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I'm Steve Roesler, the guy behind the blog. Let me take a moment to give you a glimpse of who I am before telling the business story. I am married to "B" and we live 20 miles from Philadelphia in a tranquil, wooded area surrounded by lakes. (We don't live in the woods because we were asked to leave the city--we just like it here). It's a welcome break from the many days of international and domestic travel that are a part of the consulting business. I incorporated the Organization Effectiveness firm Roesler Group in 1977, specializing in communication training and development with an emphasis on improving systems, relationships, and large-scale change. My deep interest in the global nature of business and business relationships led me to a 2-year assignment with Saudi Arabian Airlines. What that really entailed was spending lengths of time developing up-and-coming managers in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Upon returning to the US I developed a clientele which has included American Express, AstraZeneca, AT&T, Batelle Labs, Computer Sciences Corporation, PECO Energy, Johnson & Johnson, Minerals Technologies, Specialty Minerals Europe and Pfizer, in addition to other for-profit corporations. Relationships within many of those firms have led to other interesting engagements with non-profits as well as church denominations. Clients are located worldwide. In addition to my Roesler Group enterprise, I've worked internally as a Manager of Management Development at Pfizer and as a Regional VP of Sales for a global training company. Prior to that I served as a Drill Instructor in the Army, musician and singer (still going strong--once you start you can't stop), and have been involved in broadcasting for more than 30 years. I'm also a co-author of "The Age of Conversation". Most of my engagements turn into long-time relationships although they start as a single project. These projects have included leading executive and cultural transitions within corporations; creating/leading leadership programs for client companies; preparing managers and executives to deliver presentations; serving as mediator for conflicts between high-level executives within organizations; and creating and leading a CEO selection process for a NYSE company. Steve Roesler Learning also continues to design and conduct organizational and management development programs on-site for clients. I am a graduate of Rowan University with an M.A. in Public Relations/Communications. I've attended various institutes for the study of human behavior, none of which equals a single day's education watching people at an airport check-in line. Over the years I've served on staff at the NTL Institute for the Applied Behavioral Sciences as well as the Wharton Executive Program.

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Talent: What You Can't Not Do

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Posted September 9, 2008 with 149 reads

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Successful People and Their Struggles

Richard Branson, the Virgin brand mogul, gets bored easily. He channels this "problem" into a positive by "getting himself into numerous businesses that he can spread himself around in."

Charles Schwab was dyslexic and almost flunked out of Stanford, having failed English twice. In business, he overcame this reading problem by speaking from the heart (nixing the need for reading and writing long memos and speeches).

Cisco CEO John Chambers was also dyslexic, so he relies on memorized speeches and interacting personally with people as much as possible.

Each of these people found a way to succeed in the face of some weakness.

Strengths from Weakness and Natural Talent

I'd like to propose that you and I look at our lives in light of those two gifts. And they are both gifts, although the first one may be difficult to see at first.

Strengths from Weakness

This isn't happy talk or psycho-babble.

Each of us is faced with some struggle around which we have to make a choice. Either we succumb to the struggle or we see it through. What we label as "overcoming" is really the molding of our character through adversity. In that process, we discover and develop strengths that serve our natural talents and purpose in life. All of the examples above reflect that.

If you choose to acknowledge your struggle and see it through, you'll end up leading and mentoring others who are struggling with similar challenges.

Why?

You'll possess knowledge, wisdom, and empathy about the issue that others cannot gain from classroom study. It will become an area of passion and personal meaning. You'll become known for your insight and strength.

What You "Can't Not Do"

Your Natural Talent(s)

If you're reading this, you are probably committed to personal and professional development. So at some point, you ask yourself "What are my real talents?"

I do a lot of mid-career counseling with executives who also wrestle with that question. Every one has read about Following Your Bliss, Pursuing Your Passion, and Discovering Your Strengths. They get the idea. But they find it difficult to separate skills that they've developed from the talents they possess.

During one session--in the midst of my own frustration--I blurted out, "What can't you not do?"

That proved to be a breakthrough question and has turned into a cornerstone of the career counseling part of my practice.

Look at your life. What can't you not do? No matter what your job title or job description, what do you find it impossible not to get involved with? What are you always getting in trouble for because you're not supposed to be doing it--or doing it that way?

Start paying attention to that and you'll start to identify your natural talent(s). And when you're using those talents, you won't even feel as if you are working. That's one of the reasons they can be hard to identify. We're so good at them, we don't recognize them for what they are. And we tend to place a low value on them because they don't "seem like work." Yet they are the part of you that makes you a star.

What to take away

1. When faced with a struggle, recognize that seeing it all the way through will present you with a new strength. You don't yet know what that is.

2. When you make that choice, it will become an area of your life where you will help, guide, and mentor others. Your burden will become one of your gifts.

3. If you are an HR person or manager who is interviewing candidates: Ask the candidate to describe a struggle that has led to anew talent, and how they use it. Pay attention to this. It will be a powerful part of their career potential

4. What can't you not do?

Stop not doing it.