You may not know your own strengths
Image: Cyril Saulnier
"I'm great at that."
"This comes really naturally to me."
“When I get to do that part of the work, I feel so much more energized.”
When was the last time you said sentences like these? Recently, I challenged a client to tell me about 10 things she was great at. She was challenged to come up with 10 on our call. That’s not due to a lack of natural skill and talent. I’m sure that there are well more than 10 things that she is naturally skilled at doing or being. She has a whole host of natural strengths, ones that she may be using everyday without thinking twice and ones that she could further enhance and develop.
Like many people, she may be overlooking some of her strengths. Or, in some cases, never identified them as natural strengths in the first place. (We call this strengths blindness and it’s super common.)
Are you blind to your natural strengths?
Often, when something comes easily to us, we may take it for granted. Sometimes, we're not aware of the strengths that are unique to us and valued for the contribution they bring to others. When we see a trait as "just the way we are" or we view it as linked to an important personal value like freedom, optimism or kindness, we can tend to think everyone else is that way, too. Nothing special. And many of us are awfully good at playing the comparison game where we view other people's strengths as desirable or larger-than-life, while downplaying or not embracing our own.
Not owning your strengths — or learning how to use and develop them — is a missed opportunity.
This is what prevents us from truly owning our individual greatness. It can keep us small. It can hinder us from developing our work or designing our lives in a way that is professionally and personally fulfilling. For example, written communication, curiosity and accumulating and collating ideas, information and resources all come naturally to me. That’s partly why I started my career in journalism and marketing.
I'm also good at things like strategy (2 of my top 5 Gallup strengths are within the Strategic Thinking theme). I have a tendency to see people’s strengths before they do and a desire to build what’s next on a foundation of strengths, values, integrity and priorities. Customizing strengths & values-based coaching plans for my clients is a perfect blend for my strengths of Maximizer, Individualization and Responsibility. StrengthsProfile (my preferred tool for coaching in part because it incorporates what gives us energy and what doesn’t) elaborates and coordinates with this, bringing in positivity, incubating ideas, and coming up with alternative perspectives, plans and resources.
Another example, my client (which I share with permission): She's fueled by a sense of justice and fairness. She's got a fantastic ability to look at a physical space and see what it could be. She is energized by the big picture, visioning space and bringing things from good to great. She has an innate way of building relationships and deepening them over time, which shows up in her leadership as well as all across her life. For starters. We did get clearer on 10, and exactly how they fit into her strengths themes, by the end of her session.
When you’re thinking, “that’s just how I am” or “that’s not a strength; that’s easy,” remember this: Some people find it challenging to create art or deliver a clear message or organize projects effectively, to see the big picture or adapt quickly to life's challenges. Just like I find it challenging to visualize a physical space, write beautiful code or not ask questions. Just like my client finds it challenging to spend all her time on execution of the plan or truly thrive in an environment that’s not values-aligned for her.
When we operate from our strengths and delegate or work around our weaknesses, we create openings for others to operate from theirs, too. We make a more aligned contribution to our teams, communities and our own personal energy and fulfillment. We can also reduce friction and create more flow. We can can create an upward spiral of more energy and more impact.
Your top five strengths are just the beginning.
Strengths assessments are a great tool for building a new awareness of what you're naturally good at and energized by doing and being. That's why I use them so often with my clients. They're validating and illuminating, you can also gain clearer insight into your strengths from talking to your friends, colleagues and family, looking over past performance reviews and client feedback, and noticing what you’re doing when you feel in flow and energized by what you’re doing.
You're literally surrounded by your strengths, if you look.
Once you do have a solid idea of where your strengths lie, the next step is to find ways to use them in the most fulfilling ways possible. And that goes well beyond the common advice of "use your top 5 strengths more." Strengths are to be used, liberally, but developing and understanding them is equally important.
You may want to develop them further through learning or specific projects that are chosen to call them forth more (this can sometimes mean doing the very things you may be resisting doing).
You might start redesigning your lifestyle or your job crafting your work to align with them more.
You might take a deeper look at how they work together or how they may sometimes conflict with one another.
You may want to explore where the energy is lacking: what are the things you’ve learned to be better at due to your environment or experiences, but that still drain your energy.
You might also find places where you are overdoing it. When we lean too hard on a strength, we might find that we need to dial back on occasion to ensure you're using it effectively and appropriately for your goals.
What are you naturally good at? What energizes you? I'd love for you to take a few steps this week towards becoming more aware of your strengths and embracing them even more than you have been. If you’d like support with this, Rooted in Strengths is here to help.
