Thank you for visiting us and our blog! We hope you are enjoying reading Play to Your Strengths! We would love to hear about your first clear insight into your own strengths. Andrea’s first insight was the “Ah Ha in the Kitchen” (page 59) when she suddenly realized there was a clear pattern among her innate talents and gifts — a strong poker hand – and not some random assortment! Carol had an epiphany about her strengths many years ago when she solicited feedback from close friends and colleagues and discovered an uncanny similarity amongst their observations. The feedback solidified for Carol that there was no mistaking which strengths she demonstrates robustly and consistently in her life. What’s your first insight? Let us know!
Andrea & Carol
Strengths Speak! is for leaders and workers who are intrigued to discover, explore, and use their strengths for increased joy, satisfaction, and effectiveness. This blog is a companion to our book, Play to Your Strengths. Please join the conversation!
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4 comments:
It's funny, but inevitably when we talk about the subject of strengths, people ask about dealing with their myriad weaknesses. Here’s a quick story to bolster all who are beating themselves up over a weakness…
I’m coaching a client who is not good at delivering the “tough news” at work. She’s a business owner and has had her share of challenges with unproductive staff members. While she would like to give them honest feedback about their lackluster performance, she has an aversion to anything disharmonious. She beats herself up either for not taking care of business the way she “should” or not doing a good job at it when she tries to manage the situation.
She has an associate who is very good at providing honest, direct feedback, and who is fearless about perpetuating positive, productive energy at the workplace. I told my client that, when she attempts to address these difficult situations at work, she is “robbing” her associate of the opportunity to use her sound strengths of courageous confrontation and honest, candid communication. I invited her to let go of those responsibilities and invite her associate to step forward when the situation warrants using those strengths.
She has since done so and is experiencing renewed energy at work! She has stopped beating herself up for “failing” at a weakness, and has boosted the engagement of her associate, who relishes the opportunity to manage performance and coach team members. Part of the value for my client is that she is freed up to focus on her own strengths, and she has re-established a more positive and productive environment in her business. What a win all around!
My first big Ah Ha came when I read over the results of my assessment. I was very surprised by two of my strengths - activator and command - because for many years I worked in an environment that had labeled these behaviors as 'wrong or bad' and were called disruptive. Today they are a big part of my success and impact as I have claimed them and am now self employed.
I'm curious about the type of organization that labeled activator and command as "wrong." What did you learn about the culture of the organization... or industry?
Andrea
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