overwelmed-- home pageJust yesterday, in our Team Empowerment Program, we took a couple of big steps down the empowerment path. We completed the conversation on Passion Keys, which are the elements that must be in your work for you to be fulfilled and have a level of passion about it;  and we talked about Unique Ability®, which is a combination of your personal talents, passions, and skills.  And today, it became evident once again WHY we must strive to work within our Unique Ability – and when we can’t, that we must be aware of the impact.

Often, business owners ask us, why on Earth would I want to pay for my team to be in a program to learn about Passion Keys and Unique Ability?  I want my team to step up and help me get things moved.  They don’t need this touchy, feely stuff!

And just as often, team members tell us, I need tips to help my boss stay on track and get things done on time.  I don’t have time to worry about my Passion Keys.  I’m burned out, frustrated and overwhelmed because I’m always chasing my tail, and my boss’s.  I need help with that!

Well, if you want to avoid sliding into a place of disheartened burnout and you want a team that brings a level of energy and intention to the table, you MUST be in touch with your Passion Keys and Unique Ability.  Here’s why:

Today I was making some updates to our website.  I’m by no means an expert at website code, but I enjoy tinkering around with them and am capable of simple updates and changes.  An hour and a half later, I’m stumped on one change.  I can’t figure out how to make it work, and I am convinced at this point that our website sucks, I suck and we need a whole new site, which we aren’t budgeted to address until summer.  I’m irritated and convinced that no one will ever hire us again.

Luckily, I have the tools to stop!  I do a pattern break (get up, make a cappuccino, stretch, and then come back to my computer.)  And then I realize what just happened.

  1. While I enjoy tinkering with websites, it’s not my unique ability, nor do I have the training or know-how to make complicated changes.
  2. Tinkering allows me to be creative and move quickly, which are a few of my Passion Keys.  I went beyond that and it became frustrating.
  3. My Unique Ability is helping people create confidence to grow, in doable, easy-to-understand steps.  So whenever I spend too much time backstage, away from people and this conversation of growing confidence, I start losing my connection to purpose.  I begin to burn out and my energy goes down.

It’s easy to follow.  I was trying to tackle something outside of my Unique Ability.  Roadblocks there seem bigger than they are.  It’s easy to get discouraged.

So, is it OK that part of my role is to update our website?  For sure!  Do I need a boundary of time spent there and where to go for help when it gets outside of my capability?  Absolutely!  And most of all, I need to understand the Passion Keys and Unique Ability tools to realize WHY I’m discouraged. And I have to know to separate truth from what I’m seeing through the lens of frustration.

Most of us spend some time in roles that aren’t within our passion or Unique Ability.  It’s important that we know when we are operating in this zone so we can resist reacting to thoughts born of frustration, and we can be mindful of how much time is spent out of bounds.  In other words, anchor to your facts so you don’t overreact.  For instance, does our website need improvement?  For sure.  Does that mean I suck and no one will ever hire us again? No!  It means I stopped, did a pattern break, came back, emailed our website tech for help and switched to doing something within my Passion Keys and Unique Ability (writing this blog post).

If you and your team don’t have an understanding of this tool, it’s difficult to know when you are putting someone in a role that will deplete their energy, deplete YOUR energy responding to their burnout, and slow down your company’s growth.

To learn more about Passion Keys and Unique Ability, check out Chapter 2 of “Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work With a Dream Team Without Losing Sanity or Spirit in the Process.”

Champions of your continued growth,

Laney and Molly

molly@yeschick.com

laney@yeschick.com

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