Bigger? Or Smaller?
When someone has strength in a given skill, they are clearly good at it. If you want to know if they are gifted in an area, give them something to do and see if they make it bigger or smaller. Highly gifted individuals will take a project and add to it rather than subtract from it. They will tend to be more thorough in the execution than average. Though we all need training to grow better, natural strengths lie within each person making them better at certain things.
People talk about the excellence that comes from this person. Others notice their performance. So listen to teammates and those around that particular individual. This may help you identify what areas this person goes above and beyond in. When someone has strength in an area, they make that area better and bigger as a result. Walt Disney said, “Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” Find the kind of people that do what they do very well and let them do it!
Do not waste time focusing on people’s weaknesses. Rarely will someone grow beyond average in a weakness. With an extreme amount of training and time, they may go from a two to a four in their weakness, but they will not go near a ten. They are weak in that area for a reason; it’s simply not how they are wired. But if you can take their strength from a seven to a nine, or an eight to a ten, they will become invaluable. Why spend your time developing average when you could be developing an expert in their strength zone?
Focus on the strengths of your team and capitalize on those strengths. Don’t try to force pawns into becoming bishops. And certainly don’t try to turn bishops into pawns. Know what your people are good at and keep them in the right area. As leadership expert Jim Collins taught, you have to get the right people, on the right bus, and in the right seat.
If your organization’s mission is to climb trees would you rather hire a squirrel or train a horse? As the leader, you have to set up your team as a chess game and position everyone correctly so everyone comes out a winner.
