If someone asked you what your strengths are would you know how to answer them? Would you say something like "I'm a people person." or possible "I work well with others."? Chances are you will probably have a hard time articulating what you strengths are. Sadly, if someone asked you what your weaknesses are you could probably rattle off a list 10 miles long! Are you building your life around your strengths or are you overcompensating for your weaknesses?
One of the books on my recommended reading list is "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. I'm not quite finished with it yet but the concept of the book is fascinating! It is based on the findings of a study by the Gallup Organization of over 2 million people who excelled in their choosen fields. The interviews were conducted to find out what they could learn about human strengths. What emerged was 34 "themes" explaining excellence in performance. It poses the question, "What would you life look like if you based it around your strengths?"
I love the way they explain this belief we have of improving our weaknesses..." Guided by the belief that good is the opposite of bad, mankind has for centuries pursued its fixation with fault and failing. Doctors have studied disease in order to learn about health. Psychologists have investigated sadness in order to learn about joy. Therapists have looked into the causes of divorce in order to learn about happy marriage. And in schools and workplaces around the world, each one of us has been encouraged to identify, analyze, and correct our weaknesses in order to become strong"
So true isn't it!! The authors explain that strengths are built on top of talents. Your talents are the raw material you are born with, determine your decision making, and are the building blocks for your strengths. So in essence what you are actually discovering is your strengths and your talents at the same time! The book contains a thorough explanation of each of the 34 themes and a way to access the testing material online to see what your top 5 are. However, you will be surprised to see how much of your strengths and talents you already knew. They explain it this way, "The irony is that since they influence every decision you make, you are already intimately familiar with your talents. Yet they are so influential, so interwoven in the fabric of your life, that the pattern of each one is hard to discern. Hiding in plain sight, they defy description. But they do leave traces."
Because I rented the book from the library I did not have an access code to take the test online (a very smart marketing ploy I must say!) so I went through each one and picked out which ones would best explain my strengths. Here they are: Belief -enduring core values, family oriented, altruistic, spiritual, responsible, ethical-want to have a job that means something to you. Command -impose views on others easily, take charge, look at confrontation as a way towards resolution, push others to take risks, people are drawn to you to lead. Developer- see the potential in others because everyone is a work in progress, you challenge others, you looks for experiences to help people grow. Discipline-world needs to be predictable, ordered and planned, impose structure and routines, want to feel in control, dislike surprises, impatient with errors of others and self. and Relator- pulled towards relationships you already know, deliberately intimate with a few friends.
One of the things they teach in this book is that strengths are enduring and unique (they last our entire life time and every person's are different) and our greatest room for growth is in our strengths. Most of these strengths I feel quite capable in to make them work for me. However, one of them I can see is in the baby stages of growing...Developer. This goes hand in hand with the goals and focus of coaching! I had no idea this was a strength of mine and I'm excited to see it grow and become stronger.
I challenge you to read this book and discover more about the things that make you unique and special. It's refreshing to focus on what you are good at instead of what you are not so good at!
Happy reading...
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