Hey there!
My wife Christine and I took last week off to play with our kids because it was their Spring Break. Oh my goodness – that was really fun and really tiring!! Whatever you are up to this spring, I hope this finds you well and thriving.
Guess what I have playing on my itunes on repeat right now? “What the World Needs Now is Love” from Broadway for Orlando. This was made by a bunch of broadway artists who came together after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub. They wanted to bring a little love and light to us all back in 2016. I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve belted out this song while I’m driving in our red station wagon to pick up our kids from pre-school. Please tell me I’m not the only one…and feel free to play the song and sing-along as you read along here.
We launched our Unleashing 101 workshop two weeks ago and we had 24 folks spend two days exploring the overlap between what the world needs and what they’re uniquely here to do. The photo up top is from the training: one stickie per person of what they discovered when they leaned into that question. It’s worth a closer look. This photo gives me hope for our future!
In the workshop we explored areas of genius, excellence, competence, and incompetence, using the Hendricks Institute’s framework around Genius largely captured in The Big Leap. Whenever I work with folks on this topic, I have to confess I am mostly concerned with genius. What’s the thing that lights you up – that doesn’t feel like work – that you’re really awesome at? Do more of THAT!
One of the people I was thrilled to meet at that workshop was Susan X Jane. Something she said profoundly impacted me and I wanted to share it with you. As we sat in a circle and de-briefed our discoveries, Susan said, “I realized my areas of incompetence are where I need community.”
**ding ding ding ding** OMG Yes!!
I had never thought about it that way. In fact, generally I try NOT to think about my zones of incompetence and mostly I just wish they’d go away. There’s a humility to saying, “this is what I can do, and this is where I need other people.” And my goodness do we need one another.
As a result of Susan’s question, I got curious about the places where I’m over my head and realized that I would like some more help in getting really good at seeing and interrupting oppression in any of the spaces where I show up. So I reached out for help to some folks who I know and trust in this area (including Susan). My life is richer already for having faced into my own limitations and reached out to my community and I intend to continue doing so. I am feeling humble and grateful for the gifts that others bring into my life and the power of community.
So my question for you is where could you benefit from the wisdom of others? Where do you need community? Where could you be a little more humble? Are you willing to ask for help?
Love,
Becky
p.s. What the world…needs now…is love…sweet love…