Imagine if in your checking account there was a large reserve of cash. It was always available to you and you could access it from anywhere, any time you wanted it. The problem was that you didn’t know it was there. Whenever you checked your balance, this cache of cash didn’t show up. So, even though you had a reserve of wealth, you behaved as if you didn’t. You didn’t even draw any interest on these funds.
I ask you to apply this metaphor to yourself and to the qualities and strengths that you bring to your life and your career. What if you undervalued your strengths on a consistent basis? What if you overvalued your liabilities on a consistent basis? What effect might that have on your overall success and career satisfaction?
In my experience as a communications coach, I’ve discovered that all of us have a blind spot when it comes to our strengths and to how effective we are as communicators. We tend to err on the side of “less than” whenever we evaluate ourselves.
In my work with executives, I videotape an in-depth interview and conversation. We immediately watch the entire conversation and I coach them on their communication styles and strengths. Immediately afterward, I am fascinated with how often the executives will say some variation of, “Hey, I make sense!” Isn’t that interesting? Here are business executives who are extraordinarily successful, highly paid, well-recognized who don’t fully realize that how clearly they convey their messages.
Now, for the greatest part, these executives are extremely skilled and effective at what they do. The important point is that they don’t feel that they are as effective as they really are. This means these executives have a dialogue going on in their heads that is checking, “How am I doing?” over and over again during a great portion of their communication time – one-on-one, leading teams or during presentations.
As anyone who uses a computer can readily attest, if you have extra applications running on your desktop, it drains your resources and slows down your CPU. I posit that the same thing happens inside our heads. That when our “How am I doing?” application is running, we don’t have access to our creativity, spontaneity and energy that makes for the most effective communications.
Since our subjective perspective on the effectiveness of our communications is way out of whack, I recommend investing in getting a more objective perspective. Doing a 360° feedback assessment is an excellent way of getting information on your communications styles and strengths. It can be a scary thing to hear how others perceive us but it is truly a valuable experience.
In a 360°, you will be receiving comments from supervisors, peers and direct reports in your organizations on your individual strengths and opportunities for growth. There are a myriad of resources to assist you in doing a 360°.
You will be hearing about your shortcomings and can take steps to correct them. However, there is an even greater opportunity here. If you are willing to believe other’s perceptions on your strengths, you will be amazed at the how much faster you will move toward your overall goals and objectives.
It is basic strength training. Whatever you focus upon grows. If you make your defects your primary focus, they will grow. If you make your strengths your primary focus, they will grow. If you want to know more on how this works for individuals, teams and organizations, Google “Appreciative Inquiry” and you will see where the cutting edge in the human potential movement is investing it’s time and energy.
The wonderful thing is that we don’t have to put out any extra effort. You already are putting in all the energy. All you will do is to change the primary focus from your shortcomings to your strengths. In gaining a more objective perspective, you’ll have less stress, greater creativity, and more success in all areas of your life.
Dennis Tardan is a communications consultant and empowerment trainer. His passion is helping people to communicate their core messages with greater clarity, effectiveness and confidence. His company is Tardan Professional Development and he is based in Texas, USA. www.tardanprodev.com. Write to Dennis at .
