Rome wasn't built in a day.
by Amy Ferguson
As a professional, I am highly ambitious, meticulously organised, full of ideas and enthusiasm. Sounds great, right? It can be, most of the time.
Simon Sinek once said our personal attributes can be our biggest strengths or our biggest weaknesses depending on the context.
There are no such things as strengths and weaknesses.
In a fast paced, results driven environment, I can excel. If I am motivated to succeed and passionate about the project, I will stop at nothing to get it done in record time. I am a steam train with no stop brake.
This is great most of the time... until I hit burnout.
This is a hard truth that I have learned about myself over and over and over again. I make an effort to evenly spread my workload, set work boundaries and not get too carried away. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. It's a work in progress. Sometimes I catch myself composing at 2am, and wonder if I still have the balance right.
Everyone has character traits they like and don't like. However, instead of labelling them as positive or negative, perhaps we should ask ourselves how we can best put them to use. In what soil are we most likely to thrive? How can we lean into our attributes to facilitate growth and development as a professional?
- Make a list of your professional attributes. Try not to label them as strengths or weaknesses - use positive language where possible (eg. passionate about work instead of works too much)
- Which attributes contribute positively to your work? Which attributes serve you best on a daily basis? Is your current context facilitating your growth? Are you able to lean into your skillset on a daily basis?
- Which attributes contribute negatively to your work? What are your areas for development? Can you turn these into possitive professional attributes? Are there ways you can limit leaning into these on a daily basis?
- Speak with a friend/trusted co-worker about your professional attributes. Life is better with friends. Can they hold you accountable to the attributes you want to develop? Can they highlight attributes you hadn't thought of? Engage in a professional dialogue and help each other succeed.
It is easier to develop professionally when we hold ourself accountable. By writing out your attributes and relayiong them to a friend, you are taking two positive steps towards professional devbelopment.
- People with goals are 10x more likely to succeed.
- People that set actionable tasks and reported the progress to a supportive friend achieved their goals 40% faster than those who had written goals but did not formulate action commitments.
I know I'll still catch myself composing at 2am, but hopefully this will be the exception and not the rule.
Some day.
Sources
@simonsinek There’s no such thing as strengths or weaknesses - it’s all context @steven
♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) - Danilo Stankovic
Anastasia Belyh