I was reading an old blog about the last day of contract that ended and I was relieved. This was a contract after my tenure with the mouse so I knew a lot about the environment, the people and the product before even accepting. I had a lot to learn and it wasn’t all job related, if you know what I mean. I had a lot to learn about my personal brand.
The weird part for me was that I was delighted I didn’t have to go back to work for Dave. That’s not the weird part, the weird part was discovering the story I told myself that I was around somehow I am less than, not good enough, no longer smart in any way, because I didn’t fit into that environment. That is a story resulting from a “wrong fit” dynamic that is familiar to me. We’re born adjusting to group dynamics they are called families. And just like the family dynamic I grew up in where I was so sensitive I had to be tough to survive. Do you like how I say “I was so sensitive” in past tense? I learned to be sarcastic and passive aggressive to fit in. But guess what I didn’t like myself. And that happened at Disney too. I can only think back to mistakes I made with Dave not really looking at what Dave needed in the role and how I didn’t fit there.
What I discovered about my personal brand in that situation was enormous. The detail work required was excruciating. The micromanagement started when his confidence in my excel capabilities faltered because I hadn’t touched excel professionally in about six months. Who knew you lose it that fast? I couldn’t look at a screen all day without interaction with people. I was given a tiny task and my work was checked for detail in about a nano-second he could find a problem with the work I did. I wasn’t given any reason for me doing this work. I wasn’t given any of the big picture just a tiny task which I screwed up over and over. I was exhausted at the end of the day and completely drained of all sparkle.
It occurred to me while I was there, this was before I knew my Gallup Strengths, I was better suited to actually talk with people, create processes and find more efficient routes to success. Go figure, I am a Maximizer, Activator, Arranger, Connectedness and Stategic. I was doing tasks when I needed to be given complex projects to streamline and make happen. Duh… now that is what I am good at doing. Go figure.
One of the easiest fixes I do with clients is to walk through their strengths. We discover what they love doing and how that manifests in their current world. Or not. We then incorporate my strengths to strategically create a pathway to incorporating more of “that” into their world, whether it’s current work, future work, home or volunteer work they need to leverage their strengths. This is one of the basics of your personal brand!
Did you know you’re 12.5% more productive when you’re using your strengths? That is not small… let someone else do the stuff that makes you tired. You do the work that invigorates you! It doesn’t have to be a 180 degree shift, just get closer to using your strengths.
Thankful for that incredible lesson learned and I don’t have to go back to that…. YAY!
