Tom Rath from the Gallup Organization states, “If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be good at anything!” That’s great advice for us to remember as we lead our people. No leader can be good at everything, which is why we need to build a team around us that is made up of people who are better than we are in virtually everything! Rath’s research deals with how leaders can discover the things that they are uniquely gifted to do better than anyone else and it can easily be discovered by taking a StrengthsFinder assessment. I’m currently overseeing another group of students through this process and, as always, they are lighting up as they find out how God has created certain strengths within them. It’s very exciting to hear them talk about the inner discoveries they are making.
You’ve heard me talk about the importance of self-awareness as a leader, and how it is truly one of the foundational traits which great leaders possess. I have often called myself an assessment junkie, because I love to find out everything I can about who I am and how I am wired. If you have haven’t taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, I encourage you to do so. It’s all done online and their website will guide you through the process. You may want to purchase Rath’s book StrengthsFinder 2.0 because it comes with the access code for the assessment built in.
Daniel Goleman advocates that self-awareness is the foundation of emotional intelligence, and Graham Standish states, “Humble leaders are always self-aware leaders.” Rath encourages leaders to operate from our strengths and not from our weaknesses. If you haven’t discovered your strengths, I encourage you to do so right away.
Lead well