HOWE Q. WALLACE BLOG

Don’t Hide Your “Light”

I’m a believer in self nomination.

This is important to note. So many people wait to be noticed. The Bible calls it hiding your light under a basket.

The hope of the “light hider” is that your talent, skill, abilities or ambition will get discovered over time and it will be put to good use. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way.

Talent, skills and ability that go unused or untested result in frustration and discontent. The flip side is that when they are recognized and used, they lead to a high level of satisfaction. Productivity is higher. The team has a better chance of success.

That’s why “self nomination” is so important. It speeds up the process. It is lean.

As much as I would like to tell you that we are experts at discerning and putting talent to work, we aren’t. Our emphasis at getting work down well causes us to put on blinders.

So, if there are ways you can help that you aren’t being asked to do, you will eliminate a lot of personal frustration by speaking up and nominating yourself.

If you have ambitions that aren’t known, make them known. Get some feedback about them. Let us consider how we can structure things to meet them.

If we don’t do anything about your nomination, it’s on us.

But chances are your nomination will lead you to a better place. Why not step up?