STABLE OF ABLES

You know that you are capable and reliable, but how many other people know that? How well do you transmit that information?  Part of communicating information about yourself entails a willingness to assess your full Stable of Ables. Being capable is only one item in an able stable.  To have a fuller stable of ables, work toward adding other worthy ables, like:

Honorable-    To be able to accept new challenges, you must transmit the idea that you are honorable and ready to persevere with a personal sense of honor in an honorable endeavor.

Reputable-    Transmit to others through your words and actions that you are reputable in dealing with others.

Reliable-    Honorable and reputable people like you must also send a message that you can be counted on, whenever and wherever your talents are needed.  Everyone values a reliable employee or friend, even if they don’t say so.

Available-    Having made the impression that you are honorable, reputable and reliable means less to an employer, a potential client; or to a friend—if you are not available.  Sometimes the person getting the job might be less reliable or honorable; but they might be the one who is available.

Believable-    Suppose you say loudly and clearly that you are honorable, reputable, reliable, and available?  Would it be believable?  To some prospective employers, the reaction might be just the opposite.  To be truly able, you must also be believable; and if you are not, your Stable of Ables is not yet full.

Dependable-    Day in and day out, your reputation is built on how others view your efforts and how you stick to your objectives.  When things just have to get done, people and organizations value those who are dependable.  And they have negative opinions about those who are not.

Admirable-    None of the qualities people prize will manifest in the admirable, if the tasks and the goals are not themselves admirable. And if they are not, you are not being admirable.

Approachable-    People of varied and refined talents often stay aloof. Honorable, reputable, reliable, and believable people are more admirable when they are also approachable.           

Respectable-    Would not your Stable of Ables, populated with desirable qualifiers such as reputable, honorable, believable, dependable and admirable all lead to your being respectable?  Yes, without a doubt.  But respect must be earned every day; and it can be lost just as quickly.  Strive to be an stay respectable, and thoughtful people will respect you even more.  

Creditable-    There are times when your findings, ideas and/or approaches may not be believed, trusted or accepted by those who matter to you.  Strive to state your case clearly and make your viewpoint creditable, through word and through deed.  In doing so, you are also being honorable, reliable, and admirable; even in the face of your detractors.

Accountable-    Stand by what you say and do; and document your position, if necessary, to keep the record straight.  Nothing holds up better than a written record.  In a war of words; in a legal challenge; or in a friendly wager, most of the opposition wilts when you produce the evidence—in hand or in print.  Professionals are expected to be accountable for what they do, but ordinary people who are proud and truly able are those who acknowledge being accountable, as an estimable character trait.  

Adaptable-    Change with the times…innovate….whatever it takes….do what has to be done…. Clichés?  Maybe.  But real pros do that.  Able people are adaptable people.  But let’s not forget that even honorable, reputable, and respectable people are sometimes approached with adaptations that are not always ethical.  Walk away.  An able person doesn’t need to cheat or lie or shade the truth, in order to show that s(he) is adaptable to changing circumstances.

Durable-    Challenges to your creditable, accountable, honorable, and admirable reputation may come along.  Work assignments may tax your determination and physical strength. But surviving them all makes you durable.  It’s not a job qualification one finds on an application questionnaire, but being durable is one able attribute that might separate you from others.  Start thinking of yourself as durable, and you will become ever more able.