I got fired. Yep, I really did. Has that ever happened to you?
You gave it your all, felt like you were doing a really good job, did your very best work and yet, you got fired anyway. When the day came that you were escorted out with your one plant, your books and your pictures in a box, you were still confused about what happened.
Sometimes it’s really not you, it’s them.
Of course, what it takes not to be in that situation, is being clear about your 5 win elements:
- Being Yourself
- Your Strengths
- Do you LOVE it?
- Is this the right Environment for you?
- Are you Aligned with the Needs are the organization/ your market
Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen calls it the “Penguin Principle.” Jim Collins calls it the “Hedgehog Concept.” It all comes down to the same thing: to produce the best results, to be at your very best, you have to know yourself and know your strengths. It goes a bit further though. You may know your strengths and even though you are very good at this stuff, you don’t like doing it. Not good enough.
You have to be in your element. It has to bring you joy. And you have to be in an environment where you are allowed, encouraged and valued for, being in your element–being yourself. And then you have to have the confidence to keep playing your wheelhouse where you get to focus on your strengths and your weaknesses don’t matter. Ideally, someone else takes care of all that other stuff.
To really perform like a rockstar, your responsibility is to know yourself and then to put yourself in the right environment where you can grow and prosper.
When I got fired, I got fired for being myself. Although I was doing a really good job (in my book), it didn’t fit for them, because I wasn’t a good fit for their culture. No square pegs in round holes here. It’s not all about what you do–a lot of it is how you get to be. The company I work with now thrives on outrageous ideas and sometimes wildly inappropriate behavior. We have dance breaks. We call each other on our BS. We get to be neutrally compassionate and surrender is a big win. We get to laugh and cry and celebrate with each other and look at hard truths together.
To make your biggest impact and to be the most successful, test for your 5 win elements and start tweaking today.