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Everyone is Smart (and that’s different than everyone gets a trophy)

Sarah Gibson talks about everyone's unique strengths and talents they bring to a team.

We have a saying at our house – “Everyone is smart. In their own way, everyone is smart.” We started saying that when our kids compared their skills and talents to one another. Each is gifted differently, so where one excels, the other struggles and vice versa. From a sibling perspective, it created feelings of resentment, anger and accusation. The same happens in our workplaces, and it’s time we started seeing everyone as smart.

Let’s dwell a bit on the repercussions of comparing talents and skills.

  • Resentment- this happens when one employee feels another is valued for her skills more than his skills.
  • Anger- happens when talent reviews are tied to goals that aren’t individualized to optimize individual gifts and abilities, creating impossible standards for some and too easy standards for others.
  • Accusation- happens when one person compares her skills and don’t feel valued for what she brings to the table and she accuses other people of holding her back.

What can we do to avoid these repercussions? We can look at others and identify ways that both he and she are smart. This doesn’t mean someone’s talent is equal, it does mean everyone is valued for what they bring to the table.

For example, I know a woman who is intellectually below average (from an IQ perspective). However that woman brings in an amazing set of people smarts. She reads the team and clients better than most others. Now, will she be put on a demanding visioning quest for the team? No. But can she add perspective that no one else can? Absolutely.

We optimize our teams’ talents and skills when we acknowledge what each person brings to the table and then we use those folks to achieve our collective goals.

This week be quick to praise others for what their skills, be slow to judge others who may have different gifts and ask, “How is that person smart?”

 

Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com. 

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