Slaying the Giant

Thanks to Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath:  Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants, I’ve given more thought to David, that shepherd boy who volunteered to attempt to end a deadlock between armies of the Philistines and Israelites as the head-to-head competitor against an armored, gigantic warrior. 

Gladwell’s insights into the ancient story are intriguing:  Goliath is presumed to have the upper hand, while David appears to be the classic underdog, equipped as he is with only a slingshot against Goliath’s armor and sword. In fact, David has a superior projectile technology that he exploits to prevail against a massive, nearly blind man weighed down with armor. In Gladwell’s words, The powerful and the strong are not always what they seem. Illustrating this theme through the stories of such people as stellar litigator David Boies and childhood leukemia-slayer Dr. Jay Frierich, Gladwell derives conclusions about ordinary people confronting “giants” ranging from armies and governments to misfortune and oppression.

I see each of Gladwell’s human success stories through an additional lens, a strengths lens: Each of Gladwell's heroes has unique personality traits that have been developed into strengths and used to achieve particular goals. These strengths aren't fungible from person to person.  

Let’s take David, for instance.  While we may surmise that David volunteered to battle the giant, in part, because he had confidence in his ability with the slingshot, my guess is that not just any shepherd proficient with a slingshot would have volunteered to carry the weight of the conflict alone.  Confidently and audaciously, David not only volunteered but then refused his king’s offer to equip him with armor. (Who, we might wonder, says no to the king in order to do it his own way?)  David used strategy and speed to his advantage, firing quickly at the strategic target of Goliath’s only vulnerability, his unprotected forehead. David sought, claimed and excelled at the clutch player role.

We all have outcomes we need to bring about, in work and in our personal lives, and we each have a unique combination of talents that we can leverage toward those outcomes. Not all of us thrive as clutch players, needing to summon our best in a heated moment of pressure.   Instead, some of us are planners whose strengths best shine when we are unhurried and have ample time to anticipate risks, obstacles and problems.  Some of us give our best when we are focused on building relationships and sensing others’ feelings.  Some of us shine best when we have time to immerse ourselves in thought, reflecting deeply on ideas, generating new ideas and approaches.  Each of us is different and gives our best when we are giving from who we already are.

Many of our most powerful talents are so innate to us that we are unaware of them.  When we know what our talents are we can strategically aim those talents at the outcomes we need to bring about, using our most effective route to success.  When we know the talents of the people with whom we work, we have a force multiplier as we can strategically align ourselves so that each of us contributes in our most powerful and effective ways, energized by being who we are and contributing what we do best.

We aren’t all clutch players, nor should we be.  We need to pick targets that we can hit, given our particular strengths, and aim our unique bag of tricks to slay the giants before us.

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/