I read an interesting concept called the see-saw principle in Susan David’s book Emotional Agility.
It discussed the idea behind being over-competent at your job compared with being over challenged in your role.
Both were extreme.
If you are over-competent at your job you can get easily bored because you can do the job standing on your head and find it predictable. On the other hand, if you job is over-challenged then you are constantly juggling, probably frazzled with the complexities, and not thriving in a measured manner.
The see-saw principle is about finding give and take in your job on either end of the spectrum to ‘live at the edge of our ability.’
This is achieved by ‘incrementally advancing ourselves beyond the level of our competence and comfort’.
Which end of the see-saw principle would you say your job is currently at? Are you being under challenged or over-utilised? What would a happy medium look like to you? I’d love to hear where you’re currently at.
