amount of time trying to get really good at things that I just wasn’t genetically predisposed to conquer. This attempt to be great at everything was actually an anchor preventing me from becoming exceptional at my naturally talented interests. Adding to the frustration are my memories of strongly encouraging each of my kids to be better than average in areas of interest that they may never excel in, rather than encouraging them to hit a “grand slam” in topics that they have the potential to reign supreme. Who knows where my family would be if we had concentrated on our strengths. And achieving that incomparable level likely would have been great fun to do. On the other hand, the leadership program has been very gratifying, as it has empowered me to pursue, guilt-free, my expertise in areas that bring me pleasure. It has prescribed an acknowledgement that I really am poor at a number of skills, but not to worry as long as I have some degree of competence or know the tools to temper my
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deficiencies. Consider your life, as an individual, a spouse, a subordinate and a boss. What if you could be adequate in many things but truly outstanding in specific areas by applying your natural strengths? Imagine the “what ifs” had you focused hard on something you were organically skilled at and enjoyed doing. Contemplate how efficient your work team can be if you were to assess individual strengths and partnered your employees based upon harmonic talents instead of throwing a bunch of uninspired individuals together with your desired outcome as the goal. What would be a more efficient use of your labor budget? What would generate a superior end product? I encourage you to pause and think about the things that you are really great at and what it is that you do that brings you great joy. Perhaps you will find that both are mutually inclusive.