Seek your Strengths and you will Soar….

Whether you’ve been made redundant or not, intimately knowing your Strengths can be the smallest thing you do to make the BIGGEST difference.

Deeply Understanding Your Strengths is like an epiphany

But only about one third of people can actually identify their Strengths.

Everyone I have now coached through Strengths assessments has had more than one ‘aha’ moment.

When someone has a strength, and we then reflect it back to them, they have this eureka moment of realisation and recognition. They feel understood, validated and valued. They feel appreciated for who they really are. They have a real sense of energy and engagement when they are using their strengths.

Benefits of Knowing Your Strengths

There are a myriad of benefits to recognising and using your strengths. Below are some ways that strengths-based living each day can make a positive difference in your life overall:

• Ability to develop more positive emotions
• Increase in confidence and performance
• Increased happiness
• Better life and career decisions through deeper confidence and clarity
• A deep understanding of your true uniqueness, so you can develop and use strengths that match your goals.

Using your Strengths in interviews to make sure you are a match for your new job

Knowing whether or not you will get to use your strengths in a role may make the difference between being successful and happy in that role.  You can do this by asking poignant ‘strength’ questions when you go for an interview.

For example, if your strength is ‘Spotlight’ then you will get enjoyment out of speaking up and holding the floor. Presenting isn’t something that comes naturally to most people, but for you it is a strength.

But if it is a weakness of yours (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that) and you need to use it regularly in this new role, then it is probably not a match for you. You will find yourself de-energised, and worse case scenario, may result in a performance review situation.

You can also use your Strengths knowledge when answering those ‘STAR’ questions in interviews

The Situation, Treatment, Action & Result questions that are inevitable in any interview these days can become easier to answer when you apply your strengths to the conversation.

For example, you may be responsible for delivering something that requires the effort of your whole team. Let’s say you have the strengths of Esteem Builder, which is building self confidence and self esteem in others and Enabler, which is developing people to do things for themselves. You can use these strengths to energise your conversation on how you delivered the results.

Are you a match for your current role? Knowing your Strengths can give you that insight…

Let’s talk about Michael, who was performing really well in his job at the Call Centre.  His strengths were Rapport Builder (he can easily build rapport with anybody) and Empathetic (he can fine tune tune into people, and understand what they are feeling).  Because his performance was so stellar, he was put on the talent list for development and promotion.  But when he became a team leader, and was no longer on the phone with customers, his performance dropped, and management couldn’t work out why.

Of course, you and I can see this clearly now, he was no longer using his strengths.  This demonstrates so well how using our strengths makes a difference to us, and in this case, to our customers if we are dealing with them as well.

How Can I Discover My Strengths?

In Positive Psychology, there are essentially two ways. The first is a skill called ‘Strength Spotting’. The second way is to invest in a Psychometric Assessment.

Personally, I think ‘Strength Spotting’ is a skill in itself (which I myself am still learning) so I recommend investing in a professional Psychometric Assessment with the appropriate coaching from an Expert. It was the coaching sessions that changed my life.

Strengths Spotting Exercise

That said, here is a Strengths Spotting exercise……..

Strengths

• When do you feel energised when you are doing something?

• What is it that is giving you that feeling of energisation?

• What sort of everyday things do you enjoy doing? At work? At home?

• What makes a really good day for you?

• What gives you the greatest sense of being authentic, yourself, who you really are?

• Think of a time when you think the ‘real you’ is coming through.

• Do you have a vision for the future? What is it about?

Weaknesses

In contrast, a weakness could be identified by:

1. Activities you really dislike doing? Why is that?
2. Things you never seem to get done, or things you always try to avoid. What are they?
3. What activities drain you? Has it always been this way?

You may have been able to identify how to create a bit more happiness in your life already?

How Can I Get a Psychometric Assessment?

From me of course! This is the one I am trained and certified to use as an Expert Strengths Practitioner – so is obviously my preferred assessment resource!

Cappfinity Strengths Profile Assesses 60 strengths, which is the most available in any tool, and measures each across three dimensions of energy, performance and use. This equates to how well you do something, how much energy it gives you, and how often you use it.

In doing so, it distinguishes behaviours that yield high performance yet may in fact be draining. It also reveals strengths that are less used and can be an area of growth potential. 
For more information: https://www.strengthsprofile.com/

And I’ll leave you with one of my clients’ experience with their Strengths Assessment and coaching…

Testimonial – Bree, Portfolio and Project Director

Having been retrenched the year before, and with my self confidence taking a downturn, time spent with Fe saw her coach with equal parts encouragement and pragmatism.

One of the areas I found extremely helpful was specifically deep diving into my strengths profile.   Using insights from the profile, in combination with how clearly and intentionally she ran her coaching sessions, shaped how I prepared for and transitioned from a sabbatical period into a new role.

Tapping into what energises me and what to use more of (unrealised strengths)  was powerful data not only in how I approach my new role in a new industry –  I am confident it will help pave the way in terms of ongoing development and long term success in this new career and in future personal and professional relationships.   Three months into my new role and the insights from, and application of, the profile helped accelerate my learnings in my first 90 days.

The key purpose of these assessments and the output reports is the realisation of deeper insights and understanding of yourself, particularly when you are at your best, and what you can do to achieve this more often.

References:

This article was created researching a wide range of resources, books, white papers, and articles from psychologists around the world; in particular, Dr. Alex Linley’s book, “Average to A+… Realising Strengths in Yourself and Others.”

I am the only practitioner providing 2 coaching sessions to make sure your Strengths Profile makes a difference to your life.

#Strengthsprofiling #Redundancysupport #Redundancy

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