Whatever You Do, Never Dull Someone's Greatness
Janine Allis
Founder of Boost Juice Bars. “I still love getting up every morning and being a part of this great adventure. I’ll keep doing it as long as I love it and who knows where we could end up next!”
In this series, professionals describe the skills they’re building this year. Read the stories here, then write your own (use #SkillsGap in the body of your post).
No one person is good at everything. In fact the most successful people are extremely good at one thing and extremely poor in other areas. You would have read that Richard Branson has dyslexia, or Isaac Newton and Bill Gates had signs of Asperger’s. Whether it is true or not, it indicates that they are extraordinary in their fields but lack in other areas.
So when discussing skill gaps on how we FIX people to be more whole, then consider that what you may be doing is sharpening one side of the sword but making the extraordinary side blunt.
We have all come across extremes in our businesses whether that is creative or analytical people, which, if their skills are focused on the right areas, can be one of your best people in the business and are real game changers. However we then complain that the creative could be more organised and the analytical could think outside the square sometimes. What we do not realise is if we start to make these people more balanced, you can actually take away from them what makes them so extraordinary.
Do we need to continue to work on skill gaps? Of course we do, but do this in conjunction with understanding the natural skill of the individual, because we may be trying to help when in fact we could be destroying greatness. Another alternative is to put a creative with an analytical and then mix in someone with high IQ, a strong leader, and the final ingredient — respect — and then this team is unbeatable.
Experienced Information Technology
5 年Food for thought Janine! I’m glad I came across your article.
Governance, Risk & Operations Executive (ESG) Non-Executive Director Basketball Australia
8 年I like to say this as : 'Don't Yuck someone's Yum' . There is more value in delighting in someone's talent then putting too much emphasis on the mundane.
Client Operations Coordinator at Iress
8 年Oh yes great reminder. We need to nurture and let that extraordinary side! Thanks for the write up.
Warehousing & Logistics Project Manager at Powerlink Queensland
8 年Building a team with the right combination of personalities, skills and attributes is what every leader should aspire to. However we often inherit the team and making staffing changes may not be possible. It then falls to the leader to get to know his team and identify the ingredients required to bind the team together into its optimally functioning unit. Team building exercises are one way to assist team members in developing improved working relationships. Personal development of select staff or even the leader may also allow them to become the glue that holds the team together. Above all it is important to remember that there is no "one size fits all" solution and leaders are responsible for ensuring that teams work as effectively as possible.