Have you ever noticed how easily we label people by the things they do too much?

Sometimes we become so focused on correcting what stands out in someone that we forget to ask a more interesting question:
What if there is a strength hiding inside it?

You talk a lot?
Maybe you could be a great speaker, trainer or podcaster.

You overthink everything?
Put that mind into strategy.

You ask too many questions?
Maybe research or problem solving is your strength.

You notice every tiny detail?
Maybe you belong in design, analysis or something that demands precision.

You get completely absorbed in one subject?
Go deeper. Become an expert.

You never quite fit into the usual boxes?
Maybe you are meant to create something that doesn’t exist yet.

We are quick to tell people what they should do less of.

Talk less.
Question less.
Think less.
Feel less.
Be less intense.

But I have always wondered…
What if, instead of reducing it, we redirected it?

This is something I strongly believe in as a leader.
When I see something strong in a person, I try to think about where that quality could be useful.

Because people are different.
And that difference is often where their value is.

The person who isn’t right for one role may be exceptional in another.
The quality that creates friction in one situation may solve a problem beautifully somewhere else.

Sometimes it is not the person who needs changing.
Sometimes they just need the right opportunity.

Think about water.
Let it run everywhere and it can become a flood.
Give it the right channel and the same water can generate power.
The power was always there.
Direction changed what it could do.

I think people are much the same.

As leaders, perhaps we should spend a little less time asking,
“How do I change this person?”
and a little more time asking,
“Where can this person be at their best?”
Sometimes that one question can change everything.

“Everyone has something they are naturally ‘too much’ of. Don’t rush to reduce it.
Find the strength within it, give it the right direction, and watch what it becomes.”