Restorative & Renovations

I enjoy a good home renovation TV show.

I know I’m not alone because there are roughly a billion of them. Fixer Upper, Love it or List It, Maine Cabin Masters, 100 Day Dream Home… I love them all.

If there’s a downtrodden piece of property with good bones then I want to see what can be done with it.

Never mind that I don’t have any of the talent, interest or patience to actually do home renovations. I’m not particularly handy. But there’s something about this genre of TV that is perfect to have on “in the background” while I do other things.

The Restorative talent theme is about solving problems.

People with this talent are energized by something that needs to be diagnosed and improved. Whether it’s fixing things or people, an old car or your next weekend project, someone with high Restorative on a team might like to bring back to life a complex fixer-upper of a process, policy or project with great satisfaction upon completion.

As a member of the Executing domain, Restorative is a great talent for getting things done when others may have been intimidated to touch it.

There’s a renovation show that takes place in and around my neighborhood called “Zombie House Flipping”. You may have seen this show, but if not — the team of flippers take the most run-down, damaged homes (Zombies) and turn them into new jewels for the neighborhood.

Often, those with Restorative would rather fix something up than start from scratch. I think that rings true with these “Zombie Houses”. Imagine me watching — I’m sitting on my couch, talking through the TV imploring them to just tear it down and start over, but they never do.

I’m certain that the crew who stars in the show has Restorative talents.

The Restorative Talent in You

If you have Restorative talents, you might get excited to be assigned a project where the goal is to help your organization assess what isn’t working and put a new process in place.

Be sure to let others know just how satisfying this type of role is for you.

If you work with a person with Restorative, be sure to give them opportunities to exercise it. Let them know that you’re not resistant to change, especially if they can help us find a better way.

The system doesn’t have to be broken for a Restorative to do their thing, sometimes it just needs a tweak. Sometimes we need to take down a non-load bearing wall to open up the floor plan, and sometimes we just need to paint the front door to help with curb appeal.