What’s in Your Repertoire?: How to find your skills, the map to improvement
Have you ever thought about all the things that you are good at? I have. I was done in 15 seconds. Seriously, the first time I ever did this exercise it took me a quarter of a minute.
The good news, at that point, was that I had plenty of room for improvement. The bad news was that I felt insignificant. I felt the need to improve. I needed to do it immediately, and rapidly. I was 22 years old (young).
Speed is good. Technology helps us go fast. I figured at that point I could easily plow through a bunch of digital information and exponentially increase my knowledge and worth. I’m not yet halfway there. It’s 15 years later.
At 22, I was a recent college graduate. I had some accomplishments. I had some struggles. I beat cancer. I had already learned a lot. But, I was still very naive. Most importantly though, is that I didn’t know how naive. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I don’t claim to be extremely wise these days, but I feel more capable of recognizing opportunities and identifying what is most important to me. E-Impact is about having a great effect on the people and the world around us, but if you don’t know what has an effect on yourself, you won’t know where to start.
One of my favorite words is repertoire. I am not sure if I can explain exactly why, but it has something to do with consistency. If you look closely, the word has its roots in the lexicon of the performing arts. It’s also a loanword (learned a new term today) from French. Who doesn’t love a good French word?
Consistency is one of the most powerful forces in our universe. See this “Lunar Impact” battle from an episode of the Titan Games. Don’t give up. Keep pushing. Be consistent. You can learn a great lessons from those who are consistent and relentless.
Today, the word repertoire has advanced beyond just the performing arts. See Merriam-Webster’s definition. It now relates to a list or supply of skills. These are things that you have consistently done or practiced. You are proficient. You’ve done them many times. You are good, or even great, at them.
Good news, you have a repertoire! We all do. Whether the skills are inherent or learned, you have them.
I like the word repertoire because it reminds me of the skills that I have developed over time. It reminds me that I have been productive (believe me there are many reminders of how unproductive I’ve been). It helps me feel confident that I am capable of, if not highly qualified to do certain things.
Sometimes, you may not be aware of things in your repertoire. In fact, I find this frequently to be the case for many people.
About a decade ago I had the pleasure of being an assistant coach for the Cypress Bay High School ladies’ lacrosse team. Lacrosse is definitely a team sport. There are many different positions, skills, and rules. The most successful teams are able to work together and communicate effectively. This is the case for most, if not all, team sports. Lacrosse however, has an additional level of collaboration needed. See the variety of rules. The different positions and places you can go on the field, based on your role, make it very important for a coach to identify the specific skills of the players.
When I was asked to coach a lacrosse team, I was excited and honored. I had experience playing, but men’s lacrosse actually has a completely different set of rules. I went from being excited to being overwhelmed. Women’s lacrosse strategy was not in my repertoire!
Obviously, I had some research to do. Thankfully, the internet was around at that point and I was able to clarify the differences between the men’s and women’s games.
Once I had a good idea of how to play, I needed to apply what I learned to coaching. I quickly realized that a team of 25 girls has a large variety of skills. I had a pretty big task ahead of me.
It may have been a tough first week of practice, but I realized that the only way that I could do my job, was to start as simple as possible.
The team had been together for a few years and there were some preexisting defined roles prior to my arrival. My initial “reset” was met with some resistance, but it was worth it.
We started with some basic catching and throwing drills. We also worked some on agility. I had to figure out what each player excelled at; and what they struggled with. Our team was not known as a great one, but I saw lots of potential.
Within a week, the head coach (Hutch) and I knew how we could maximize the potential of the team. Once players started doing more of what they were good at, and less of what they weren’t, playing was more enjoyable and we had a competitive edge.
The most satisfying moment of the season was defeating a rival team who had been successful numerous times against us in the past. I attribute our success to having a drastically different strategy compared to previous years. They had no idea what was in our repertoire. It was a great feeling of accomplishment.
By the end of the season, I could tell that the players had really taken ownership of the team and their individual roles. It took some time for them to identify what they were best at. But once they did, the season became extremely enjoyable. Practices were fun and games were euphoric.
Despite our successes, I must be honest. If you’re expecting the underdog championship story, I am sorry to disappoint you. We didn’t win the league, but we improved every step of the way that year. It was my only year coaching the team, but I’ll never forget it. I learned some very important life lessons and I believe that Hutch and the players did too.
It can be very hard to recognize one’s strengths, especially when they become routine. Some people struggle believing that they are good at anything. There are things that you do every day that you are great at. You’re just used to doing them so they’re for granted. If that is you, here’s 5 ways to find out what your strengths are. Or maybe, you think you are good at too much. Have you ever wondered How to find direction when you’re good at everything? That should help you narrow it down.
I also previously mentioned that you can develop skills. This is how Ordinary People Become Extraordinary. The human mind and body are amazing things. You can train yourself to do something amazing (or maybe multiple things). It is proven. Consistency can lead to an expanded repertoire.
If we can identify and develop our repertoire, we should find numerous opportunities to use our skills. Perhaps the next step is harder, though. I find people in all walks of life that are looking for their “why”. It’s a natural question to ask. We have been doing it since we were children. We ask our parents why we have to do our chores. In school, we ask our teachers why we have to do our homework. We ask our coaches (even lacrosse coaches) why we have to run sprints after practice. When we move into adulthood, we often wonder why we are doing the work that we do. There have been numerous books written on the subject. In some cases, people are in retirement and just then beginning to think about their purpose. Sadly, some probably die without figuring it out.
It’s very important to know why you do something. What good are your efforts if there is no purpose behind them? As mentioned before, routines are very powerful. Don’t find yourself in a meaningless routine. Don’t develop a repertoire without purpose.
When I started coaching the lacrosse team, I knew the goal was to get the team to play together, help the young ladies grow as people, and win games. There was a purpose behind the work. I knew I had some skills that could help them. It was a good mix. At the end of the season I felt fulfilled. We had accomplished something good.
Doing good makes you feel good. I would also say that when you feel good, you want to do more of what made you feel that way. This is a great motivator. I wish I could have continued coaching (my career at the time would not allow).
Does your job or career make you feel tired or overwhelmed? How often do you work? If the average work week is 40 hours, that’s a lot of time to not feel fulfilled. It’s important to balance that with more meaningful work (or even replace it).
Add something to your repertoire with great meaning behind it. It can be your vocation or an avocation. It can be something small daily (spending time with a loved one) or maybe something larger that you do every week (volunteer at a local organization). It could also be something even bigger (yearly mission trip), but the key is that there is meaning.
You are making a routine (which means it’s consistent) and it’s something that makes you feel great. Actually, you probably can’t even determine if it’s better for you or whoever you are helping.
Now that I’m 15 years in to developing my repertoire, I like to think I’m a little wiser. I now know what I don’t know. I can acknowledge that I lack proficiency in many things. This is good. It does not mean that I’ll never do them, or stay away from anything related, but I know my limits.
Knowing your limits will help you reach your potential. You will spend more time doing what you love and making a difference.
If habits are consistent and consistency is powerful, find some good habits. Here are some suggestions that can improve your repertoire:
reading or listening to something educational (mental health)
exercising (physical health)
talking about purpose with a loved one (emotional health)
Spending quality time with a loved one (relational health)
Praying (spiritual health)
writing or recording a journal
I suggest doing one or more of these things everyday.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of good daily habits, but it’s a start. Each of them are things you can build on. They highlight the good things from your day and acknowledge the bad. They create consistent chances to learn. You’ll become a habitual learner and a better impactmaker.
Nurture your repertoire. Use it for good.