Supercharge yourself

I have been following Adam Grant for some time. I had most of his books from Give and Take, Originals, and Option B to Think Again. I have not read those books completely. But I have heard him enough on podcasts that I decided to read “Hidden Potential”. Adam Grant is an organisational psychologist and I always loved his data-driven approach. In Hidden Potential what he has done is to make sense of the science of Human Potential. Being an Organisational Psychologist Adam is famous for studying the forces that fuel our progress. That was the reason that got me to indulge in this book. Apart from it I liked the deadline of submitting a review. I have completed around two-thirds of the book and that was good enough to share two key points from the book which were explained in greater detail.

1. Skills of Character – Getting better at Getting better
2. Structure for Motivation – Scaffolding to overcome obstacles

The 3rd part of the book is about the Systems of Opportunity which is about Opening Doors and Windows. That is where the rubber meets the road. I will leverage those as we go along.

Let me share what I felt about when I read sections 1 and 2. I liked the way he defined potential. Potential is not a matter of where you start, but of how far you travel. We need to focus less on starting points and more on the distance travelled. He makes a compelling case between Mozart and Bach. For every Mozart who makes a big splash early, there are multiple Bachs who ascend slowly and bloom late. They are not born with invisible superpowers, most of their gifts are homegrown or homemade. The best quote was this one

This book is not about Ambition. It’s about Aspiration. There was a distinction between Ambition and Aspiration. Ambition is the outcome you want to attain, aspiration is the person you hope to become as best told by philosopher Agnes Callard. There are quite a lot of psychology concepts in play in this book. I particularly liked the scaffolding. The analogy is best described in a simple and relatable manner. In construction, Scaffolding is a temporary structure that enables work crews to scale heights beyond their reach. Once the construction is complete, the support is removed. From that point forward, the building stands on its own. In learning a teacher or a coach offers initial instruction and then removes the support. Another interesting point was the distinction between character and personality.

Personality is your predisposition – your basic instincts for how to think feel and act. Character is your capacity to prioritise your values over your instincts. That made me think and I am trying to wrap my head around this one going forward in situations.

My favourite section in the book was on ” Discomfort“. The best way to accelerate growth is to embrace, seek and amplify discomfort. I decided to print this picture and make it part of my learning system.

Another interesting concept in the book is ” Human Sponges“. It’s about building the capacity to absorb and Adapt. Being a sponge is more than a metaphor. It’s a character skill – a form of proactivity that’s vital to realizing hidden potential. Improving depends not on the quantity of information you seek out but on the quality of the information you take in. Growth is less about how hard you work than how well you learn. Another fascinating part of the book is “Defying Gravity – The Art of Flying by Our Bootstraps“. When we’re facing a daunting task, we need both competence and confidence. Our ability to elevate our skills and our expectations depends first on how we interpret the obstacles in front of us. Seeing obstacles as challenges depends partly on having a growth mindset – Believing in your ability to Improve. Bootstrapping is using your existing resources to pull yourself out of a sticky situation. The book delves deep into the Tutor Effect and Coaching effect with case studies. It is best summarised as ” Teaching others can build our competence . But it’s coaching others that elevate our confidence”.

I have been reading this book for the last two weeks and it’s been an elevating experience. Apart from the social science & psychology concepts, case studies and great definitions, there is one thing I learned on the way. It was about reflecting on your own career and life in general. The picture had a great effect when you are taking a pause and reflecting on the road taken so far. This is the perspective that will supercharge your growth.