Sunday, April 19, 2015

Strenghts vs Weaknesses

So, as a leader, what is your focus?

Do you conduct an annual review of your teams, and point out where they did great, and their areas of "opportunity"?
Is that "Area of Opportunity" your focus?

Who do you spend the majority of your time on?  Your TOP performers, or your problematic or weakest team members?

Conventional wisdom tells us to work on improving upon on our weaknesses.  So that would mean you should focus on your weaker team members... Sound right to you?

Here's my logic:

If we focus on weaknesses, endeavoring to improve upon what we're not good at, we take poor performance, and, in a perfect world, improve upon that to get it up to a mediocre level.  (We will never improve a weakness to a strength.)
So we go from weak to mediocre.

Is this how you manage your teams?

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Perspective gained

Well, it's been a long time since I've last blogged.  So much has happened.  It's been a very busy year (or so....).

I've been working more and more with different types of Leaders, and working hard to help new Leaders learn how they can be the best they can be.  It is becoming clearer to me that I am being called to do so.  This is what I do best.

I have always enjoyed the works of Marcus Buckingham, but for the first time, I'm actually implementing some of his programs at work.  I feel that his theories fit in perfectly with my beliefs.

Focus on your strengths.  Bring out what's best about people.  Spend your time on your top performers.  Immerse yourself in activities that work to your strengths.

It's all about looking toward the GOOD in us all.  What we do well, what we're best at.

I get that.

If we get better at what we do well, we'll become awesome.
If we focus on our weaknesses, and get those up to a passing level, we'll become mediocre.

I don't want a mediocre team.  I don't have a mediocre God.  I want more than mediocrity.

I want awesome.
I want to build my team up until they are awesome, and helping others become awesome.
I want my team to be contagious in it's awesomeness.

I talk about my team and I realize, that this is the perspective I have gained in the past year.  I am not made to be an independent worker.  I have been put here for a reason.  I am to help others discover and achieve their awesomeness.

But I am not to do it alone.  My team is what makes me awesome.
Like I said:  Perspective Gained!