"Spending too much time focused on others' strengths leaves us feeling weak. Focusing on our own strengths is what, in fact, makes us strong." -...
- Simon Sinek
Have you thought about your assets today?
No, I'm not talking about your bank account. I'm talking about the positive investments you have going for yourself in your business. They're your greatest strength and yet most people rarely think about them because what's working has become a 'given'.
Most people are more concerned about debits - what doesn't work. In fact, 80% of us focus constantly on what's broken or needs to be fixed. We struggle with our debits on a daily basis. It's an automatic response mechanism that goes back to the cavemen, when danger was lurking around every corner. But by dwelling on our weaknesses, perceived short comings, and things that need to be fixed, we're actually playing to our debits. It's a practice that's not only self-defeating and negative, but stagnating. The wheels of progress can't possibly function to capacity let alone thrive in that sort of environment.
Asset-Based Thinking shifts our focus to our strengths. It's energizing. It reframes our perspective over to what we do well, what's working, and what we can build on it. It grows optimism, confidence, and positive energy. Its effects are contagious. A simple change of mindset enables us to see what's possible and become more effective and better at what we do best. We discover hidden opportunities to grow our assets and as a result, are able to achieve our goals better, faster and more creatively. We become more resilient. We stop being reactive to our situations and proactively seek solutions.
We reap additional benefits as well. As we nurture our strength-based assets we find we're better able to come back around to our deficits, see them in a new light and effect solutions we never saw before. And, importantly, businesses who operate on the Asset Based Thinking model stand head and shoulders above the rest, because, after all, the majority of other businesses - including our competition - are likely to be down in the debit trench, trying to crawl their way out.
Embracing an ABT approach doesn't mean that problems go away or should be ignored. What it does mean, is that by looking at your issues from an asset-based perspective, you're better able to analyze what works and why, and build solutions that work. What's key is devoting your attention to your assets first and the satisfaction and rewards that come with making definitive progress toward your goals. Expand from there.
Did you know that research has shown that 70%-80% of businesses benefit by focusing on what they do best and improving on it? Leaders are deemed great by virtue of their strengths, and not by the absence of any weaknesses.
Why not use that to your advantage?
Redirect your natural tendencies and play to your assets, rather than your debits. It's a matter of mindset, and it's a practice. At work, asset based thinking has a profound impact on every aspect of business.
Sit down with a piece of paper and list out what you do well and what needs improvement. Ask a trusted advisor, your employees, your customers what they think. How do their opinions compare with yours?
I'm sure we've all used Asset-Based Thinking approaches to handle different situations in our lives, although we had no words to identify it. Psychologist Kathryn Cramer provided the terminology and an absolutely delightful explanation of the process and practice in a number of books, the latest being " Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders See, Say and Do."
Within our own lives and businesses, ABT enables us to wrap our heads around a foundation based on opportunities rather than problems, strengths rather than weaknesses and what's achievable, rather than what's not. Once we've done that, we've laid the groundwork for success.
- Marilyn vos Savant
