Where to Now?

Since this Blog site has discussed the term empowerment on several occasions, I thought I'd take this opportunity to expand on its meaning and application to your success in life. Discussion of ablity, capability, and empowerment and how they are connected is a little involved. So, you'll have to hang in there with me. I define personal empowerment as one's actual performance output--as influenced by interpersonal conflict. For example, no matter how competently we can perform, if we can't get along with the people we work with, then our ablity will never be fully realized.

Ability defines one's present potential to perform. If I'm seeking employment, then I have to prove that I can not only perform a job responsibility at a high level of proficieny (as reflected by my education, training, and experience), but that I also have the interpersonal skills to work well with others. As mentioned above, poor interpersonal skills can severely limit one's present performance potential. Unfortunately, interpersonal skills are not formally taught anywhere in life that I know of. Yet, we are all expected to have them.

When I use the word interpersonal, I am referring to the belief structures that determine how we have individually programmed our realities. The major problem with our individual reality is that we are so firmly convinced that it is right that any disagreement with it is wrong! This common situation sets the stage for limited performance of our abilitiy. The new learning necessary in this case is personal growth, not necessarily new technical learning. Expanded knowledge of new software programs will not measurably improve your performance. So often we use professional or technical learning as a mask for avoiding interpersonal growth.

Capability is your maximum ability to perform at a given stage in life. For example, at 17 years old, a track star's physical capability to run a mile might be 4.50 minutes. At 20, it might be 4.00 minutes. And at 23, it might be 3.50 minutes. So capability does expand as a function of experience and learning. Therefore, reaching your full ability (capability) at any point in your life requires, not only professional or technical excellence, but also a high level of interpersonal proficency to work with others. Common examples of a failure to reach one's full potential (capability) are exceptional athletes who turn professional at an early age and never reach personal maturity before their career is ended.

So, in summary: Ability refers to your present potential to perform.

Capability refers to fully performing to your maximum potential at a given stage in life.

Personal empowerment refers to your actual performance output (as influenced by the mastery or lack of interpersonal skills).

The steps to becoming more personally empowered are the following:

1) Assume your present performance review is for the most part true. Or have someone you work with honestly review your actual performance according to your responsibilities or job description. (Forget about excuses for the time being)

2) Determine if your lack of performance is due to a lack of interpersonal skills or a resistance to new professional learning. (These steps won't work if you are unwilling to tell the truth to yourself)

3) Make a list of people you find most difficult to work with. Write the characteristics that upset you most. Ask others if they observe these same characteristics in you also. If so, your work into interpersonal mastery begins with the only person you can change. YOU! (Others serve as a mirror of ourselves)

4) If you resist professional learning, your days are numbered before you become expendable. You will want to pretend to be a victim and use your present organization as a scapegoat. This is a formula for simultaneously winning and losing. You'll win that the organization was your problem and lose because wherever you go you'll have to learn new skills and competencies.

5) Upon reflection, write what you have learned in an empowered way about yourself without the necessity to feel victimized. Perhaps it was time to leave your old organization. Perhaps it is time to face up to what people have been saying for years about your personality. (We learn most from those who have no investment in our friendship)

Again, check out the free download of Animal Kingdom and the other audio downloads as well.