"Unique Problem Solving Strengths: Maximize Time & Energy"

by Maria C. Forbes

If you have attended time management seminars, you know that great ideas sometimes work. Business owners and career professionals alike face the “new economy” with a do-more-with-less, mandate on our time.  Time management suggestions are notable, they seem like a breakthrough, and within a week of practicing new behaviors we find ourselves right back into our usual mode of operation. There is a reason for the muscle memory that occurs when we try to change the way we do things. If the new behaviors push us to perform against our natural striving grain, they will not stick.

 

Sarah was at the top of her sales game. She met her quota each month, received great reviews from her peers and management team, and she has had the honor of many awards. At the pinnacle of her career, Sarah began to work with two new team members that were also meeting their goals, and with a certain ease! Sarah decided she should approach her clients in a manner similar to her new team members; put a bit more fun in her client conversations. She revised her pitch and her expectations for an improved outcome.

 

Sarah's sales performance began to slip! Her management team was concerned that she was losing momentum. Even though Sarah’s motivation and the timeliness of corresponding tasks were beyond the ordinary, her new approach to challenge was having a negative impact on her career. Ensuring that she was a valued team member, the management team pressed Sarah to improve her production. Sarah became stressed, and although she was sure the new team members had a better sales approach, she feared her lack of success may ultimately cost her a top sales position, a great reputation and team status. Sarah’s challenge to recover her quota continued for another quarter. She began to realize that she was not as effective as her admired team members. Feeling frustrated and lost, she asked, "Should I change my career?”

 

Sarah was introduced to her natural problem solving strengths; the instinctive method of operation that drives the way we take action. The Kolbe Conative Indexes® indicated Sarah’s precise method of operation and revealed a meaningful dynamic between her and her team! Sarah was the go-to person for product knowledge and applications. Her teammates would collaborate to broaden their understanding of product specifications and applications. Sarah's knack for sharing in-depth knowledge is her Natural Advantage™, and the approach that works best. Today Sarah is back in action; with a new appreciation for her instinctive problem solving strengths, their impact on her success, she is maximizing her time and energy, and meeting her sales goals.

 

Working against your natural method of operation is an energy buster. Today, professionals must think like entrepreneurs by creating an ongoing contribution to organizational goals, and adding value to their job description. If we are working longer hours and increasing our responsibilities, burnout becomes an increased risk. Certainly you cannot always avoid long hours, but you can arrange your instinctive strengths and power your energy supply. The exhaustion factor is reduced by working smarter; not by a prescribed process for better multi-tasking, rather using your problem solving strengths to engage in the things you do well, and arrange additional capability for tasks which are not your strength. This personal approach to challenge enables you to preserve energy and increase your productivity.

 

Today’s professionals ask a common question; how can I be more productive, without adding to my already lengthy day? Directing your efforts according to your instinctive strengths will expend time and energy efficiently. Additionally, collaborative team efforts can be arranged synergistically, and aligned with required tasks, so that time and energy are maximized. Put your time where your strengths are, and watch your productivity rise. Beware; too much of a good thing can paralyze a team. When team members approach their work in the same way, their efforts are redundant and the ability gaps can weaken their progress. Shared viewpoints among team members can validate their decision-making actions, and make it difficult to see where additional capabilities would benefit their work, even when there is growing frustration about meeting goals. This is a common scenario when problem solving strengths are not arranged to provide the right blend of abilities. Projects may be completed on time, but the team's inefficient processes slow their productivity. Long days result, as teams try to compensate.

 

Maximizing time and energy is an obvious, yet generic solution to time management. Awareness of personal problem solving strengths and the arrangement of these strengths toward achieving goals, gives one the freedom to be most creative, efficient, and productive. What you know about your field through education and experience, and your motivation and desire for your work, must be merged with how you DO your work; a personal and sustainable approach to solving the battle of time management.

 

About the Author: Maria C. Forbes, Owner FIREPOWER™ Business Catalyst
Kolbe Certified™ Consultant                                                                                                                   

Maria’s twenty-five year consulting career has re-energized the strategic vision of independent business owners and the corresponding contributions of their employed and affiliate professional teams.    

Maria is a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, using the Kolbe Instruments to validate instinctive problem solving strengths and reveal an individual and unbiased Performance MO. Maria’s clients experience the personal discovery of their innate and unchanging problem solving strengths, as they gain practical insight to the power of these abilities in combination with learned knowledge. The FIREPOWER™ processes facilitate the arrangement of team member capabilities synergistically, and in sync with the business vision.

Using their instinctive problem solving strengths as a guide, team members will envision new possibilities for making an ongoing personal contribution to the business vision. In the process of discerning their best methods for maximizing efficiency and productivity, they learn how to become active participants in the company growth plans.  Individual performance strengths are aligned with these objectives to develop an identifiable business culture that will sustain long-term market share.  Maria can be reached at forbesmj@comcast.net or 770-315-6297.