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4 Ways to Discover Your Strengths
Break away from job titles
You need to explore new roles, to discover your gifts.
Think of your workplace as a laboratory. Encourage flexible roles and see how it goes. If people are excited about trying something else and you have some evidence that they could be good, then experiment with it.
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How to recognize your strengths
If you want to excel at anything, it’s not enough to fix your weaknesses. You also need to leverage your strengths.
If you want to recognize your strengths, you need other people to hold up a mirror. When you see your reflection through the eyes of those who know you well, you can begin to identify your most unique talents.
Choose your sources
Identify 10-20 people who know you well from a mix of personal and professional contacts, and ask them to write a story about a time when you were at your best. It is best if the sources are specific with concrete examples.
Spot patterns
Once the feedback arrives, look for the common themes that appear in multiple stories. Make a list of the themes, the key examples that support each theme, and what they suggest about your strengths.
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Stepping outside the comfort zone
To take smart risks, you need to get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable.
Leaders that learn to embrace choices outside their comfort zones are able to push the envelope in ways that safe leaders can’t, helping them to stand out and succeed.
Take an improv class
Every time you take a risk in your business, you face the possibility of failure.
Improv, a theatrical exercise where you improvise a scene with a group of people, essentially mirrors that experience. You have to get used to change fast.
Switch places with the receptionist
If you work behind a closed door, this will be a great exercise for stepping outside your safety zone.
You might have a less productive week, but seeing your workplace from a different perspective will foster an open mind and encourage collaboration.
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Developing our strengths
Although we usually see our weaknesses as more changeable than our strengths, research shows that we should not focus on improving our weak parts, but to develop our strengths.
Identifying strengths
Try to see your strengths in relation to what energizes you. Something is a strength if:
- it makes you feel successful
- you're drawn to it
- it fully engages you
- after doing that activity, you feel energized and fulfilled.
Ask the people around you
It's difficult for us to see our own strengths, but people around us (friends, coworkers, family members, mentors) will most likely see them clearly.
The goal is to identify things that you wouldn't have thought of on your own—or to find patterns.