This round of pet peeves is focused on my disgust of hearing “well, so-so has a ceiling. They couldn’t do that.” I haven’t done a pet peeves post lately but I happened to hear this three times in a matter of a few weeks. Nope, I’m not done for this sentiment.
- Opportunities help growth: First, have you ever considered the the reason person x is a superstar is because that person keeps getting opportunities, which help them grow and become the superstar! If you never give a person a chance to learn, they won’t.
- People live up or down to what we project: Now I’m not saying this is the sole decider. However, I know personally that when I feel supported (someone believes I can do it), I can push myself further out of my comfort zone. If someone is banking on my inability, my self-talk can get the best of me. Raise people up.
- How would you like it: If someone said that about you, how would you feel? Honestly. I know, you don’t tell them this. Yet, do you really think they don’t know you feel that way?
- Who really has the ceiling: Not enough yet – you are still thinking “But Tricia, I tried. This person is not capable”. Here’s my problem. The phrasing “not capable”, “ceiling”, etc means you have written this person off. If that is the case, you are doing a disservice to them by limiting their growth. I believe there are fits and not fits for people’s skills in a job but absolutely no one has a ceiling. What are your skills in handling this situation (getting them better training, learning to leverage their other talents, understanding your own bias, etc).
As much as these are pet peeves, they are mine and as a leader that doesn’t mean I get to simply judge others. Instead, these serve as opportunities for others and for me to grow. If this stuff was easy, I wouldn’t be sharing.
What are your “that person has a low ceiling” pet peeves?
