Last week we asked what your name would mean as a verb. Once you know what you want your name to mean, the question is, “How can I grow to make this a reality?” We’ll answer this question by thinking about a comic book character named Rogue. Rogue is a mutant in the Marvel universe who has the ability to absorb powers by touching someone. For example, if she touched the Hulk she would gain super strength or if she touched Spider-man she could climb walls. In short, Rogue enhances her powers by leveraging the people around her.
What if we could learn and develop like Rogue? Imagine for a moment you wanted to become a better strategic thinker. All you would have to do is find someone who is a great strategic thinker, give them a high five, and then you would absorb their skills. How cool would that be?
What does this have to do our jobs? If I’ve ever done anything to impress you, there is a 99.4% chance that what I did is either a new skill I’ve picked up from someone or one of my natural talents that has been made stronger by adding what I’ve learned from someone else. The other .6% of me impressing you is with my beard and I take full credit for that 😉 Although we can’t develop skills like Rogue, we can still absorb skills from each other. I’ve found that my learning can come from more than formal coaching sessions or one off events. I’ve learned that if I spend a little time being more observant and intentional I can take away lessons by watching how the people around me operate and look at the world. I can take their strengths and learn from them to make myself better.
Every day we tackle challenges that require dynamic leadership, strategic thinking, great communication, and many more skills. Every one of these moments is a chance to look at our peers and learn from them. Every moment is a chance to jot down those great strategic questions that Bob asked during the meeting, so you can apply them to other projects. It’s a chance to observe what it was about Sally’s leadership that caused her to be successful and how you could add that to your skill set. It’s a chance to watch Bill solve a problem and then apply his thought process to other obstacles you are facing. It’s an opportunity to be impressed by Susie’s presentation and ask her how she decided to tell the story in that way so you can prepare in a similar fashion. If we do this right it becomes a beautiful cycle of observing->absorbing->growing.
We work with some incredibly gifted and talented people. What if we could tap into all of those superpowers to make ourselves better? Are you taking advantage of learning from those around you? How are you absorbing their superpowers and putting them to good use? Who will you teach and who will you learn from?
Have a jolly good day,
Andrew Embry
Striking Matches 