How do you find the brilliance in each team member?

We just kicked off a personal project renovating two units of our triplex in downtown Kitchener. I’m so fortunate to have two strong teens who have joined the team this summer. The concept of “meet your team members where they are at” became ever present last week. While both boys are versatile, their strengths are diverse.

We set to “estimating” the square footage of the floor space so that we could budget for flooring. David started on the stairs and landing. He finished in the same length of time it took Xavier and I to measure the rest of the unit, including the second level attic, bathroom, and kitchen with closets, plumbing, and windows.

I should mention that while I was standing in the doorway to the old bathroom fretting over how to get a tub to fit without the door banging into it, David stuck his head in and within seconds suggested we flip the hinges to the other side. Being severely spatially challenged, I was gob smacked by his moment of brilliance. He just shrugged though and got back to measuring the stairs.

Then we did a practice round of painting by staining the shed at home. David took 4x as long as Xavier, but he didn’t spill a drop. X on the other hand…well…I had to add “sanding the deck” to the to do list as a result of his efforts. That’s alright though. It was an experiment, and I learned a lot!

Lessoned Learned?

Our team is diverse and both boys have unique strengths. If there is the luxury of time and it needs to be exact, call on David. If speed is the objective and questionable accuracy/quality are acceptable, call on Xavier.

As a result, David is the lead painter & spatial consultant and Xavier is the rough estimator & product researcher.

How will you find the brilliance in each team member this week? It doesn’t have to be trial and error. There are some amazing tools and techniques that can support you. If you would like help with this, reach out. 😊