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The Song Is You..

Which, by the way, was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein..

I’d written in my recent blog on “How to Find a Job” of the importance in being comfortable when looking for another position, in knowing how to talk about yourself with poise.

It bears repetition.

I find many executives tongue-tied when it comes to saying out loud-and to strangers, no less- what their real strengths are. Nothing unusual about that; we seldom spout off our genius to those we don’t know, nor to colleagues with a ”look how good I am” monologue .(I’m skipping over the chest-beating churls who never miss a chance to preen).

When you decide to actively scope the market, you appear as a complete package: presentation and appearance (check), rehearsal of your ’elevator pitch’ (check), a CV you have edited which highlights your skills (check) how to articulate your values and look as though you fit into that particular work environment. That takes some rehearsing..

If you have not actively looked for a new position in some time, don’t sweat it. You now must relearn the basic one-two cha-cha-cha, a healthy rhythm if you allow it to be. Think hard about you—strengths (that you may deny), your know-how, and where you consistently are asked to help because you make a difference. Still not sure?? Ask others (not the trolls..) to give you a quick a reality check.Or, as someone commented to me yesterday that the LinkedIn endorsements actually do create a reasonably good facsimile of of who you are, so don’t ignore what you’re endorsed for..

We all have our talent to offer. That ain’t psychobabble. Every self-help book in the world has page after page of the same stuff: ’now find your strengths’, ‘now follow your dreams’, ‘now decide what you want’, ‘now you too can choose to live your life’, ad nauseam. It is repeated because we often deny or bury our true strengths. If you’ve worked long enough, you use them already, maybe in the wrong environment, maybe not.

But you have your own unique skills. You know what jazzes you often than not, and where you shine. Which comes from habit. Do anything long enough and it becomes easier. The golfer Lee Trevino once said, “There is no such thing as a natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting a million golf balls.” We are what we do, not what we think.

Get moving. You are judged on action only, not hopes and wishes (but that’s a start). Know yourself well enough through those actions, and sing your song-again and again-until your voice is pleasing to the ear..

The music is sweet

The words are true

The Song Is You

 

Written by Neal Horwitz, President of Henry Hale Maguire