By Chally Kacelnik
At the end of our leadership development programs, we ask participants to reflect on what they achieved as part of their programs. One of the big ones people note is that they were terrible at public speaking before the program, but now they can confidently present to a room full of people at all organisational levels. This is why one recent reflection really stuck out to me.
This participant said that he still was bad at public speaking. However, he knew he was now equipped with the tools and knowledge to get better at it, and he was going to do it, both at work and in his life more generally. Now, that’s an amazing achievement to cite: knowing you’re not instantly going to be excellent at something, and making sure you’re prepared to do the hard slog to get where you need to be.
It takes self-knowledge and determination to commit to that kind of persistence, particularly around something that causes many people to break out in a cold sweat. A lot of people who get the formative message that they’re really smart and good at everything give up when they’re not instantly good at something. Likewise, a lot of people who never receive encouragement give up at the first hurdle.
That’s why it’s so important socially for us to value persistence; it builds more satisfied human beings who are better at doing what they need to do, and who value the journey. Building a skill or knowledge through your best effort is so much more satisfying than natural talent.
I look forward to being part of the learning journey for many more people who persist for that goal that’s still out of reach.
At LKS Quaero, we help to develop people. For more information, visit us at lksquaero.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
