This blog post has been authored by Engracia Sleeswijk, www.engracia.info

These words will undoubtedly provoke the resentment of many: “Stay in your lane.” I have to admit, these words have always given me an extra drive not to be told what to do. But staying in place has a different meaning to me. Daniel Offman (1949) has developed a model that he calls “the core quadrant.”

Core qualities are qualities that belong to the essence (the core) of a person; they permeate the whole human being and put all his (more or less eye-catching) properties in a particular light. The core quality “colors” a person; it is the specific strength that we immediately think of with him or her.

Examples of core qualities are, for example, decisiveness, care, diligence, courage, receptivity, orderliness, empathy, and so on. Core qualities are expressions of the self from which inspiration arises. Core qualities are not primarily properties, but rather possibilities that one can attune to.

When a professional starts to move within his qualities, he does so within his Lane. This emanates enormous strength because he is no longer concerned with the competition but with improving himself. On his “planet,” he is busy getting to know himself more and more: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Whichever side he gets to know about himself, he will be able to come up with a plan for it. This makes him multi-faceted.

You see, we are always working on how we can improve our weaknesses. Why not think about turning our strengths into a well-oiled machine? Just as the quality of the sound in radio is determined in part by the purity with which it is tuned to the correct wavelength, so to the leader becomes more inspiring when he is tuned in to his own core qualities.

And just as the power of the amplifier also influences the final sound quality, the creative (creative) ability of the leader also determines the (out) effect he has on his environment. Every professional has a set of core qualities. You had it as a gift at birth. It determines your talent and the direction in which you reach your goal with almost no effort. The distinction between qualities and skills is because qualities come from within, and skills are learned from outside. Skills can, therefore, be learned, qualities can be developed.

Use these core qualities, Stay in your Lane.

Engracia Sleeswijk
www.engracia.info

I’ve been privileged to Teach, Coach and help thousands of professionals and entrepreneurs to get to their sweet spot in life. I do coaching in translating business models to everyday life for you to get your future within arms-length. You need to know the rules of the Game to play it.