Leadership Lessons from a Smart Phone

Several months ago, I got my first Windows phone.

I loved it.  I accessed many of the great things this little piece of tech wizardry could do for me.  Several days of wonder were filled with the discovery of voice recognition, the cornucopia of games, an amazing world of apps.   I looked forward to months of learning my new communications device/toy and then reaping the added ease it would provide to my life.

Then, the novelty wore off.  Other parts of life prioritized themselves to the top of the list and my new phone became more of a utility vs. a technology that could make my life easier.  I fell into a routine of using the most familiar features. . .which was just a small percentage of what the phone can do.

The idea that my phone could do more for me just kind of disappeared from my field of vision.  At my own disservice, I settled into the world of the usual.

Often, that's what I believe we do as leaders.  As a passionate believer in human potential, I trust that everyone has a roster of great talents. . .and we have the ability to continue to learn.  There is a world of options and abilities for us to access to drive business and improve our own professional satisfaction.

Unfortunately, due to all of the priorities we face and the resulting lack of time, we often fall into the routine of the familiar.  While the familiar serves us well, there are also those challenges we face and people with whom we interact that  utilizing a different skill set  would work to a better advantage for us.

A different way of listening.  A new way of leading a group discussion.  A different point of view when facing a difficult issue.   We have a great variety of tools available to us, plus, we have the ability to learn so much more than we know.

Not only does a different way of approaching things often work to our own advantage, but it often works better for those with whom we are communicating and working.

To be able to access the talents and skills beyond our familiar routine, it takes the dedication of time to reflect:

• What else do I do well that I don't often use?
• What skills have I learned in previous situations that I'm not currently accessing?
• What have people told me are strengths of mine that I take for granted?
• What skills, talents, approaches can I learn that would help me with bosses, peers and others with whom I have the privilege of working?

Give yourself time to explore the talents and skills that often are ignored or little-used.  Make full use of all the talents available to you.