Be a Rudolph!

This morning I was singing in the shower and had a somewhat "deep" thought I wanted to share. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had such a shiny nose that others wouldn't play with him, excluded and essentially bullied him. Even his own family and closest friends were embarrassed of his different nose.

How many times in the workplace have we been different than others in our ideas, processes and actions? How many times have we been told that we need to do something like others do, or think a certain way? How hard have you tried to just fit in? Ever had a situation where it just wasn't going to work no matter how hard you tried?

From my experience, diversity in all things brings strength. We need different ideas and ways of doing things to learn from each other and grow. We need to leverage each others' strenghts to overcome our weaknesses. We must use our own differences to strengthen others. Without Rudolph's shiny nose Santa wouldn't have been able to deliver the gifts. Find ways to leverage differences, not exclude them. Be YOU and find ways to use your unique skills, talents and personality to accomplish things others couldn't. Be a Rudolph!