Recognize Your Talents

You are unique. Think about it: There are over seven billion people on our planet, and not one of them is identical to you. Study up a bit on the science behind DNA, and you’ll quickly learn just how different you are from others working alongside you. While understanding what makes you unique can give you a leadership edge, realizing what’s extraordinary about you is even better—those unique traits that are particularly special to you. Consistently work to emphasize, develop, or leverage these abilities and you’ll eventually carve out a clearer, greater leadership advantage.

I firmly believe that there’s something extraordinary about everyone. If you want to change and grow, you need to believe this about yourself. When you figure out and trust in how you’re extraordinary, this revelation can create not only real satisfaction but also joy—both of which are powerful and motivating. You can then use this knowledge as a tool for achieving your goals and vision as a leader.

Many people I have worked with over the years haven’t always known what makes them extraordinary. Often they haven’t felt unique in any particular way. But each one has had a special set of experiences and skills that made them stand apart from others.

That said, maybe you are reading this and struggling to think of what makes you different. Or, perhaps you can’t even contemplate the fact that, yes, you are extraordinary. If so, here are several ways to get insight, so you can leverage that to develop your leadership potential:

Examine what you love to do. There are so many things that we do as part of our daily routine and out of obligation. Think about some of the activities that you really love doing in your professional or personal life. What especially motivates, moves, or excites you? For example, maybe you really like mentoring others and playing a part in their growth and development. When you’re personally involved in this activity, it triggers your most positive emotions because you’re truly making a difference in the world.

Once you uncover what you love to do, dig deep and determine what specific aspects of it lift your spirit and make you feel good. Perhaps you really enjoy helping others grow, and your love for mentoring is partly a reflection of that. Maybe when you’re coaching others, you thrive on sharing lessons learned, particularly with others who benefit from your gift. Greater understanding will give you the ability to align future activities to your passions, resulting in even more satisfaction.

Determine your best skills. To figure this out, ask, what do you do better than most other people you know? Often through our internal conversations, we focus on the negative. So it’s important to think about what skills you have that do make you effective and different. Maybe you’ve got exceptional people skills, are super analytical, or have strong work ethic. Your best skills are whatever you’ve learned to do really well in life. If you are unclear about your skill set, ask people you know and trust to give you feedback. Understanding with crystal clear clarity what you do well will contribute to what makes you unique. Use this information to uncover future opportunities that will tap your strengths, influence people, and get results. This is what Disciplined Leaders consistently do.

Know your true gifts. Gifts are different from skills. While skills are learned and mastered, your gifts are innate and thus cultivated like seeds. You were born with them. What have you always been good at doing even from the time that you were a child? If you were extremely verbal and chatty, perhaps you’re a natural born communicator. If you were agile and strong, perhaps you are a natural-born athlete. Like your fingerprint, your unique gifts are so personal, given only to you in a certain pattern, imprinted in a particular way and tied to your authentic identity. If you fail to recognize and sufficiently use your gifts, you will probably feel like you’re missing the mark in life. Things will just never feel quite right.

In Summary: The Disciplined Leader has identified the Inner Extraordinary that is the foundation of his or her leadership. It’s all about tapping your skills, gifts, and passions and using those things to develop both personally and professionally. It’s about maximizing your leadership potential, sharpening your personal edge, and staying true to the real you.