Are you using your natural strengths?
Photo by Randalyn Hill on Unsplash
When I first started working with a coach (nearly 10 years ago), she had me take a strengths assessment to better understand the things I’m naturally good at. The results were extremely insightful. While the information did not surprise me (my natural strengths are: Positivity, Empathy, Developer, Includer and Winning Others Over or WOO), it was quite telling why my career in advertising was not fulfilling.
Yes, each of these strengths were beneficial to my job. Being in account management, it was important to have keen relationship and influencing skills. That said, it was equally as important to have strategic and executing skills, which were lower on my list of strengths.
Does that mean I was a poor executer? Nope. I was actually really good at executing, but it took a lot of energy to get the work done. Strategy was a different issue. I lacked confidence in my strategic abilities.
Having this knowledge gave me a huge sense of relief. I was suffering from imposter syndrome and was on the verge of burnout and I finally had an explanation why. It wasn’t the only explanation, but definitely an obstacle I could blatantly see. It was also a great tool as I used my list of strengths as a checklist while exploring alternative careers.
My natural strengths led me to HR, a more human-centric area of the corporate world. And ultimately, my natural strengths led me to where I am today – a certified professional coach, the ultimate relationship and influencing career.
Some people focus on their weaknesses and work hard to get better at those. I’m taking the advice of author and motivational speaker, John Addison who said “If you find what your natural strengths are, and you focus like crazy on them… you have a chance to be great.”
I find that I look to my natural strengths now more than ever to help support me when approaching a problem or making a decision. I also recognize that these strengths can hold me back as I have a tendency to favor projects that allow me to utilize these skills more often. John Addison has some thoughts about this as well suggesting to “surround yourself with people who are good at what you’re bad at.” I’m definitely working on that!
So, I’ll turn the questions to you.
Do you know what your natural strengths are? If so, how often are you using them or, how are they supporting you on a day-to-day basis?
Do you focus solely on your weaknesses? What would it feel like to get better at the things you’re already good at to become great?
I use a strengths test as part of my coaching process to help clients see the good in themselves – as too often we focus on the bad.
If you’re interested in learning more about my process, click on the “contact me” link at the top!
