Always pleasantly surprised
One of the great things about working with so many different clients all over the country is the variety. I am always pleasantly surprised by the talents of new clients, mostly because I never know what to expect.
Some are very outgoing people, others not so much. She is very logical and analytical, he is more of a dreamer, a possibilities person. This one can design with the best, that one is much better with words than images. He is great with the strategy, but if you want something done on time you better hand it off to her.
Everyone seems to bring different talents to the table, and it is always their combined expertise that delivers a great end result.
That’s why I have no problem believing a developmental psychologist’s theory that there are actually 9 type of intelligences: Naturalist (nature smart), Musical (sound smart), Logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart), Existential (life smart), Interpersonal (people smart), Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart), Linguistic (word smart), Intra-personal (self smart), Spatial (picture smart).* Chances are, you could probably envision any of your co-workers, friends and family fitting into one of those nine categories.
Whenever I’m hiring or putting together a team for a project, I consider the mix of talents already on board, and look for ways to learn more about their talents, fill gaps, and build on existing strengths. That might include tapping the talents of other employees, hiring freelancers or contractors, asking team members to stretch outside their usual roles, or leveraging talents in unusual ways.
For example, if you’re building a website, don’t just look for Spatial and Logical-Mathematical talents — make sure you have Interpersonal and Linguistic talents covered as well. Think about ways you might use Naturalist or Musical talents to make the website even more interesting and unusual.
Build an extraordinary team, and you’ll get extraordinary results.
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*Here’s an everyman’s description of each type, as well as a more complete guide, in case you don’t want to read the book.
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