Lessons from The High Performance Podcast

I was talking to someone recently – a salesperson working towards a leadership role – and he said something that really caught my attention: “The thing is, I'm not sharp enough.” It came out like it was a fact, something set in stone, something he has decided to live with.

With his permission to share this, I wanted to explain what happened next.

I’d heard this idea on The High Performance Podcast – maybe you’ve heard Damien and Jake talking about this too in the past? – so I decided to try it out and ask him, “How sharp are you?”

He thought for a moment, looking down to his right. As an NLP Practitioner I knew he was exploring his feelings here. Then he gave a pretty harsh answer about himself: “I’m not. I struggle to get to the point, I need time to think things through, and I don’t like rushing decisions.”

"This could be a problem for someone wanting to step into a leadership role, right?"

I know that leaders often need to be decisive, clear, and quick on their feet most of the time. But instead of agreeing with his self-assessment, I decided to challenge it with that idea I'd learned from Damien and Jake.

“Okay,” I said, “how are you sharp?”

At first, he didn’t have an answer, he was looking down to his right again, searching for that feeling. It was like the question caught him off guard. But after sitting with it for a moment, he said, “Actually, I’m sharp because I take my time with big decisions. I don’t rush in, and when I do respond, it’s well thought out and I'm usually right. My final answer is sharp.”

He went from focusing on what he thought he lacked to recognising a genuine strength. Taking the time to think things through and respond with care isn’t a weakness for him - it’s actually one of his many leadership qualities.

We all fall into this trap at times. We focus so much on what we think we’re not – quick enough, clever enough, whatever – that we miss what we are.

This approach works beyond just being “sharp.” You can swap the word and try it with almost anything that is important to you right now:

• Bright: Maybe you don’t feel like the smartest person in the room. But how are you bright? Maybe it’s in how you clarify complex ideas or bring positivity when it’s needed most.

  
  

• Clever: You might not think of yourself as traditionally or academically clever. But how are you clever? Perhaps it’s in spotting patterns others miss or asking questions that lead to new ideas.

  
  

• Motivated: Maybe you’re not always the loudest in the room, but how are you motivated? Maybe it’s in your consistency, resilience, or the way you prioritise the things that matter.

This small shift in how you look at yourself can make a massive difference to the way you approach your career, or anything in life for that matter. The things you’re worried about might not even be weaknesses - they could be your biggest strengths when you look through the lens of positivity.

So, what’s your word? And how do you show up when it counts?