What’s your superpower?

In the book StrengthsFinder 2.0, Tom Rath found that out of a poll of more than 1,000 people, not one was emotionally engaged in their work when they were not focused on their strengths. In contrast, people who have the opportunity to hone in on their assets are 6 times more likely to be engaged in their job and 3 times more likely to have a better quality of life.

When you’re not in the strengths zone, you dread going to work, have more negative than positive interactions, treat your customers poorly, tell your friends what a miserable company you work for, achieve less on a daily basis, and have fewer positive and creative moments.

How come people are not living in accordance with their best gifts? Well, in some cases, they simply may not be aware of them.  Esteemed Management Consultant Peter Drucker asserts, “Most people think they know what they’re good at.  They are usually wrong. And yet a person can perform only from strength.” 

Are you on a journey to discovering your strengths?  Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Ask yourself, “what do I enjoy?” Write down a list of at least 10 things.  Even if you only managed to think of two, keep writing, you will be surprised by what you unearth.  Usually, your interests are connected to your strengths.

2. Seek out valuable resources: 

·      I’ve personally found books like Rath’s Strengthsfinder 2.0 particularly useful for learning about different types of strengths and abilities that weren’t even on my radar.  Like, who would have thought that being an arranger is actually a strength?

·      Take a self-assessment, such as the Energy Leadership Index (ELI) or SWOT Analysis, which will help you to better understand your energy level and capabilities.

3. Ask your friends or coworkers to list your strengths.  Having that outside perspective can lead to a breakthrough insight.

4. List your weaknesses. What are you not good at? What do you dislike? This is helpful for comparison purposes.

Knowing our strengths provides a deep well of energy and passion on which to draw. When we focus on our superpowers, we operate from a place of confidence, complete tasks quicker and with precision, and are more likely to be engaged at work and happier.

Quote of the day: "What makes you different or weird, that's your strength." -Meryl Streep

Q: What are you good at doing outside of work?  Comment below and share with us.

As a leadership development and executive coach, I work with leaders to maximize their strengths, contact me to explore this topic further.

We all have superpowers, some that we may not even be aware of.

Only 20% of what you do today will move the needle

The 80/20 rule goes like this, 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results.

For companies, about 20% of sales reps will generate 80% of the overall business. 20% of customers account for 80% of overall profits.

For individuals, if you have ten items to accomplish in a day, it turns out that two of those items will be worth more than the other eight items combined. 

Handling every task that gets thrown your way is impossible so how can you use the 80% rule to gain more time in your life? Determine what is the most important and either delegate the rest or simply let it go.

Bestselling Author Brian Tracy recommends the way to apply the 80/20 rule or Pareto Principle to goal setting is to ask yourself: If you could only accomplish one of the goals on your list today, which one goal would have the greatest positive impact on your life? 

You should also start with the hardest item first because it will have the biggest payoff as it will provide the momentum you need to tackle anything else.  

Quote of the day: “Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” - Dale Carnegie

Q: What’s your best method for focusing on what’s vitally important? Comment below and share with us.

As a leadership development and executive coach, I work with leaders to improve their prioritization and focus skills; contact me to explore this topic further.

The Pareto Principle

Do you suffer from the 18-second syndrome?

Harvard Professor and Physician Jerome Groopman in How Doctors Think argues that the key to collecting useful information and solving the patient’s health puzzle is to let the patient say his or her piece.  Yet, that is not happening;  the average doctor interrupts after 18 seconds!  Feeling like an expert and thinking the problem is identifiable, the doctor doles out a prescription and is ready for the next patient, but the odds are, Doc Know-It-All likely has not scoped out the problem.

The more you know, the harder it is to say less, but the best of the best are extraordinary listeners. With nods and nudges, they elicit facts, observations, opinions, and even confessions, if one needed to be had. 

Key steps to being a more effective listener, according to renowned author Tom Peters:

1. Own up to the fact that you might be an 18-second interrupter. If you do not tackle the problem head-on, it will persist. Be open to when others give you feedback that you may have a proclivity to interrupt.

2. Take action to change the habit. 
-Be patient, let the other person stumble to clarity without interruption.
-Don’t finish the other person’s sentences.
-Be exhausted after your encounter, if you are not, you may not have been truly listening.

Quote of the day: “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” – Will Rogers

Q: What’s your favorite way to listen or to be listened to?  Comment below and share with us.

As a leadership development and executive coach, I work with leaders to strengthen their listening skills, contact me to explore this topic further.

Stop talking, start listening