Talent needs trauma. Yesterday, on a rocky ledge high over the outskirts of Phoenix, one of my clients hit the wall. He’s a strong, young man with a bum ankle. And, he’s carrying a few too many lbs’s. As I watched him limping his way down the mountain at the end of a 6.5 mile hike, it hit me this truth.
Talent needs trauma.
You see, he’s been nursing his weakened ankle and doing a few stretches to get it back. It still hurts and is still weak. So, he and his therapist have coddled it. They may not even know this and, of course, I may be wrong.
I do know this.
You and I are soft and getting softer all the time. We, as leaders, aren’t tough enough to push those around us and make them do what they can. And, our softness isn’t making any part of the high performers around us any better. You see, talent needs trauma. Study high performance and you’ll see. SEAL’s don’t get to be our elite forces without being pushed into trauma. OSU Buckeyes don’t dethrone the Tide without Urban forcing them to do what they can even to the point of believing they can take on a Bear. You gotta learn how to push your teammates into the kinda trauma that’s gonna make ’em better. No recipe here. You, my friend, are going to have to figure it out.
Talent needs trauma. Don’t believe me, just ask my partner Pete how he’s getting back on his feet after having both knees replaced and now both hips. He will tell you his therapy is pure trauma – it hurts. And, he’s too modest to tell you that he pushes into it, anyway. You wanna better team. Push yourself and them into some trauma to bring out their talent. Good.
I’ve got another mountain to climb. And, I’ve got another who needs a hand. I can’t wait to help him and make him do what he can. Good…
BUILT TO LEAD 