Many management and leadership gurus are encouraging people to operate within their core strengths. But, have you ever doubted whether your “sovereign foundation” included the RIGHT strengths to advance your career or your business?
Just the other day, a colleague was telling me about her highschool friend who grew up in a home with a very successful, military-minded father. One of his brothers joined the Peace Corps before going to law school. The other brother went to Virginia Military Institute and is an officer in the Navy. This young man, though, didn’t seem to “fit” and, while he was very gifted in several areas, none of these more “artsy” or “soft” strengths seem to qualify. To this day, he feels like he would have to be someone else entirely in order to gain his parent’s acceptance. I can relate.
So, what about you? Do your strengths “not qualify” at work? At home? At church? While there may be NO existing outlet in your life for your strengths to be showcased, there is no law against creating one!! What do others regularly say you are “a natural” at doing? What are you doing when you “forget the time” because you enjoy it so much? Why not ACTIVELY look for an opportunity to operate out of THIS strength?
e to the airport, that’s exactly what she did. I joke that we’ve been happily married for 15 years, and 15 out of 22 ain’t bad. But, seriously, I love being married and one thing we love to do together is attend the weddings of our friends and family members.
red the news” had he seen an industry truly facing extinction. I agree that the industry is facing extinction… but ONLY if they don’t do something NOW to become as indispensable and relevant as they were in their industry “prime”. And to be sure, the newspaper industry doesn’t stand alone in their need for reinvention and relevance.
… something we can never learn enough about.
Watching a recent Staples commercial, I was again amazed at our culture’s fascination with the “EASY” button. Commercials promise EASY (no diet, no exercise) weight loss, EASY (dollars while you sleep) money, and EASY health “fixes” in terms of the latest and greatest pills.
Of course, I am not advocating a hate-based, or ignorant habit of discriminating against those you are trying to lead. But, if you are communicating in the SAME WAY to EVERYONE under your leadership, you will not be as effective as you could be if you began to use some knowledgeable “discrimination” in how you comm
er others better than yourselves…” – Philippians 2:3
Loaded with piles of dog food, the back porch was an open invitation that provided a pretty entertaining spectacle. We’d stare as these furry little guys poured out of the woods and made a beeline to the food. As many as 30 raccoons would trample through the grass, rushing to gorge themselves on the delicious morsels. We’d sit in amazement at the little paws that would reach up and touch the windows as if to say, “More, please!” It’s safe to say, we had the fattest raccoons in all of western Washington.