Curious Minds at Work

CM 181: Dan Cable On Unlocking Your Potential


Listen Later

For a good part of my life, I believed that focusing on my weaknesses was the key to achieving success. In fact, I didn't realize how much I'd embraced this way of thinking until I began working with an executive coach.
Soon after we started working together, my coach made an observation I've never forgotten. She said, "Gayle, you're great at pointing out your weaknesses - all the ways you feel you don't measure up - but I never hear you talk about your strengths." That's when I realized how this way of thinking had become my default setting. I had to work hard to change it.
That's why, when I picked up Dan Cable's latest book, Exceptional: Build Your Personal Highlight Reel and Unlock Your Potential, I knew I wanted to have him back on the show. He captured my old way of thinking with his first sentence, "Many of us think the best path to self-improvement is to face the cold truth about ourselves at our worst."
Yet, what Dan quickly points out is that, far from motivating us, this relentless focus on identifying and fixing our weaknesses can create a lot of anxiety, along with feelings of overwhelm, even helplessness. That sounds like a far cry from a path to success, right?
Dan's a Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School. Since his last book, Alive at Work, he's been studying what happens when we uncover our strengths through others' eyes, through current and former colleagues, bosses, friends, and family members. Dan's approach is fascinating and his research findings are incredible.
Episode Links
You Need a Personal Highlight Reel by Dan Cable
What You Should Follow Instead of Your Passion by Dan Cable
Stop Sleepwalking through Life by Dan Cable and Mel Bradman
Alive at Work by Dan Cable
Post-traumatic growth
What Job Crafting Looks Like by Jane E. Dutton and Amy Wrzesniewski
Impostor Syndrome
Curious Minds at Work
Learn more about creator and host, Gayle Allen, and producer and editor, Rob Mancabelli, here.
Support Curious Minds at Work
If you're a fan of the show, you can show your support by:
Rating and reviewing the podcast on iTunes or wherever you subscribe.
Telling someone about the show.
Subscribing so you never miss an episode.
Where to Find Curious Minds at Work
Spotify
iTunes
Tunein
Stitcher
Google podcasts
Overcast
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Curious Minds at WorkBy Gayle Allen

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

476 ratings


More shows like Curious Minds at Work

View all
TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,912 Listeners

Speaking of Psychology by American Psychological Association

Speaking of Psychology

55 Listeners

The Psychology Podcast by iHeartPodcasts

The Psychology Podcast

1,834 Listeners

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish by Shane Parrish

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

2,656 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,356 Listeners

10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

10% Happier with Dan Harris

12,588 Listeners

Choiceology with Katy Milkman by Charles Schwab

Choiceology with Katy Milkman

1,416 Listeners

Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

Worklife with Adam Grant

9,164 Listeners

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

14,287 Listeners

The Next Big Idea by Next Big Idea Club

The Next Big Idea

1,271 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,206 Listeners

Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People

652 Listeners

Chasing Life by CNN

Chasing Life

8,210 Listeners

A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

A Bit of Optimism

2,176 Listeners

ReThinking by TED

ReThinking

614 Listeners