This year, give yourself the gifts of FOCUS and CONFIDENCE
If you have a long list of things you’re GREAT at, how do you narrow it down to what you LOVE to do?
I was working with a client recently on finding his genius zone. I had him compile an inventory of all the things he’s GREAT at doing in his leadership role.
Then I asked, “Of ALL those things, which ones do you also LOVE to do?”
That’s where he was stumped.
“How do I make that choice? These are all things I’m really good at. Wouldn’t I get the best results by continuing to do ALL of them?”
I replied, “How tired do you feel at the end of your day?”
“My day doesn’t seem to end,” he quipped. Then he added, “But I do feel tired. Every day.”
“Why?”
“There’s just so much to do, so many decisions to make, so many stakeholders to satisfy and update and check in with.”
“So let me ask you: Would you rather have a BUSY day, or a FULFILLING one?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Well, a BUSY day is one where you feel like you’ve played that carnival game, Whack-a-Mole, all day. Running from meeting to meeting, putting out fires, dealing with problems.”
“You basically just described every day this week.”
“OK, so stay with me here. A FULFILLING day is one where you spend the majority of your time focused on what you LOVE doing, you make every decision with confidence and a clear head, and you can FEEL your business moving FORWARD, in the right direction.”
“That. I want that. How do I get to feel like that?”
A FULFILLING day is one where you spend the majority of your time focused on what you LOVE doing, you make every decision with confidence and a clear head, and you can FEEL your business moving FORWARD, in the right direction.
“Easy.”
“Very funny.”
“No, I’m serious. If you want to go from BUSY-ness to fulfillment, we just need to take that list you compiled and run it through a filter.”
“What kind of filter?”
“It’s a two-part filter. First, we cross out anything on the list that is not TRULY a natural strength for you, for example something you have become really good at because you’ve had lots of practice, but it’s not an innate talent. Second, we cross out anything that doesn’t feed your WHY.”
“Feed my… what?”
“Not your what. Your WHY. We are all driven by our own, unique set of internal motivators. They are what we value the most, our built-in system of rewards. And the more time we spend on things that conflict with what motivates us, the more tired and drained we feel at the end of the day — instead of feeling RECHARGED.”
“Ah. OK. So you’re saying that the reason I feel like a drained, crumpled mess at the end of the day is because I’m spending too much time on things that don’t fuel me.”
“That’s EXACTLY what I’m saying.”
…the reason I feel like a drained, crumpled mess at the end of the day is because I’m spending too much time on things that don’t fuel me.
“OK, so when do we get to apply that filter? I’m tired of being… tired.”
“Right now. Let’s go.”
Fifteen minutes later, he had applied the two-part filter and narrowed down his list to his genius zone — the things he’s not only GREAT at doing, but that feed his WHY — and started to experience what a focused, FULFILLING day looks like. Then we translated that focus into a one-page decision-making dashboard that gave him 100% confidence in every decision he makes about his business.
FOCUS on what fuels you. CONFIDENCE in every decision you make. Two of the keys to becoming a leader your people will willingly and enthusiastically follow.
Want some?
FOCUS on what fuels you. CONFIDENCE in every decision you make. Two of the keys to becoming a leader your people will willingly and enthusiastically follow.
Claire Chandler helps high-performing leaders walk with Profitable SWAGGER. Learn more at clairechandler.net.
