Home > Author > Tom Rath
1 " If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. "
― Tom Rath , Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow: A Landmark Study of Great Leaders, Teams, and the Reasons Why We Follow
2 " Although individuals need not be well-rounded, teams should be. "
3 " the key to human development is building on who you already are "
― Tom Rath , Strengths Finder 2.0
4 " Perhaps the ultimate test of a leader is not what you are able to do in the here and now - but instead what continues to grow long after you're gone "
5 " What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths - and can call on the right strength at the right time. "
6 " The lesson here is clear: If you want people to understand that you value their contributions and that they are important, the recognition and praise you provide must have meaning that is specific to each individual. "
― Tom Rath , How Full Is Your Bucket?
7 " followers have a very clear picture of what they want and need from the most influential leaders in their lives: trust, compassion, stability, and hope "
8 " If we can find short-term incentives that are consistent with our long-term objectives, it is much easier to make the right decisions in the moment. "
― Tom Rath , Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements
9 " When we build on our strengths and daily successes — instead of focusing on failures — we simply learn more. "
10 " What's more, we had discovered that people have several times more potential for growth, when they invest energy in developing their strenghts instead of correcting their deficiencies. "
11 " The most successful people start with dominant talent—and then add skills, knowledge, and practice to the mix. When they do this, the raw talent actually serves as a multiplier. "
12 " You cannot be anything you want to be - but you can be a whole lot more of who you already are. "
― Tom Rath
13 " Every human being has talents that are just waiting to be uncovered. "
14 " Wellbeing is about the combination of our love for what we do each day, the quality of our relationships, the security of our finances, the vibrancy of our physical health, and the pride we take in what we have contributed to our communities. Most importantly, it’s about how these five elements interact. "
15 " the single biggest threat to our own wellbeing tends to be ourselves "
16 " Through this qualitative research, we learned that all teams need to do three very basic things: Create, Operate, and Relate. If a team is lacking in any one of these three major functions, it is almost impossible for the group to be effective, let alone thrive. "
― Tom Rath , Life's Great Question: Discover How You Contribute To The World
17 " Great jobs are made, not found.”...People often believe they have to make a dramatic change in their work in order to be more fulfilled, whether this means finding a new job or transitioning to a whole new career. Those may be the best options on occasion, but in most cases it's important to start by maximizing the contributions you're making within your current work. "
18 " There is no greater predictor of human well-being than the amount of social time we spend with one another. "
19 " Whether you are an individual contributor, manager, or leader, fixing the broken social contract between people and work starts with you. When you are able to make your work more enjoyable and purposeful, that possibility will be greater for others. "
20 " Don't get me wrong; devoting time outside of work to serving others is a great idea. Recent research suggests that people who do so — by volunteering in their communities, for example — have better health and wellbeing, and perform better at work. Having a clear purpose beyond paid work also has a buffering effect. If your entire identity is wound up in a job that could go away, your wellbeing is in constant jeopardy. "
