How to play to your strengths every day
Hi! A huge welcome to you from wherever you're watching in the world.
I'm Bec Sands. I help you pivot to a successful career that transforms your life, your community and the world, either in a career you love or a business you own.
Whether you’re working for yourself or someone else, you need entrepreneurial skills in today’s world. Having had a corporate career and now as a business owner, I will teach you both.
Today I am discussing how you can play to your strengths every day – and why this is so important.
As Tom Rath writes in his book ‘Strengthsfinder 2.0’, “all too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths… However, when you’re not able to use your strengths at work, you are six times less likely to be engaged in your job, and chances are that you dread going to work, have more negative than positive interactions with your colleagues, treat your customers poorly, and achieve less on a daily basis.”
Tom Rath discusses in the book how Gallup has surveyed more than 10 million people worldwide on the topic of whether they have the opportunity to focus on what they do best, and approximately seven million people fell short.
That’s a lot of people!
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when something comes easily or naturally to me, it doesn’t feel like ‘work’ – and so it can feel weird to get paid for it. That’s how I felt about coaching in the beginning. It is so joyful to me and doesn’t feel like work!
However, these tasks that come most easily to us are exactly the tasks we should be focusing on. Rath says, “A strengths-based approach improves your confidence, direction, hope, and kindness toward others. So why isn’t everyone living life with a strengths approach?”
He says that most people don’t actually know what their strengths are – or they are actually mistaken and think they are strong in areas they are actually weak in, and vice versa.
I can definitely relate to this – my number one strength and character trait is “creative” and I totally didn’t realise that until I took the strengths tests. Therefore, I absolutely need to have creative outlet in the work that I do.
Now, if you don’t know what your strengths are, I highly recommend taking one of the short online strengths tests such as The Via Character Strengths Survey, Archetypes Quiz, High5 test (all free) or The CliftonStrengths Assessment which is AUD82 at the time of this video.
Once you know what your strengths are, here’s some tips on how you can integrate them into your current role (or perhaps if you’ve been feeling less than fulfilled in your current role or career, this may be the turning point to inspire a career change!).
How to integrate your strengths into your work and life
1. Ask for a stretch project that plays to your strengths.
Set up a meeting with your manager and talk them through what your strengths are, and make sure you bring some suggestions for how you could potentially serve the company at a higher level by bringing these strengths to specific tasks or projects.
2. Start a side business.
This could be a project that generates additional income and may in future be your full-time gig! What are you passionate about, that fulfils a need or want, or solves a problem? Speak with a few people in your target market and ask them what they would pay for in this space.
3. Pursue a hobby or passion that you love, that aligns with your strengths.
You don’t necessarily need to get paid for it – at least to start with! Simply by pursuing what you’re passionate about will bring more joy and fulfilment into your life. Examples are writing, painting, dancing… The list is endless, and will be unique to you.
4. Volunteer in your community.
The more we serve others, the better our sense of fulfilment, purpose and life satisfaction is. Where can you volunteer in your community in a way that plays to your strengths?
