February 27, 2025

The Freedom To Be Yourself Is A Strategic Advantage

14 minutes

Do you get the impression there are people on your team trying hard to prove themselves? In this podcast episode, teamwork specialist Shannon Waller discusses the critical importance of self-awareness and the freedom to be oneself within a team environment. Understanding your strengths and embracing your true self is not just for personal benefit; it serves as a strategic advantage for entrepreneurial teams.

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Show Notes:

The Problem With Proving Oneself

The idea of proving oneself seems positive, showing hard work and ambition, but it can often lead to focusing narrowly on self-evaluation instead of collaboration.

The self-focus can lead to “head trash” where people measure themselves against the ideal and end up in “The Gap,” where they’re constantly frustrated that they aren’t further ahead than where they are.

The Value Of Self-Awareness

Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses is essential for effective teamwork.

This self-awareness allows greater appreciation for others’ complementary strengths, which can be combined to more efficiently complete collective goals.

Knowing your own weaknesses helps you stay away from committing to roles on projects you’re not best suited for, thereby preventing bottlenecks.

When people know what their strengths are, they’re free to be more creative within those areas.

Growing Great Leadership

In Dan Sullivan’s newest Ambition Series book, Growing Great Leadership, he explains how being a great leader includes demonstrating your own growth using The 4 C’s Formula®.

The 4 C’s Formula: Commitment to a scary new project means having to experience courage to try something new with many unknowns in order to gain new capabilities that give you greater confidence to tackle the next big commitment, renewing the cycle.

For a company to expand, each person, each team, and each capability needs to be constantly getting better through 4 C’s growth.

Profiles To Help You Know Yourself

Kolbe: How you take action.

PRINT®: Your motivations.

CliftonStrengths®: Your strengths and non-strengths.

DISC: Your personality and behavioral style.

Working Genius®: Where you thrive on team projects.

Growth Over Perfectionism

Perfectionists won’t try something unless they know they can nail it the first time.

Entrepreneurial companies need growth-minded people who are willing to take risks, try, and learn from both success and failure.

Strategic Advantage

“Success is the freedom to be yourself.” —Kathy Kolbe

People who have the freedom to be themselves are open-minded, curious about other people, trustworthy, collaborative, productive, creative, and successful.

When people don’t have to focus inwardly, trying to prove themselves, they’re free to be more strategic and focused on the best end results.

Resources:

The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Growing Great Leadership by Dan Sullivan (coming soon)

The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

Kolbe (Kolbe.com)

CliftonStrengths

DISC: Personality Insights

Working Genius

Unique Ability®

...more

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By Shannon Waller

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