Lagging Indicators – Driving Ideas #14
The key to this whole strengths thing is to look for ways to add activities to your calendar that make you feel strong. Don't wait for them to happen, make them happen.
Strengths, Parenting and the Olympics
When faced with a kid who exhibited an unusual passion for unusual activities, they encouraged him. Of course, that's what ANY parent would do, right? You won't find much argument against encouraging your children.
David Cooperrider Interview
David Cooperrider is one of the originators of the Appreciative Inquiry approach to Strengths. I’ve been researching AI and can see tremendous value in the way it encourages managers to ask questions about change, improvement and innovation from a strengths perspective.
This short video clip gives you a bird’s eye view of Cooperrider and his work.
The Promotion Paradox
You probably have a not-so-favorite story about someone who was such a great employee that they were promoted to manager – and fell to pieces. It happens far too often, doesn't it?
Blurring the line between Wants and Needs
Nearly everything you do involves a choice. With the exception of breathing and eating, there are very few non-negotiable activities. You can even make choices about what you eat and where you breathe. So, on a micro level, you are positioned more frequently than you realize to "get what you want."
What if you used only your strengths?
One of my Strengths is "Input." For a living, I report information, provide analysis, and describe things to other people. All at once, I realized that I needed to do that now, for the parents of the girl. I began writing: “To the family of Jane Doe, I was one of the first motorists to stop at your daughter’s crash on Tuesday…..”
Creativity defined
No matter what you've been told, you are creative. From the moment you roll out of bed each morning, you are doing something that's never been done before. Each step you take is–until that very moment–a step you've never taken.
Clip Your Wings and Soar
Sticking to a resolution made on January 1st quite often requires you to do things that are counter to your nature; to swim upstream against your native instincts. That's the problem with resolutions: they generally demand that you to do less of what you love, or more of what you loathe.
Using my strength as a slingshot
Computer programming confuses and frustrates me, but I muddle through because the end result is awesome.
Executive burnout – what happens when the boss checks out?
"Hey Jim," the email began, "how often do you run across CEOs who love their company and hate their own job description?"
He explained that as he'd grown his business, he hired people to handle tasks he had enjoyed doing in the early days and now finds his calendar filled with administrative tasks no one else wants to do. "I can't imagine any entrepreneur starting out wanting to be an administrator."
Companies - smart ones - put significant resources toward employee engagement and retention, but what about the boss? Who watches out for the men and women in the c-suite? If retaining key employees is critical for profitability, keeping the boss engaged should be near the top of any company's training agenda.