Strengths: What Am I Good At?

“Plant a good seed, then patiently wait to see that precious thing hidden right within.” — R.R. Matt Smith

So far we’ve processed personality, and we’ve differentiated between interests and passions. For this week’s sweet spot blog, we explore the meaning, application, and purpose of STRENGTHS!

 Understanding Strengths

Growing up, I despised talent shows. I never seemed to find a tangible talent that I excelled – heck, was even mediocre – at doing. Over a decade ago, Gallup’s CliftonStrengths revealed to me that talents are so much more than dancing, singing or playing a sport. We all have talents in Influencing, Relationship Building, Strategic Thinking and Executing themes. (Now that would be a talent show I could get behind!) 

According to CliftonStrengths, We are all born with innate talents – “a natural way of thinking, feeling or behaving.” We also each have our own story full of developmental experiences, education and people. Gallup calls this an investment – “time spent practicing, developing your abilities, and building your knowledge base.” When these two are combined, you develop a strength – “the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance.” When we take the time to assess ourselves, we learn the following:

• What comes naturally to us and how we can utilize it to better ourselves and others.
• Where we need to invest our time and who we need to invest our time with.
• How to navigate our blind-spots and weaknesses. 

 Applying Strengths

What happens when we put this practice of discovery into action? Here are two examples of the importance of knowing and applying your strengths.

Example 1: Influencing Job Choice 

I very recently had a client who had been in operational roles for the past 20+ years. He thought certainly his strengths were in the Execution category. As a self-proclaimed ‘jack of all trades,’ he consistently found himself in jobs where his main roles were task-driven. After completing the CliftonStrengths assessment and reviewing his results together, we realized that the majority of his top strengths are in the Relationship Building theme. Instead of spending the bulk of his work days advising, leading and developing individuals and teams, he had been independently implementing the tasks. As a result, he was drained of energy and fulfillment. He is now moving into a leadership role in an environment where he can nurture community and collaboration. His response was, “Whoa. This is mind blowing! Thank you!” 

Example 2: Navigating Our Blindspots

In my school-aged days, my acquaintances often questioned my authenticity. Ouch. Having words like ‘fake’ or ‘naïve’ used to describe you can really hurt. I never understood what people were seeing or why they would consider me in this way. I genuinely cared for people and simply had a knack for seeing the good. After one-on-one consulting with a mentor over my top 5 CliftonStrengths, I began to understand what other people were seeing. My number one talent was Positivity. While it affirmed what I already knew about my optimistic perspective, it also shined a light on another truth: I was uncomfortable dealing with negativity. This often resulted in artificial reactions out of fear of dealing with the difficult. My counselor helped me learn how to mature my talent of Positivity in a way that acknowledges the hard then reveals the good when the time is right. With many years of practice and refinement, I now get to utilize my strength of Positivity in my approach as a Career Development Consultant, as a wife, as a mom and a friend.

Flourishing in Your Strengths 

Whether you’re crafting an elevator pitch, determining your next career move, or simply wanting to better yourself, understanding your talents, developing them into strengths, and knowing how to articulate and act on them is essential to moving forward on a fulfilling path.  

If a seed is not planted in the right place, properly watered and nourished, then it cannot grow into the plant it was meant to be. The Know You Project can help you identify what your strengths are so you can determine where to plant yourself and bloom.