This was a key take away from our recent coaching session with Murray and will be the focus of my blog post today. But let me rewind to the beginning of the story…
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization Accelerator programme quarterly learning days are always a highlight in my calendar, with ample time to network, catch up with fellow Aces and learn a whole bunch of practical tools that I can bring back to our team behind the yellow door.
The most recent one was ‘People Day’, and we did an exercise created by Andy Clayton to figure out what our sweet spot is.
Essentially it’s about identifying what you are good at and like doing – so that you can spend more time doing that, to feel more engaged, get better results and enjoy financial success.
It makes perfect sense, but applying the theory is easier said than done, as there are a whole bunch of things that get in the way, which are explained as the 3Ds:
- Distractions are things you’re good at doing, but don’t add much value to your growth or your work day
- Draining tasks are important, but you probably aren’t the best person to do them
- And then the Disaster zone is for tasks you know you’re not good at, and they suck your time.
The key to success and working with your team to achieve common goals is to take the time to pinpoint your sweet spot, articulate ways to reduce or eliminate the 3Ds and identify practical ways to spend more time in your sweet spot.
So we spent some time working through the exercise on our own, and then brought in Murray, to help us figure out how to make the shift to our sweet spots. He took it one step further and linked our sweet spots to our top five CliftonStrengths, to remind us to lean into them when we’re in that sweet spot – to align what we’re good and love doing with our tasks.
It’s amazing how often we refer back to this assessment – and incorporate it in to our every day lives. So if you haven’t done it yet, we highly recommend it! (Access it at gallup.com for R390.)
A couple of weeks later, once we’d all had time to reflect on the outcomes, we started to put the plan in to action. It’s amazing how one key shift for each person can make such a difference to their role, but also to the team dynamic.
For me it’s all about spending more time with people, and less behind my screen – whether it’s mentoring the team, running strategy workshops or onboarding new clients.
You may be like me, or maybe you gravitate to a quieter space to zone in on your screen or get your nose in a book. Either way, finding that sweet spot just might help you enjoy the work you do so you can feel more energised at the end of the day, and look forward to what’s next on the list.