January 2008 Issue
readings
Sink-or-Swim Leads to Effectiveness System
Faced with the biggest challenge of his life so far, Calgary engineer David Taylor,
P.Eng., was at a crossroads. He would have to figure out how to be more effective
and more efficient — or, he believed, burned out and frustrated, he would
fail spectacularly.
The new job was a big step from his earlier project management assignments. He would be in charge of automation for Lilongwe, an offshore battery 140 miles off the coast of Angola. Made up of a drilling rig and a processing platform connected by an underwater umbilical cord, Lilongwe is in about 1,400 metres of water — the deepest location of any comparable installation.
Mr. Taylor, a University of Alberta electrical engineering grad, was accustomed to managing a handful of people. Now, he would manage up to 100 of them in countries around the globe.
His budgets used to run up to $1 million or so. Lilongwe started at $15 million, and the budget almost doubled after the client asked for an increased scope.
Clearly, not only Lilongwe was in deep water.
Backing out of the project was not a reasonable option, he writes in his self-help book, Strength Zone. If Mr. Taylor didn’t accept the promotion, he would sit at home waiting, with no pay, for his company’s next assignment.
So he took the job and made mistakes. But he learned from them and found the professional development resources he needed to grow into his role. In the end, Lilongwe was a “phenomenal success,” Mr. Taylor writes, leading to more large projects for his employer.
And leaving Mr. Taylor with a book to write. After filling in some blanks himself, Mr. Taylor moulded his personal and professional growth odyssey into his own system of improving performance in yourself and others.
The result is a road trip of sorts, from the turning points and advancements that got him through Lilongwe to the Strength Zone book and system he touts.
The book is also a strong endorsement for the power of personal and professional development. Mr. Taylor knew he was in too deep, saw the crash coming and turned to the pros. Now, he’s reprocessed the information he learned about personality types, life-work balance, leadership and other areas, thrown in and developed his own observations and experiences, and come up with Strength Zone.
The system’s premise is that every person has a strength zone. That’s the place where personality types, talents and values overlap.
To succeed, a person needs to make sure the three areas are in balance and then work within — and sometimes outside — his or her zone. Leaders need to match assignments and positions with the people in the right zones for the work.
The outcome is satisfying, efficient and effective careers that spiral into further success instead of frustration and failure.
Part workbook and part personal testimony, Strength Zone guides readers through exercises and even onto the Internet to put Mr. Taylor’s plan into practice. It’s all put together with graphics, activity sheets and real-life examples, as well as reprinted cartoons to lighten the mood.
more info
Visit www.StrengthZone.ca