you are guaranteed to win."

How About You
In Jim Collins' terrific Harvard Business Review article he describes the potent combination of leadership skills that have driven organizations to incredible levels of success: an iron will and an incredible sense of humility. He calls these very unique individuals "Level 5 Leaders." Don't let your strengths inadvertently hurt your leadership. Are you Level 5 material?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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