90 Days to Level Up Your Leadership

Week 6Finding Your Sweet Spot

Benchmark goal: Identify your motivations, your strengths, and the place where they come together.

There are times when you are good at what you are doing, and you are fired up about doing it. You feel as if you are completely in flow. When you find yourself in this position, you have discovered your sweet spot—that point where you are the most alive, most satisfied, and most closely aligned with your True North.

Although we all know what these times are like, they can be hard to find. Warren Buffett found his sweet spot by doing what he loved and appropriately delegating the rest. He made the decision early in life to position himself at the intersection of his motivations and his strengths, a move that has rewarded him financially and fulfilled his passions.

When you are clear about your strengths and what you love, and when you express them consistently in your leadership, you will be a more effective leader. Why? Because you will do less of the things that wear you down and more of the things that bring you joy. And you will do them to satisfy your inherent drives: your core motivations.

Certainly, there are times when one has to be happy with only strong motivation or only great skill in any particular job or task. But ultimately you should put yourself in a place where you can enjoy both.

The key to sustained effectiveness as a leader is to find positions that use your strengths and that are highly motivating to you. I label such a position ...