Rarely a week goes by without a curve ball or two being thrown in my direction; sometimes it’s a systems issue but mostly people are doing the throwing.

So, as each week draws to a close, I reflect on the many and varied challenges that have presented themselves directly; or indirectly, via a team member.

This past week I’ve had to deal with some challenging phone calls; where the caller presented an interpretation of events that didn’t marry up with all parties involved. Each call ended to everyone’s mutual satisfaction – a pleasing result, though not always easy to achieve.

It reminded me of all the difficult conversations I’ve had over the years and how, on each occasion, I have managed to prevent the situation escalating into a full blown conflict. Rather I’ve managed to turn the relationship around.

It would have been easy to get to the end of the week coloured by those calls and feeling tired and fed up. Instead I’m able to celebrate my ability to nurture relationships and to end each call on a positive note, regardless of how negative the starting point.

Michael Murdock, Televangelist said “Each relationship nurtures a strength or a weakness within you” and I think that’s a brilliant way to look at challenging situations. So, if someone brings out a weakness in you, take the opportunity to notice it and try something new; and if they bring out a strength than enjoy the satisfaction of developing that skill further.

Remember, strengths are often born out of weaknesses; something we struggled with initially and had to work hard at to improve. At some point that weakness becomes an extra resource in our repertoire; ready to be harnessed when the right situation arises.

Another reason to feel good…