PLAY THE STRENGTHS, NOT THE KEYTAR
I wanted to be the front man of a killer rock band, melting faces with my guitar solos, and hearts with my vocals - it was a simple goal. When I was 14, on my enthusiasm alone I quickly assembled bandmates. After a few rehearsals, they informed me that I was a pretty bad singer - and by the way I wasn’t very good at guitar either.
Undeterred, I built another band, and then another only to be told the same thing each time. Eventually I pivoted. If I couldn’t pull off powerful rock vocals, perhaps I could be a synth pop singer. That would require only a keytar and a fake British singing accent. The elevated permed hair on top of my 6’3” frame made for one lanky pop star. The problem was that by the time I made this pivot, the world had moved on from synth pop. Even Howard Jones had cut his hair tight and was touring with a grand piano.
I spent 15 years beating this dead horse in various ways, It was our drummer who finally shoved a solution down my throat in the form of a strong and dynamic lead singer. I also switched to bass guitar because my guitar solos were melting faces in all the wrong ways. Only then did things begin to happen for us. People actually enjoyed our shows, and we enjoyed a run that I would have never experienced holding to my weaknesses.
PERSEVERANCE OR SELF-AWARENESS?
Looking back it seems like a massive lack of self-awareness. Yet, at the time I thought of it as perseverance - that I could push through these weaknesses with enough effort. How does one know which gaps can or cannot be overcome? Then there’s the timing angle: I wasn’t bad at synth pop. Listening to those old recordings, I find that I was no worse than half the artists of the time. My weakness here was timing - and timing, as they say, is everything.
One thing was certain: I was not playing to my strengths. From the beginning, I was sailing against the wind - and I knew it. What came naturally to me was bringing the enthusiasm, bringing the drive, writing and recording songs. Those are the strengths that kept getting me opportunities. But those opportunities were squandered by me holding on to things I needed to let go of. I was in my late twenties before I learned this - that’s retirement age for rock stars.
Identifying which weaknesses we work to overcome, and which we work around is extremely difficult. Only the lucky few have skills and desires that are perfectly in sync. But not to lose heart: It doesn’t mean that we can’t achieve our dreams. I didn’t have to give up my entire rock star dream, only the bit about me being the lead singer. I got to enjoy the vast majority of my dream being the bass player, songwriter, producer. And best of all I got to meet my wife - our lead singer.
THIS LESSON CONTINUES TODAY
I’m still learning this every day in my role running a growing company. I desire to lead things on many fronts, but my strengths don’t always match those desires - that’s what my team is for. Just like in my youth, the thing that I am best at is bringing the vision, the enthusiasm, and the drive to get it done. When I play those strengths things hum right along. There are CEOs I admire who have deep, almost magical skills in areas other than mine. I can read all of their books, listen to all of their podcasts, learn all of their tricks. Adapting those can be tricky, as they don’t always line up. I’ve looked foolish a few times when I was clearly out of my element.
I’m sure I’m the only one, but I learn this lesson every day. Play my strengths, watch my team play theirs, and remember the keytar fondly.
Cheers,
Paul
