Unlocking Potential. If (insert topic here) has taught me anything... Those A-HA moments

Have you ever experienced a sudden moment of insight or discovery that changed your perspective on life?

For most of us we understand where our A-HA moments come from, those moments of sudden Insight or Discovery. There is a small pun in that mine have recently come from my Insight Discovery profile.?I have been working with colleagues and emerging leaders using the Insights Discovery and Transformational Leader profiles to uncover their true potential, and it has taught me some valuable lessons.

One of the key takeaways is the importance of being an authentic leader. It's about showing up and being real, making choices every day to be honest and let your true self be seen.I have also been reading 'Dare to Lead' by Brene Brown and watched her TED Talk on Vulnerability.

Let's start with two quotes from Brene.

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”?

“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

As part of my licence to be an Insights Discovery Client Practitioner, I was given the opportunity to redo my profile. I had expected my lead colour, order of my colours, and my wheel position to change since my last one. It does so every time as my focus and work changes, and I tap into my realized and unrealized strengths for a particular project.?

If my Insights profile has taught me anything is about viewing thing with different lenses, taking a pause and then making choice of whether you act or react to it.??

I received my new profile, and my shift always seems to go from either a Sunshine Yellow or a Fiery Red lead. There are a few things in my profile that stand out. Some would stay for the wrong reasons but for me they are for the right reasons. I don’t tend to view them as a negative.

I’m going to in a moment be vulnerable and share some of what the different sections say below;??this is a particular theme that has appeared in my profile since I first undertook the evaluator back in 2015.?

He has started many interesting projects in his time, but has finished considerably fewer. He feels constantly drawn to begin many different projects, yet by failing to complete many of them, he allows his energies, inspirations and insights to become dissipated. He values his inspiration above all else and constantly strives to turn his original ideas into his reality - a reality which many not seem as real for others. Curious and alert, Mark prefers to understand rather than to judge. He is prepared to attempt almost anything, but his work needs to be active rather than theoretical. He is an affective, if unobtrusive leader, encouraging others to freely participate in his projects. Most people have limited understanding of his complex, adaptable and creative mind.?

Mark’s natural curiosity for new ideas will bring new and fresh ways of thinking to the group. He is outgoing, versatile and quick witted, any may have an endless supply of solutions to whatever challenge he finds himself in. Endowed with the gift of articulation, he is likely to feel that he is competent in most areas. Visualising future programmes or outcomes that seem impossible now, he may well see them come to fruition months or even years later.?With his enthusiasm and spontaneity, Mark brings a refreshing approach to decision making.?

Carefully choosing where he will focus his energy may help him avoid wasting his time and considerable talent. He may have so many ideas on the go that he has difficulty in making up his mind on the best course of action. Mark is inquisitive, versatile, adaptable and resourceful in solving challenging, theoretical problems. To carry out his innovative ideas, Mark relies on his impulsive energy. He is a keen initiator who finds most problems stimulating. Mark's many accomplishments are achieved mainly through determination and perseverance in reaching or exceeding his high standards.?

He may need to learn and apply time management and long-range planning techniques to help him complete his projects. While excited by certain ideas and the lure of the “big” picture, he will not remain totally committed to a schedule or project if a better or more exciting challenge appears. One of his greatest contributions to life is his creation of ideas, which flow almost continuously from him. Mark is a n innovator, always aware of new possibilities and different ways of doing things. When Mark is in charge of a project, he offers the team long-term vision and the ability to inspire and communicate that vision.?

“Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.” – Carl Jung

If my Insights profiles have taught me anything… Is to understand why something keeps coming up in my profile and to check in with others about how this shows up.?

Looking at that excerpt you would think: “Why does it keep coming up in my profile? Do you reader view it with the lens that it’s a bad thing, does it mean that you are not willing to change or do something about it??

I view it with a lens that it’s a constant reminder to me how far I have come. It’s a reminder that if I don’t work on it or that I slip or I fear failure this becomes my default. I will revert to that type. Which was shown as a standout statement in my possible blind spots page which stated “As an extraverted, future orientated person, he may fear failure about all else”.?

The same sentence was in the overview section of my profile in the decision-making paragraphs although it was extended with.??…but knows how to turn it on its head into something positive if the event occurs.?

What hasn’t it changed? Or has it??

When you have an awareness of self and where your starting point is and how you prefer to do something, that is the foundation of allowing yourself to look at what do you need to do, to do it differently the next time.?

There are still times when lots of ideas come into my head and I mean lots of ideas, so many ideas that I cannot see the woods from the trees, or which is the best one to pursue first. Couple that with my need to produce work that is to a high standard that I have set for myself, normally over and above what maybe required. I have to remind myself of a few things. Perfection doesn’t exist and good is good enough. Make a start and remember it can be continually “improved as you go along as you need to deliver something. Now you see why “He has started many interesting projects in his time, but has finished considerably fewer”, may appear in my profile.?

I also remind myself of something that I do with passion outside of work. I have always since a child been a massive fan of the LEGO Brick and the different things you can build. For mindfulness or even just to help me think about the vast number of ideas that swirl in my head like a mento has been put into a bottle of Coca-Cola, building a LEGO set is part of my creative block-busting manifesto!?

“Dream BIG. Start Small. But most of all, START.” – Simon Sinek

The quote from Simon Sinek is good advice, start small but start. My brain is dreaming BIG and I need to break it down into smaller chunks. What great advice but not always as easy to put into practice. The problem here could be that you don’t often know where to start, when to stop, what to do first, what order and as the statements in the profile suggests keeping motivation high and not feel overwhelmed by the process. The next issue my creative mind alongside internal dialogue feel like they are running a sprint rather than a marathon. (Let’s get moving! Come on, Shush, is what I am trying to tell them, I will fix it later, just let me start.)?

In her book Bird by Bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamont explained that when you start writing,

your mental illnesses arrive at the desk like your sickest, most secretive relatives. And they pull up chairs in a semicircle around the computer, and they try to be quiet but you know they are there with their weird coppery breath, leering at you.

Summarizing parts of the book she talks about her childhood and her father telling her brother ‘Bird by Bird, buddy to comfort him to stop being upset about why he couldn’t finish a school assignment.?

its probably why I like building with LEGO – you can do it freehand, or you can follow the instructions and this falls nicely into my need for Sensing and Intuition. I can follow the instructions, or I can just build something using those bricks. I can build it step by step – a piece at a time.?

I have been myself at times turning to LEGO as most kits now come in numbered bags, building a few bags and then going back to a project. This helps me quieten the mind and think about the tasks in hand.?

Is it a metaphor for memory blocks and the only way to avoid them is you guessed it, smaller blocks.?

Building with LEGO also reminds me that I can see the end in mind and start building towards that. Building a set starts small and becomes a bigger set that I do like to display afterwards as part of my achievements. Listen to the lyrics of Whitney’s Houston’s Step by Step and you will understand this more.?

If you understand that LEGO in Danish comes from the phrase LEG GODT, which means ‘Play Well’ and there is 1060 ways that you can arrange three standard eight stud LEGO blocks then off course this makes sense, if it doesn’t fit this way, it may fit in another. If you can’t work the idea now, work it differently.?

I have also learnt to talk about the ideas upfront with some colleagues as a sounding board. This has been invaluable as I can also get buy-in from them to help accomplish the task.?

So, if LEGO has taught me anything it’s that, building those smaller parts and then playing with them until I have built something I am proud to display is greater than the parts.?

A colleague was telling me about a quote she had read the other day that said, ‘The one thing that Tetris has taught me was if you fit in you disappear.” It reminded me of the other quote “If Tetris has taught me anything, it’s that errors pile up and accomplishments disappear.”?

That last bit seems to be true, as the Ideas roll out and become BIG, I need to remember that if I start small, it will become BIGGER and a great accomplishment, that won’t disappear, well not until the continued version comes along, Tetris, like any game does come with many levels.?

Through my Insights profile, I've learned to view things with different lenses, taking a pause before making a choice to act or react. My profile has also highlighted my strengths and potential blind spots, showing me the need to choose where to focus my energy and avoid wasting time on endless ideas.

Despite my tendency to start many projects but finish few, I value my inspiration above all else and strive to turn my original ideas into reality. My natural curiosity and versatility have helped me solve challenging problems and achieve high standards, but I need to work on my fear of failure, which can hold me back.

As I finish this you will see why I don’t view those statements as negative and see them as a positive reminder and motivator to keep doing things differently and making sure I don’t go back to that default. After all past behaviour is a predictor of future behaviour. It’s good to innovate and not imitate.

Viewing things through the lens of "If (Insert Subject here) has taught me anything...'; it's that unlocking your potential requires understanding yourself, embracing vulnerability, and choosing where to focus your energy. So, let's dare to lead and unlock our full potential!

I will leave you with a final quote on vulnerability from Brene Brown;?

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”?

Would be great to hear your stories of ‘If (insert subject here) has taught me anything…’Please share....