define your own success

There’s recently been a lot of focus on the apparent 'talent shortage' but are we ignoring the full capability of the people we already have?

'In preparation for the 1976 Munich Olympics, the specifications for gymnastics scoreboards required three digits, including two decimal places. Officials had determined that a scoreboard that could display up to 9.99 would more than meet their needs, since a score of 10.00 was 'impossible'.

But nobody told Nadia Comaneci. When the fourteen-year-old Romanian became the first gymnast in Olympic history to score a perfect 10.00, the scoreboard displayed 1.00. She went on to score a total of seven perfect 10s during that Olympics, winning three gold medals.

The scoreboard manufacturers and the officials who commissioned them based their specifications on solid historical data and a lifetime of experience. Meanwhile, in gymnasiums around the world young people were sweating and striving every day in pursuit of that elusive score. Were they really chasing an impossible dream?

The systems we use to measure performance shouldn't limit what that performance can be. More importantly, we should define our own success and not be constrained by the limitations that others impose upon themselves.

There’s a real danger in setting the bar too low and it’s important to be mindful of when others might try to do this to you. If Nadia Comaneci had believed she could never score a perfect 10, she wouldn’t have done it. If she’d taken on board the limitations set by the officials, she may also never have achieved her historic feat.

In our own careers and in our roles as leaders, we need to be alert to the soft bigotry of low expectations. Let’s not limit someone’s options or possibilities because we make a false assumption about their abilities or ambitions.' (Extract from my book Leadership Assets p98-99)

If you’re feeling undervalued by the low expectations of others, it can be draining and reduce your motivation for work and for life. I’ve designed the Personal Energy Scorecard to help you assess your risk of critical energy depletion and to give you some practical easy tips to boost your energy at work. It’s free and takes less than two minutes to complete.