How to spot your strengths: A 5-minute guide
What if I asked you: ?What are your strengths??
How would you respond? Just stop for a moment and answer the question.
This year I have had the opportunity to watch people answer this question in their own way – identifying refining and even grappling with their strengths.
Our training team witnesses this in our workshops, as some of PNG’s up-and-coming leaders learn how to harness the qualities that set them apart from the rest.
Even at home, I see my sons take stock of their strengths as they pass monumental milestones and build the foundations of their careers.
Answering ?what are your strengths?? can be challenging. Identifying your strengths is one thing, articulating them is another.
Marcus Buckingham, leadership coach and author, defines strengths like this:
The simplest and best definition of a strength is ?an activity that strengthens you.? And the proper definition of a weakness is ?an activity that weakens you? ? even if you’re good at it.
Think of it this way: you probably have an activity you complete in your role at work that you have become incredibly good at. But you don’t necessarily enjoy it. In fact, it tends to leave you feeling drained and uninspired.
So how could this possibly be a strength of yours? This is performance, not strength.
I stumbled across Know Your Strengths, Own Your Strengths last week, and couldn’t keep it a secret. The talk presents strategies to help you identify exactly what your real strengths are and understand how they differ from your performance.
If your office is anything like Peopleconnexion’s, chances are you are headed full-throttle into 2018 without the opportunity to slow down. This busy period ahead is the perfect time for introspection.
When we are busy, we are always giving 100% and either walk away from the day feeling tired but fulfilled or mentally exhausted. That day either strengthened you, or it weakened you.
Another concept from the video I love is about the SIGNS of a strength. These are:
- Success ? When you feel productive and in control of the activity. You walk away feeling accomplished.
- Instinct ? You jump at the chance to do the activity. You love it.
- Growth ? You are focused and stay curious while you are doing the activity. You want to learn more, even if it takes all day.
- Needs ? You walk away from the activity feeling satisfied, with a sense of accomplishment.
You can watch the video here: Know Your Strengths, Own Your Strengths
Here’s a quick exercise you can complete in 5 minutes to find your strengths:
- Write down a quick list of the activities you’ve completed this week.
- Put a tick next to the ones that made you feel energised and accomplished
- Put another tick next to the ones where you can identify the SIGNS of a strength.
The activities in your list with two ticks next to them are most likely to be your strengths.
If you found this exercise useful and are looking for more like this, get in touch with us so we can send you guides and career advice to help you put your best foot forward in 2018: https://www.peopleconnexion.com/contact-us