Once upon a time, I worked in sports television. (Can a quarter century really have passed since my last show?) One of the announcers I worked with – this is about 1986, so it’s 35 years ago! – provided me sage advice. The former college basketball coach said, “Never stray too far from your strengths.”
That’s something I remembered during three subsequent career moves: first into travel, then franchising and finally coaching. While those are different industries, the common thread for me is working with others to maximize what they inherently do best.
At our travel company, that meant motivating employees to pursue our vision. In franchising, ‘better’ involved training new and veteran franchisees how to use their strengths to grow their businesses. As a coach, my role is to ask powerful questions that allow leaders to explore their own thoughts and find answers for their challenges.
Early on during engagements, I ask clients to express their Super Power. “What is your biggest strength?” It’s a wonderful exercise for an individual to pause and identify the one thing that makes them most valuable to their organization and team.
So… what’s your Super Power?
