April 2, 2008This Week in the World ~ Strengths or weaknesses?
Employee Engagement Consultant Wendy Mack wrote a post on her blog about energizing work that touched on things I’ve been thinking about lately. Do you focus on doing what you’re good at, and work around your weaker areas? Or do you bring your weaker areas up to speed?
Wendy Mack points out that doing what we’re good at tends to energize us, and focusing on weaknesses tends to drain us. So the real question is: do we focus on what energizes us, or on what drains us?
It simplifies the inquiry, doesn’t it?
When I am fully engaged by a project, it’s not work. It’s play. That’s when I am my most productive. I feel blessed that I can structure my work in a way that allows me to go with my interests / strengths / what energizes me.
However, there are times when you, I, and the people we manage need to invest time doing things that feel like writing with our non-dominant hand. There are times when we need to do things we’re not good at, don’t enjoy, and even that drain us.
It’s always useful to have the discipline to “take your medicine” because “it’s good for you.” I have more freedom to do the work I love now because I endured painful learning curves in the past.
So it’s all about balance. And the balance you strike will be different at different points of your life.
My philosophy is: Make work into play whenever possible. Take your “work medicine” when you must.
And know why you are doing what you are doing.
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I agree with your point about having to do things that drain us - especially for those of us who are self-employed. Several consultants that I know deliberately plan their day so that the “draining” activities are nestled in-between the “energizing” activities. Kind of like hiding a pet’s pills in peanut butter - it makes the medicine a lot easier to take!
Comment by Wendy Mack — April 2, 2008 @ 9:00 am