In the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball final four play-off, the University of Kansas went into halftime 15 points down and still won the national championship over North Carolina. Don’t you wish you knew what Head Coach Bill Self said to inspire his team to that comeback?
Wouldn’t you love to control your own emotional range enough to trigger the most useful emotion in everyday life at the office?
Having coached entrepreneurs for over 25 years, I’ve found that their most common desire is for fewer people problems. One female owner of a non-profit put it this way:
“If you could make my employees calm down and be happier, I would pay you just about anything!”
I countered by asking her: “How would we measure success?” She quickly replied: “I would measure success in our coaching stint by how many times repetitive drama happens during each business day.”
The first step to reducing, even eliminating, workplace people problems is to open your eyes to your blindside.
The Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council was asked for recommendations about the most important capability for leaders to develop, and their unanimous answer was: self-awareness.
Today’s focus on strengths is valuable. However, this focus can keep us from seeing our whole selves — the darkness and the light. Our shadow sides, if left hidden, rule us and eventually block out our light.
Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic and a legend in American enterprise, tells us:
“Authentic leaders must recognize their shortcomings and work hard to overcome them. Being true to the person you were created to be means accepting your faults as well as using your strengths. Accepting your shadow side is an essential part of being authentic.”
He goes on to say that the problem comes when people are so eager to win the approval of others that they try to cover their shortcomings and sacrifice their authenticity.
Just like there is an inventory to find out your strengths, there is now an assessment called “The Conditioned Self Personality Profile.” If you’re brave enough to receive a description of your default personality and negative side, go to my website and fill out the 10-minute assessment. Eliminate your people problems by changing the image you radiate to those you lead. You will naturally get the right people on your bus — the calm ones who don’t complain and blame.