Work Towards The Grain

One of my coaching clients is an exceptional leader. She has a rare combination of strategic, systems-focused perspective along with a burning desire to pull things apart, get involved on a practical level and see how they're built. She's passionate, enthusiastic, hard-working and really cares about people. Basically, she's the ideal leader.

But she doesn't currently feel like it. What's that about?

In her new senior role, she's taking on bigger and more complex programmes of work. Those projects come with a heavy load of reading, report writing and progress meetings, which she's slogging through.

She's particularly frustrated by a large programme she's the executive sponsor for. She really cares about the work and wants to see it succeed, but she feels disconnected and absent. In an effort to get up to speed and be useful, she's been churning all the lengthy reports she's been sent before she gets her hands dirty... but she hates it. 

In our most recent session, we talked about what it would be like to choose how she engaged. She was visibly enthusiastic as she described being embedded in the project team, collaborating with stakeholders and advocating for them with her executive colleagues - basically, using all the skills she's best at.

I watched her eyes light up and her body language shift as she imagined working in ways that aligned with her most unique abilities: collaboration, engagement and systems change. Together, we came to the understanding that trying to do what was expected of her, and what everyone else was doing, was a road to nowhere: she was working against the grain and losing the love for something she really cared about.

In New Zealand, we seem to have this weird idea that we should suffer for what we care about. The idea that we simply deserve to do things we love, in ways we love, is controversial: but one that, if we seized, can unblock endless potential and progress for all of us.

The potential for my coaching client to contribute is limitless - but if she is forced into a system and an approach that squanders her unique skills, we'll never get to see it.

So instead, we talked about what it would mean to buck the status quo and do things differently. To abandon the endless volumes of reading and work closely with her project team to support their progress. She learns through talking and doing, so we're redesigning her leadership approach to be more of that than anything else.

What we were talking about is using what Dan Sullivan calls our Unique Ability. Your unique ability is probably something that comes so naturally to you, you take it for granted and don't realise how special it is. When you work with your unique ability, you generate incredible results and find endless reserves of energy and creativity. When you work against it, you suffer in silence.

According to Dan, there are four criteria that must be met for something to be a Unique Ability:

1. Superior skill. You produce outstanding results with this talent that comes naturally to you. Others notice this skill, rely on it, and value it.
2. Passion.You love to do this, and probably did it in some form long before you got paid for it.
3. Energy. It gives you a boost of energy. The people around you get energy from you when you're doing it too, because it’s fun and exciting.
4. Never-ending improvement. You could do it for the rest of your life and always find new ways to get better and better.

Be careful not to confuse your unique ability with things that you're pretty good at but would rather not do. It's those things that have the most potential to suck your time and energy, crowding out your most fulfilling activities.

I love this drawing of the Zone of Genius model from The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, which sums that quandry up beautifully. It's your competence and excellence that most holds you back from your genius or 'unique ability.'

Take stock of your current environment -what do you hate doing? What do you get the most energy from? For everything that doesn't quality as your highest point of contribution, how could you delete, delegate or outsource it?

Working at your maximum potential isn't a luxury, it's a transformative way of living and working. For me, that means finding ways to eliminate almost everything that isn't thinking, writing and speaking about big ideas. For you, that will look different.

It's hard work, it's a life's work, but it's meaningful work. Give it a go.

Til next week,

A