(This post is written for alumni of LEAD 365, although all are welcome to read it.)
The DoKnowBe Tree was introduced to all participants in the opening session of LEAD 365. It is a framework that helps us understand the following fundamental truth: leadership is not only about what we do and know, but about who we are. Who we are, or to use the language of the DoKnowBe tree, who we “be,” shows up in our roots: our beliefs, values, passions, gifts (and voids), and wiring.
Here is a quick review of definitions:
- Our beliefs are those things that we know to be true but cannot prove.
- Our values are those things most important to us that reflect our highest priorities.
- Our passions are those things that have captured our hearts. They are so much a part of us that it almost feels like our passions chose us.
- Our gifts are those areas where we are naturally great, and our voids are where we are naturally weak.
- Our wiring tells us how we naturally relate with the world.
Today’s post takes a closer look at our gifts—those areas where we are naturally great. These are the things that came easily and quickly to us. They are abilities that we might think should be easy for everyone (because they are for us), but apparently are not. Gifts are things we learned almost effortlessly. And we often discover our gifts through people who see things in us that we didn’t see in ourselves.
Gifts also have their opposites: voids. Voids are the areas where we are naturally not so great, where we put in heroic effort even to be average. They are the things that seem to be easy for others, that we think should be easy for us, but are not.
What about your gifts? Who has seen a gift in you, told you what they saw, and helped you to see something in yourself that you would not have otherwise seen? If you remember the Johari Window, we learned that there are many things that others see in us that we do not see (things they know, but we don’t know, and can’t know, unless they give us feedback).
When we were introduced to the Johari window it may have been easy to think of this box consisting only of negative feedback regarding blind spots. The great parallel gift that we can give and receive is the gift of seeing giftedness in others and expressing that to them (or allowing others to express the gifts they see in us).
If someone has taken the time to tell you what good gifts they see in you, you have received something very precious. And what about you? Who is in your network of relationships (team members, family members, or friends) to whom you could give this gift? What gifts in others do you recognize that could help them have more in the “I know, you know” box because you took the time and care to express what you see?
Image by Phil Roeder. Used under CC-BY-2.0 license.
Recent Comments