We Lead Well when we attend to our own well-being as well as those we lead.
When you are offended by someone’s behavior, what is your first reaction? If you take time to reflect, it likely aligns with one or more of your strengths. This was the topic of a recent coaching conversation with my friend. We both have Responsibility in our Top 5 and it can be offensive to us when others do not follow the rules. Our natural response when rules are not followed is a desire to hold the person accountable by responding with our “Responsibility” strength. However, when we do this, it usually is not a rewarding experience for us nor is the communication well received by others.
In addition to sharing the Responsibility theme, my friend and I both have Developer in our Top 5 as well. In reflecting on successful situations from our past, we realized that we have the most success in difficult conversations when we lead with our Developer theme. Our Developer motivates us to ask questions with a heart to bring out the best in others.
We both had the opportunity recently to self-manage and intentionally lead with our Developer, versus our Responsibility, in difficult conversations shortly after our strengths discovery. We both experienced success in the way we felt after the conversation and in how the message was received.
When you are offended, it is good practice to ask questions rather than reacting to the situation. When one of your strengths is offended, which of your Top 5 can be your go-to strength for asking questions?
#SelfAware #SelfManaged #EffectiveCommunicator