It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything." Tom Rath
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
We continue the conversation on STRENGTHS for a few more weeks.
Tom Rath has spent his life focused on different aspects of Strengths-Based Leadership as well as a Leaders Health. His books have had a profound influence in my life over the years and I'm currently reading his latest book, What's the Point, which is a book about purpose.
I shared with you a little bit about my drumming passion growing up, but I have other music interests as well. I play the guitar, bass guitar and the piano a little bit.
Here's the deal, I can pick one up or sit down at the piano and play something. I've learned enough over the years to be able to perform, to play a tune, or even to lead worship, but I never "mastered" any of those instruments. I play enough to get by and to use it, but I'm not good enough to do more with it.
Do you want to know why? Because I chose to be "good" or "decent" at all three, and never put the time into practicing any one of those to become really great.
Sometimes when I'm standing in church or at a concert, I just get lost in the musicians abilities to play their instrument.
We went to see The Eagles (my favorite band growing up) last year perform, and I was standing there in awe of their talent. Don Henley playing the drums, Joe Walsh just screaming on the guitar, and Vince Gill fitting into the Eagles lineup with incredible vocals and guitar playing. Timothy B. Schmit plays the bass so casually, but it drives their music.
These are performers who have spent a lifetime becoming GREAT.
I chose to be "OK".
Do I have regrets? Sometimes. Gina often asks me what instrument I'd like to play in a band, and it always depends on the kind of music they're playing.
I'd like to be able to really play the piano, or to play the guitar the way I see some of these professionals play.
But, I chose other things, other passions, other interests. I chose to develop strengths in other ways that were a good investment in my time.
I could talk to you about my desire to be a GREAT golfer, but that will never happen, so I'll just keep being OK.
How do we determine what to focus on? What to spend time developing? What to invest the energy into?
That's a conversation between you and God. He made you for a unique purpose, and once you find out what that is, you will be drawn to grow and develop in the areas that help you become the best you can be, with His help.
I may never be a world famous musician, but I can still admire those people, I can appreciate the work they've put into developing their skills, and I can stay true to the path I'm on, being the person God has called me to be.
What do you want to be GREAT at? What are you GREAT at? Why?
DEEPER STILL:
Here are three ways to identify your greatest strengths:
#1) Pay Attention to What Energizes You Rather Then Just What You're Good At. Pay attention to your GUT! Identify things that drain your energy and simply keep of log of moments where you feel completely FULL. Use these as clues.
#2) Ask People Who Know You Well To Help You Identify When They See You At Your Best. Others often see things that you don't even consider. Ask trusted friends, co-workers, teachers, mentors. See how their responses line up with each other.
#3) Take a STRENGTHS ASSESSMENT as a starting point. Tools like CliftonStrengths or Working Genius will give you some clues. Don't just accept the results as truth, but use the results to explore more deeply some areas of strength in your life.
You're looking for CONVERGENCE, which is when the feedback from your GUT, from Others & from an Assessment all line up.
When was the last time you asked someone to help you identify your strengths?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
Here's the history of Clifton Strengths on the Gallup site.
I loved this episode of SPACE from Harbor Ministries called Remembering is Critical.
This is the book with the code for the assessment. I encourage everyone to do this. Such great learning! StrengthFinder 2.0
I'm enjoying watching this series on Paramount Plus called Marshals. I never watched any of the Yellowstone Series, but I'm enjoying this one.
This Swan Family is now residing in our pool, and was a great addition to the Baby Shower we held at our home this past weekend!