Everyone can be innovative. Through the course of our careers, we’ve seen individuals from senior executives and CEOs through administrative assistants come to life and create new; solve problems that have held back organizations for years; develop new ways to make money and optimize profit; attract new clients and re-engage customers who were starting to drift away. In most cases, these individuals had discovered what they, as individuals, were uniquely “good at”; what they, as individuals, were deeply passionate about; and they had made the connection between these skills and passions with the mission of their organization. Jim Collins, in Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t says:
“When [what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at and what drives your economic engine] come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you’ve had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.”
He captures it well.
But, we know that many individuals struggle to identify what they are uniquely good at, and what they are deeply passionate about and how these things might apply to their work and innovation. We’d like to suggest 4 steps for individuals to tap into skills and passions. Discovering them, and then applying them in our work and in our personal lives can release the innovator that lives within each of us.
1. Learn what you’re good at. There are lots of ways to learn what we uniquely good at — tests, assessments, books, articles, classes. These can all be helpful, but we’ve found that the best way to discover what you’re good at is to ask others and reflect on your successes. Pick a few trusted folks that you’ve worked with across a variety of different types of projects or tasks. As them to help you think about what you’re good at — what skills do you bring to a project or task that they see as valuable? How would the project have been different if you hadn’t been involved? If they had to pick a project that you’d be ideal to work on, what would it be, and why? Take note of their answers. Then, reflect on the past few projects or tasks that you’ve been a part of. Which pieces of the work were “easy” for you? Which areas did you feel most confident? Compare your reflections to the feedback from your colleagues. The overlaps are core areas of strength for you. Find projects and tasks where you can apply these skills, and find others on the team or in your network to compliment your skills.
2. Uncover what you’re passionate about. We’ve heard about and seen a number of ways to discover passion areas, as well. Importantly, it’s okay to identify things you’re passionate about that feel like they are outside the scope of your work. To uncover passion areas, think about and then write down causes, hobbies, places, events, tasks, projects where you lose track of time because we’re so engaged; where you get “fired up” when you see an outage or opportunity. If money and time “were no object,” you might pour much more of your own time and/or money into a passion area.
3. Know what your company’s goals are. If you don’t know what your company mission is, have coffee with a leader in the organization and ask! Ask about the goals of the organization — not just the financial goals, but how the organization wants to impact its industry or employees or customers. Many organizations have articulated these nicely, but in some situations, the company’s broader mission and goals (i.e. beyond the financial) are in the hearts and minds of its senior leaders — so you might have to ask to learn what they are.
4. Find the intersections. Now that you understand your unique skills, your passion areas, and the broader goals of your organization, find where they intersect. In some cases, it will be obvious. In others, you may need to ask a colleague or mentor to help you make connections. Write down the intersections you identify. Share them with your manager and colleagues. Pin them up at your desk or make them your wallpaper to remind you.
Allow yourself to focus on the intersection of your skills and passions, and the mission/goals of your organization, and invariably, you’ll start solving problems, seeing opportunities and innovating.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 via Flickr user: Erica Schoonmaker