Today’s WSJ: Messi “Idle” 90% of the Time. What Gives?

You might assume that Argentina’s Lionel Messi, one of the best football scorers in the world, has one of the highest “activity” rates of any player on the field–chasing down every pass and stray ball. However, there is more than meets the eye to Messi’s success.

A study by The Journal of Human Kinetics classified how much each player ran at certain speeds in the 2010 World Cup: low, medium and high. For comparison, goalkeepers averaged between 96% and 99% in “low” activity. Messi is currently tied with two other players for top scorer in this year’s World Cup, yet he spends 90% of his time on the field in “low activity” mode!

At first, this seems totally confounding. How is this possible? What does Messi know about performance that we don’t?

Crucially, Messi has mastered the art of playing in his strength zones. He knows, and his team knows, that his main strength is his other-worldly talent at goal scoring. He doesn’t concentrate on trying to be the best defender on the field. He doesn’t focus his energy on setting-up other teammates for goals (though he certainly can and does to some extent). He focuses his strengths on being a goal scoring machine.

This example illustrates Marcus Buckingham’s #3 strengths myth, “A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team.”

The truth about maximizing our strength’s in a team environment is actually this:

“A good team member deliberately volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time.”

As the study shows, Messi efficiently and effectively uses his strengths to maximum benefit for Argentina. His understanding, and his team’s understanding, of how to best use his goal scoring prowess yields the greatest rewards for the entire team.

So, consider Messi the next time you are faced with a project at work that does not allow you to take advantage of your strengths.

Are you great with numbers or structured protocol, but get drained when the “creative types” endlessly conceptualize and brain-storm?

Are you skilled at devising new processes and innovative solutions compared with colleagues who find comfort in your organization’s status quo?

Communicate this to your boss and your colleagues. Explain how your team is more powerful when each person is using his or her unique, innate talents.

If you’re met with skepticism, point out Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team’s success. Argentina allows each player to deliver his level of excellence the way only he can. This doesn’t just happen. It is a concerted, thoughtful, conscious choice by the team.

Pursuing top performance through our God-given talents–not grinding away at straining to incrementally improve our weaknesses–allows us to achieve our highest levels of greatness.

Just ask thousands of Argentinian football fans.

It seems to be working very well for the fifth-ranked team in the world.

Let us know how you’re growing and using your innate talents to ignite your work, life and relationships at hello@strengthslauncher.com!