Inside each one of us is a seed. A seed of greatness. I believe the journey of life is to discover one’s seed and nurture it. Unfortunately, very few people find their seed and never experience total love with what they do. In addition, the world misses the contribution that finding one’s seed brings. Some examples of people who have found their seeds include Beethoven, Einstein, Michael Jordan, and J.K. Rowling. These people were, and are, great at what they did, and most importantly, loved doing it. Every human on the planet has a seed just like these people. The problem, however, is that few discover it. Many get close, but fall short of ultimately finding it. As leaders, we have the responsibility to help our associates align more with their seeds of greatness.

We all recognize the signs of people far removed from their seed. Although they are good workers, they show signs of apathy, boredom, and misery. They tend to live from day to day. Leaders spend endless hours doing performance reviews and “working on their weaknesses”. There are great skills in each of our associates. We should be spending our time reconfiguring their work to leverage their strengths, rather than work on the areas far from their seed. Each appraisal should be used to iterate toward their seed. My psychiatrist colleague, Dr. David Morrison, often explains that doing what you are truly good at provides incredible satisfaction, joy, and euphoria. Unfortunately, the opposite is not true. Just because you love something, it does not mean you will necessarily be good at it. Just look at all the golfers in the world who are terrible but continue to play each week! Your seed of greatness is both energizing and productive.

To truly find and nurture a seed of greatness, the process must start when we are children. However, we are working with a mature workforce. If someone’s seed of greatness is piano or basketball, our corporate life probably will not provide the right environment. So, what can we do to align the work at hand with the core attributes of music or sports for those associates?

One of the practices that I find useful is an analysis of my clients’ tendency toward ambiguity versus structure. I find Mary Miscisin’s Colors process to be both simple and fun. It provides some insight on my clients’ comfort and high energy areas. Following this process, we discuss the projects or tasks that give them energy and those that drain energy. I have my clients analyze each day for a couple of weeks to identify which tasks were energizing versus draining. Trends appear. Some realize that the times when they were energized were times when they were working alone, or for others, when in a group. Some clients love starting with a clean sheet. Others prefer very structured tasks with a beginning and an end.

Leaders need to stop trying to fix weaknesses in their people and spend time leveraging their strengths, more in line with their seeds. Find roles where they can do what they are good at, where they gain energy. We must let go of the notion that everyone should be good at all things. If John is good at A and B and Jane is good at C and D, why do we spend our time working with John at C and D and Jane on A and B? Why not give Jane’s A’s and B’s to John, and John’s C’s and D’s to Jane? They will be happier, more productive, and bring a higher quality of output.

I believe that seeds are there right from birth and should be discovered and nurtured, but that process is for another day. Although finding one’s seed should start with child development, it is not too late for our people. It is never too late to pursue what you love. Can you imagine a world where everyone is doing more of what “they are supposed to be doing” in life? We would have great people in every field imaginable. It would be a society of people feeling great about what they are doing versus a society of people miserable in their everyday lives, just getting through the day any way they can. Interesting to imagine isn’t it? A world where everyone is hopelessly, helplessly, in love with what they are doing and the best at it as well.