health. It
starts to rede-
fine the relationship
between the employer
and employee, and helps them
make a much stronger contribution to the
communities they live in.
Self-awareness is a recurring theme
in your message. What do you see
as the biggest obstacle that keeps people
from realizing who they are and what
they’re good at?
TR: One of the biggest obstacles may
be simply spending time fixated on how
many obstacles there could be. I know
that sounds circular. But it’s easy to get
preoccupied with tips about what to do
and what not to do to be the ultimate
well-rounded speaker, and it’s common
to lose track of what you’re good at and
what you’re passionate about. Personally,
I know I made mistakes early on.
Part of leverage is figuring out what
is the one area out of hundreds of thou-
sands where you feel confident that
you have more passion, knowledge and
expertise. There are some people who
should spend more time being the classic
energetic motivational speaker they’re
born with that. But if you tried to coach
someone like me or some of the people
on my team into that element, it would
ruin their confidence and positioning.
What are some practical steps
speakers can take to encourage that
type of understanding in themselves and
in their audiences?
TR: It’s a very important piece to ensure
that you continue measuring what’s
important in your career and life, if for
no other reason than it’s the only way to
hold yourself accountable. The work-place research finding is this: If you
don’t have mechanisms in place to tell
you how you’re doing every time you’re
speaking to an audience or trying to sell
something to a client, there’s really no
way for you to manage and improve
it. It could be as simple as having a few
outside people who can give you an
honest critique.
For their audiences, one thing speakers can do is to challenge people to step
back and think about what core strengths
they need to double down on or reinvest in. And they should ask questions
of the people that they’re closest to, to
see what they think. It’s always interesting to me when someone goes through
a StrengthsFinder assessment and says
that a theme or talent doesn’t quite fit—
but if you have them ask their spouse or
a friend, that person will put their finger
right on it. Sometimes the people observing you might have a unique window on
the things you’re missing.
What role did your grandfather
TR: There’s no one who had a bigger
influence in my work and life, and on
the things that I derive meaning from
on a day-to-day basis. The years that
I spent working with Don before he
passed away were some of the most
meaningful in my entire career. He
challenged me to stretch my imagi-
nation, saying not just “Can we have
a thousand people learn about their
strengths in a given year?” but “Can we
get it to a million?” Well, we recently
had a million people take the assess-
ment in a single calendar year.
Don cited one specific case (the
study of 1,000 POWs from a
Dr. William Mayer) as the catalyst for
his work. Was there a similar seminal
moment for you?
TR: There is on a daily basis. It’s something I picked up when I was younger,
and Don was an influence. I wake up
every morning and get a report on how
many people we’re reaching in different countries and areas, and that’s what
keeps me going.
When I step back and think about it,
if you are able to spend as much time as
possible in your areas of natural talent,
and in a topic that you have confidence
and competence in, and you’re passionate, there’s really no substitute for those
things as far as being effective.
Contributing writer Jake Poinier conducts an annual survey of the freelance industry . . . but he’s a long way from having a million
respondents. He blogs regularly at
DearDrFreelance.com.
