Have you ever noticed that the very skills or attributes that you feel most proud of can become your biggest nightmare? Maybe you can relate to this story.
Jane is a powerful consultant who makes upwards of $350,000 a year teaching her clients how to analyze their processes and improve in areas that help generate greater client and employee retention. Her clients pay her very well for her skills of analyzing the 'gaps' and implementing improvements. The crazy thing is she is so good at the analyzing and improving stuff that she forgets how to STOP in the other areas of her life. When Jane comes home, much to her family's dismay, she turns this highly-paid asset towards her husband and kids. Recently in our coaching, Jane realized that her family was feeling quite frustrated with her constant need to 'improve' on how tasks at home were handled.
Last week I was watching a show called High Net Worth on CNBC. It is a show that covers all kinds of important ways high net worth individuals spend their money - like wine clubs, Ferraris, investments, etc.
Recently, they interviewed Maria Elena Lagomasino, an Asset Manager, who pointed out an interesting tidbit of information:
Only 13% of the 1982 Forbes Wealthiest People List are still on the list today.
Why? Because the key attributes that cause you to get rich are the same attributes that cause you to lose it all.
Boy. That's really good to know isn't it? Your greatest strengths when over-used often become your greatest saboteur.
Here are some examples:
* You are good at analyzing data but when overdone, can cause you to become paralyzed and not make any decisions at all.
* You are comfortable taking big risks but when overdone you take so many risks that you find you have invested your time and money in things that didn't have a good return on investment (a.k.a. bright, shiny objects.)
* You have a true compassionate side but overused becomes a fear of focusing on results so you don't have any results, just lots of real rewarding relationships.
* You are an excellent negotiator but when over used, you can take it so far that you hire underpaid talent that doesn't get the job done properly and you end up having to do it over yourself (or worse yet, pay someone else to do it.)
* You have a lot of vision of what's possible but when out of balance, you are losing out on implementing the 'low hanging fruit' that's right in front of you (a.k.a. no results, only ideas.)
* You like getting things done. This is so important to you that you will focus working in the business vs. working on the business to the point that there is no business coming in the door!
Did you notice one or more of these examples as something that you do? Don't despair. Let's identify some better strategies to help you be more effective.
First, be aware of when a strength is being overused and turning into a detriment. Recognizing the pattern is important to be able to do it more effectively.
Second, learn when to switch strategies. Sometimes the strength or tactic you use to get from Point A to Point B is different than the one you use to get from Point B to Point C. For instance, building wealth takes big risks. Keeping wealth requires risk diversification.
Third, as a part of your planning, identify the skills or tactics that must be used to successfully complete the project. For instance, if you know you need to expand your program offerings and you are good at taking big uncalculated risks that put you in the hole financially; then you may want to 'test' your big idea with your target audience BEFORE you spend all the time designing and marketing it.
As the old saying goes, there are always two sides to every coin - but it's still a coin. Learning to manage the intensity of your strengths is key to making everything come together. It just takes practice - and sometimes a good coach!
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