At this point in time and considering how often
it has been shown, you have undoubtedly seen the Geico commercial which
portrays Pinocchio as a bad motivational speaker.
As someone who is a motivational speaker, I
would hate to begin my presentation with such a stereotypical cliché. With no
pun intended, Pinocchio clearly points out what an abstract expression “potential” really is.
Moreover, the concept of potential is highly
interpretive. How do you personally define potential? Is your definition for
other people such as your children or those who you lead professionally conform
to the same definition that you hold for your own self-potential? How does your
organization define potential when it comes to its employees?
As you can see, there is no clear line in the
sand when it comes to exactly what potential is. The concept of human potential
is subjectively (and often
unrealistically) linked to human expectation. This is often typified by
employers who exhibit the corporate attitude “what can you do for me today?”. Then, there are overbearing
parents who continually pressure their child to become a doctor or lawyer…
because that is what the parent wants for the child.
While I can tell you first hand that throughout
my life, other people saw my capabilities (potential)
long before I did. Unfortunately, many of these people kept harping at me that “I wasn’t working up to my potential”. The
problem with this approach was that it didn’t help me in any way to understand
what this mystical potential was, let alone help me to utilize it. Rather than
making me want to reach higher and work harder, in reality it made me feel
inferior while sending a clear message that “I
simply didn’t measure up”.
Thank the good Lord above… that He put some
other people in my path along the road of life who not only saw my
capabilities, they took the time to point them out to me and then proceeded to
mentor me in learning how to develop them. While I could elaborate in further
detail, those are stories for another day.
What I want to focus on in present time is the
need to clarify what potential is. Confucius observed that “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full
potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal
excellence.”
Winston Churchill believed that “Continuous effort - not strength or
intelligence - is the key to unlocking your potential”.
While these observations indicate that your will coupled with your continuous effort will help you discover
what your potential is -- I have come to comprehend and to teach that your
actual potential is simply your “capacity
and need to do something better”.
The reality is that every individual and every
organization have the ability to better utilize their talents, abilities,
skills, resources and assets to improve some aspect of their everyday
performance.
Therefore, you, your people and your
organization are already equipped (have
the capacity) to make significant improvements (do something better) in actual performance. What remains for
individuals and organizations to determine is where is it that you specifically
“need” to improve.
What is the most important thing (top priority) that you need to change
or improve? What skills and abilities do your people have that your
organization needs that to help them use more often, more effectively and more
successfully?
When you view the issue of potential from this
perspective, there is far more clarity about what your potential is (what are you capable of doing better),
where your potential lies (what skills,
talents & abilities are on board and already available) and how to
harness such potential (what is your most
important need).
Making improvements to individual and
organization performance along with identifying and tapping into your potential
is a “process”.
As your valued resource partner, we
can readily assist your organization, its leadership and your people with the
processes that will enable them to… Learn more… Do more… Become more.
Copyright © 2015 Developing Forward
| Thomas H. Swank, CBC
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