Amplify Your Greatest Strengths
Last year I went for a radio interview and as I was just about to go on air I said to the announcer, "Do you have any tips?" And he said, "Can you just bring twenty percent more of your personality?"
At the time I thought that he must have found my style a bit bland and beige and monotone, but I asked about it later and he said,
"For you to make an impact, for anyone to make an impact, you need to be amplifying the great qualities that you have, twenty percent more."
And we all have these qualities that if we amplify them, we can go from already performing really great to this next level of being exceptional. But it involves knowing your “one thing”. Because to be a leader and have impact, you don't have to lead with everything. What is the thing where you are more, where you've got a natural strength and where you are prepared to go first and set the standard for others? We all have these unique qualities inside of us and they can be uncovered by reflecting on some of these questions:
1. What is the real value that I add to my team/workplace/group? Not the technical parts, but from a personal leadership characteristic point of view, what is the real value that I add to this group that I belong to?
2. What would be lost if I wasn't in this team? Maybe it's the fun, maybe it's the ideas. What is the thing that would be missing if I wasn’t there for a week?
3. What's the thing I'm not bringing? We've all got these qualities inside of us that we have silenced when we come into work. There's often more in the tank that we are giving outside of work, when we're coaching our son's cricket team or when we're socialising. We're bringing it there, but not into work and sometimes we are actually dampening down some of these big strengths that we have. What is the thing that's inside of you that you aren't bringing currently to your team? Is it passion? Enthusiasm? Humour? Fun? They might sound like they don’t have a place at work, but they are all so important because teams that have fun and use humour are three times more productive.
You all have unique leadership characteristics inside you, but the question is, are you actually creating the space, and do you have the confidence to bring them and amplify them every day? We often focus on the things we're less confident with and where we need skill development. However, you will get the highest performance and most satisfaction when you are playing to your strong qualities inside you. When you amplify these strengths, you become a true leader.
That day in the radio interview, my two things were passion and energy. I created them in my body first. I felt what it would be like to give 20% more. And then I gave it. It was the most successful interview I have ever done!
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