Day three: You are the SAUCE - Your Unique Style & Desires
Today, in our FIVE part series uncovering your "secret" S.A.U.C.E. to win at work, in business and in your life. We will focus on the "U" in SAUCE.
This is your Unique Style!
Your unique style are the intangible traits about you that make you different, rare, and UNCOMMON. These are good things because COMMON is not noticeable and common is BORING.
The last thing you want to be is boring. THIS IS WHAT BORING FEELS LIKE TO OTHERS...
You know what else is BORING though? A lack of confidence.
When you consistently need to be assured of how amazing and talented you are - others are drained and bored. This is one of the many reasons that we need to know how to pour into our own cups. To fill ourselves up with the truth of what makes us AMAZING and this requires self-awareness and self-work.
I am here to help you do this valuable work
Today I want you to take sometime and reflect on the intangibles that make you unique.
What are your hobbies? I show the picture of the woman above reading because the joy on her face as she is engaged in a book, is totally me!! What makes you happy?
What is your spiritual or religious affiliation? Yeah, I know it's not the politically correct thing to talk about, but if your spiritual life is important to you, don't apologize for it. I don't want you to ever feel like you have to suppress any part of you. Own all of it! If spirituality is not a thing for you, well sis, own that too! EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!
What are your beliefs? - Mindset is EVERYTHING, remember success is what you attract by who you become, and how we think is a major factor shaping who we are becoming daily
What are your values? aka the things that are important to you
What is the impact of your presence on others?
These are all amazing intangibles, but the one that I will speak briefly about today is KNOWING your impact on others.
Let me tell you a secret about people. PEOPLE LOVE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEM FEEL GOOD!
Folks will never care what you have to say until they know that you care. If you want to influence others and stand out to them, you must show that you are AUTHENTICALLY invested in them. People want to be around those that are interested in them and make them feel good. No one wants to be around someone who they think doesn't like them or isn't interested in them. I say it again, AUTHENTICALLY.
So you must know how you make others feel when they are around you. In other words, you must know your impact upon them.
I have received this feedback many times, that I make others feel SAFE around me. This means that they can be themselves, and they can open up to share their thoughts and perspective. This was a powerful trait in my career in HR, because it allowed me to quickly have my ear to the ground to know what the organization's employees were either struggling with or excited about. This allowed me to know what to do to impact the culture and I would be frequently consulted by the senior leaders because I was always seen as one "in the know."
I had another peer that his standout quality, was that he challenged people to STEP up their game. Shoot, he challenged me too! They didn't get the soft and cuddly feelings around him. Instead they knew they had to show up READY to take action, no excuses!! Guess, what?! People loved working with him as well because they first of all knew that his pushing them was coming from a good place and second that they would get 100% better by working for him.
I share the two personality differences to share that none of them are wrong, nor are either better than the other. They are both different and brought equal value because they produced an impact/result. I am personally TIRED of hearing about the right or the wrong way to be in order to win. YOU can win. You can WIN with the style you ALREADY have. You can win by being you. You just have to know the benefit your style produces and how to best leverage it.
So do you know what result your style delivers?
If you don't know, you can start the work of finding that out this week!!
You can't over-deliver if you don't know what you deliver in the first place!!
Don't forget, YOU ARE THE S.A.U.C.E.!