3 tips for giving somebody the opportunity to succeed
People want to develop. But sometimes they need the chance to use their talents. Looking back on your life, can you think of somebody who gave you a realistic but stretching opportunity to succeed? Perhaps it was a teacher at school, a coach in sports or a manager at work. How did they give you this opportunity? What did you do right to grasp it? Looking to the future, how can you give somebody the chance to succeed? Let’s explore three tips for making this happen.
* You can spot where somebody has the opportunity to succeed.
Everybody has talents. The art lies in seeing what these talents are - then spotting the opportunity where somebody can succeed. Recently I witnessed the power of giving and grasping such possibilities.
Isak Berglind, a 15 year-old Swedish boy, spent a fortnight staying at our home. He travelled with ‘the tools of his trade’ - equipment for ‘fire juggling’ - more of which later. His visit coincided with our neighbour holding their November 5th fireworks display to which around 50 people are invited. Berit, my wife, arranged for Isak to give a ‘fire juggling’ performance to the gathering. He proved sensational. Lighting balls of fire, he whirled them around in hypnotic patterns, whilst incorporating moves from capoeira, the Brazilian martial art. The crowd loved it. In their eyes, this shy boy turned into a budding star. But for me one event stood out. Before the performance, Isak spent one hour practicing in the garden to make sure he got it right on the night. He has the talent and discipline to do what he wants - to entertain people in life.
Everybody has gifts - but these may not be recognised by the educational or work system. Their strengths may fall outside the boxes drawn by conventional views of exam subjects or competencies. Can you think of somebody who has the talent - and the discipline - required to succeed in a specific activity? Try completing the following sentences.
The person who has the talent to succeed in a specific activity is:
*
The specific activity in which I think they can succeed is:
*
* You can create the opportunity for somebody to succeed.
“The best way to learn is to teach,” said Tony Manocchio, one of my mentors. “Next month I am holding a workshop for professionals working with young people. You run a therapeutic community for teenagers and I would like you to lead a session for the psychiatrists from Scandinavia.”
Tony gave me the opportunity to teach at the age of 28 - quite old for a starting teacher - but much younger than the psychiatrists. Fortunately the session worked and produced invitations to teach in Scandinavia, which eventually turned into a full-time career for 10 years. I am not sure what Tony spotted, but he provided the practical opportunity to succeed. This opened the door to massive possibilities.
Let’s return to the person whom you believe has talent. Can you think of a suitable opportunity they can grasp? It can be one that exists already or one you can create. The opportunity should be stretching but - providing they work hard - they should also have a realistic chance of succeeding. Try completing the following sentence.
The specific opportunity that exists – or that I can create –
where the person could have the chance to succeed is:
*
* You can provide support – but allow them to take responsibility for succeeding.
This is the crucial part. Great educators, for example, focus on encouragement, enterprise and excellence. They provide an encouraging environment and look for when the person shows enterprise. They then work with the learner to help them achieve excellence.
Let’s return to the person you want to support. You can provide appropriate encouragement - but it is vital they take responsibility. Some well-intentioned people may be tempted to be over-supportive and smother the learner. The person must be allowed to plan, work hard and achieve their own success. Describe how you can provide the right support - but also know how step out of the way. The person can then work hard, reach their goal and grow as a result. Try completing the following sentence.
The specific things I can do to provide support - but
allow the person to take responsibility for succeeding are:
*
Everybody has talents. The art lies in seeing what these talents are - then spotting the opportunity where somebody can succeed. Recently I witnessed the power of giving and grasping such possibilities.
Isak Berglind, a 15 year-old Swedish boy, spent a fortnight staying at our home. He travelled with ‘the tools of his trade’ - equipment for ‘fire juggling’ - more of which later. His visit coincided with our neighbour holding their November 5th fireworks display to which around 50 people are invited. Berit, my wife, arranged for Isak to give a ‘fire juggling’ performance to the gathering. He proved sensational. Lighting balls of fire, he whirled them around in hypnotic patterns, whilst incorporating moves from capoeira, the Brazilian martial art. The crowd loved it. In their eyes, this shy boy turned into a budding star. But for me one event stood out. Before the performance, Isak spent one hour practicing in the garden to make sure he got it right on the night. He has the talent and discipline to do what he wants - to entertain people in life.
Everybody has gifts - but these may not be recognised by the educational or work system. Their strengths may fall outside the boxes drawn by conventional views of exam subjects or competencies. Can you think of somebody who has the talent - and the discipline - required to succeed in a specific activity? Try completing the following sentences.
The person who has the talent to succeed in a specific activity is:
*
The specific activity in which I think they can succeed is:
*
* You can create the opportunity for somebody to succeed.
“The best way to learn is to teach,” said Tony Manocchio, one of my mentors. “Next month I am holding a workshop for professionals working with young people. You run a therapeutic community for teenagers and I would like you to lead a session for the psychiatrists from Scandinavia.”
Tony gave me the opportunity to teach at the age of 28 - quite old for a starting teacher - but much younger than the psychiatrists. Fortunately the session worked and produced invitations to teach in Scandinavia, which eventually turned into a full-time career for 10 years. I am not sure what Tony spotted, but he provided the practical opportunity to succeed. This opened the door to massive possibilities.
Let’s return to the person whom you believe has talent. Can you think of a suitable opportunity they can grasp? It can be one that exists already or one you can create. The opportunity should be stretching but - providing they work hard - they should also have a realistic chance of succeeding. Try completing the following sentence.
The specific opportunity that exists – or that I can create –
where the person could have the chance to succeed is:
*
* You can provide support – but allow them to take responsibility for succeeding.
This is the crucial part. Great educators, for example, focus on encouragement, enterprise and excellence. They provide an encouraging environment and look for when the person shows enterprise. They then work with the learner to help them achieve excellence.
Let’s return to the person you want to support. You can provide appropriate encouragement - but it is vital they take responsibility. Some well-intentioned people may be tempted to be over-supportive and smother the learner. The person must be allowed to plan, work hard and achieve their own success. Describe how you can provide the right support - but also know how step out of the way. The person can then work hard, reach their goal and grow as a result. Try completing the following sentence.
The specific things I can do to provide support - but
allow the person to take responsibility for succeeding are:
*
You can find more tools for encouraging people at:
Labels: development, encouragement, strengths, talent
posted by Mike Pegg at
17:34
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