You are made up of a unique stack of skills!
The next tool I want to introduce to you is the Self-Awareness Funnel.
This will start broadly and narrow over several exercises.
First, and very broadly, let's think through your combination of strengths and constraints. I start by asking clients to think through their strengths. I encourage them to be gracious to themselves.
I will often ask guests on my podcast "What are your strengths that have helped you succeed?"
This is often met with a "Mmm, I hate to talk about myself but I would say a few of my strengths are..."
They then go on to name two or three at the most.
Think deeply and broadly. The list should consist of gifts, skills, and attributes. I think having a goal of 15-20 forces you to think more broadly and more nuanced.
Another way to help in this exercise is to ask several people who know you well to give you a list of 5-7 strengths.
Strengths
1. Write down 15-20 strengths. This includes gifts, skills, and attributes
2. Ask 5 people who are close to you to send you a list of 5-7 strengths
3. Add any strengths from your responders to your list.
Once you have a healthy list of strengths, we will move to constraints.
These are the things that could prevent you from having the success you want.
Constraints
1. Write down a list of 2-3 constraints.
2. Ask those same 5 people to give you one or two constraints.
3. Add any constraints from your responders to your list.
These are pretty straightforward. The primary thing I am trying to accomplish with the strengths and constraints is to force deeper introspection. We can get on autopilot when talking about strengths and constraints.
We have our usual stock answer. This stock answer is not wrong, but it is also not as in-depth.
Next let's narrow our focus a little with the skill stack exercise.
Skill Stack
If you took a bite of a cake I just cooked and asked me "What is the ingredient that makes this cake so good?" I would not be able to answer. I might start to say "the sugar" but sugar by itself is not good. If I was tempted to answer "eggs", we all know raw eggs are not tasty.
It is not one ingredient but several ingredients, that when combined, make a delicious cake.
So it is with us. When you think of the success you have had, what are the skills and attributes that have most attributed to this.
Looking at your list of strengths, narrow them down to the 5-8 that have played the biggest role in your success.
It is rare for one person to have one skill that makes them successful. It is most often a stack that helps that person to succeed.
As I have mentioned before, no two leaders are exactly alike. Two might have a few common strengths or constraints, but when you look at their stack, this is unique to each leader.
Now that you have your skill stack, think through the following question, "What skill or attribute would take my coaching/leadership to another level if I grew in or added it to my stack."
Anti-Hand in Hand
One thing I continue to notice in elite leaders is that they combine a unique variance of skills, often that don't reside in one person.
For example, a coach who is detail-oriented and also can see the big picture will stand out. Detail and visionary don't always go hand in hand.
Details, diligence, and high level operator go hand in hand.
Vision, dreamer, and big picture also go hand in hand.
So when you combine these in a stack, this creates an outlier effect.
Another example: The coach who is great with people and is also great with X & O's has a leg up.
The more skills that are stacked that oppose each other, the more elite the leader usually is.
It is rare to find a leader who is great with people, detailed and process oriented, is a visionary and can X & O with the best of them.
That is called elite.
To restate, the goal of this exercise is to know your skill stack and then spend some time analyzing what skill or attribute you can add (or improve) that can take your leadership to the next level!
Next week we will finish the Self-Awareness Funnel with one last exercise.
Click here to learn about/order my book The Leadership Greenhouse
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One of my weekly disciplines is scouring the internet for articles/tweets I can learn from and/or use with those I work with. Below are two that I hope help encourage and equip you.
Article 1- Leadership vs. Management
Article 2- How to be more influential
Podcast- Justin Su'a. Leadership coach. Wise. Engaging. Stud!
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