Stop Over-Delivering
What happens when you over-deliver all of the time?
Earlier this year John Maxwell shared some of the common sense that can seem to fly in the face of the “always over-deliver” wisdom. In addition to training us, John has stepped into the role of a mentor with his certified coaches. Becoming one of his coaches has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. He counselled us – “You cannot deliver your best 100% of the time.” Sometimes we make the mistake of confusing the principle – giving the best you have to the people you serve – with the practice of intentionally designing your work for sustainable excellence.
Why am I Focused on This?
Everyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love my work. I truly love each of my clients. I’m jazzed to fill the role as their business or personal development coach. I’m involved in things that excite me, and I love the people I get to work alongside every day. And yet, for the whole first quarter of 2015 I struggled with stress and even anxiety as I worked my way through the workday.
How Can You Love What You Do – And Still Be Stressed?
One of my favorite coaches (my brother Nick Hendrix, also a certified coach) and I were working through this question. We were swimming in the Gulf of Mexico of Captiva Beach. He reminded me of John’s words. I’ll never forget Nick’s conclusion to my months of stress and anxiety – “You are expecting to be at 100% anytime you do a task for a client you value. It’s as if, it the client matters, then every single task you do for them has to receive over-the-top performance from you. But Morgan, none of your clients hired you to do little tasks. They hired you to coach them, help them think, and have the clarity to move their work or life to the next level. You’re supposed to help them see things they wouldn’t see without you, and prepare them for the situations they don’t know to anticipate.”
Only Over-Deliver in My Area of Strength
His conclusion? Over-deliver only in my areas of strength. My giftedness. Not the skills I’ve gained over the last decade in business and marketing. Not my areas of competence. Only in my true strengths. Suddenly, my work day has several “big events” where I’m engaging my strengths to do what others can’t for my clients – the times I need to tap into the 100%, high-gear performance. Then the rest of things on my checklist are treated like the work they are. They’re important. They still get done. But the emotional stress of inventing some way to over-deliver every time I turn on my computer drains away.
Thriving – Not Surviving
In my study of human thriving, I see how this advice to “choose when to be at your best” recognizes that we are not robots. Pretending I am a machine that can be set to “go” in all areas, at all times, is neither healthy nor doable. We don’t lose points for being better at some things than we are at others! And yet, I’ve seen that I’ve punished myself by putting so much emphasis on the areas I have to “work at,” as if the things that are “easy” for me must somehow have less valuable.
How Much Work Anxiety Do You Live With?
I know I’m not alone in the work-related indigestion. Even “leaving it at the office” doesn’t overcome the strain of unaddressed stress and anxiety. So go into high gear in your strengths zone, and take it down a notch for everything else. You’ll find that this method will bring more opportunities to use your strengths, crowding out that “other stuff” that overwhelms you.