As leaders we know that sometimes there are those quirks that show up in our team members that can be frustrating or hard to manage. We can come to see their natural tendencies as problems to be managed or ignored. We may even try to coach people to overcome their quirks and if that doesn’t work, we simply give up hope.
You may have a team member who connects things in unique ways, or wants to devise new products and services, or wants to take risks that others avoid. Whatever their unusual capability might be, it can be tempting to focus on the challenges they bring rather than seeing the potential in them.
Sometimes team members’ quirks are clues to strengths just waiting to find an outlet. Watch this video clip and learn how one teacher handled a student’s quirk that other teachers had tried to eliminate and turned it into a talent and career. As you do, ask yourself, what clues have you been missing in your team members? How might you light a spark in someone and let them know that you see potential in them?