There are many ways to find your strengths. One approach is to identify where things seem to come easily and you do excellent work. Let’s explore where this might happen for you.
Discovering The Activities
Where Things Come Easily
Great workers often seem to make things look easy. Such people build on their natural strengths. But they have also developed the strategies, skills and solutions required to deliver success. Then it looks easy.
Some people underrate their talent because for them it comes so naturally. Steve is a brilliant problem solver, for example, who I have known for many years. He is calm, clear and superb at dealing with crises.
A technical specialist, he is also good with people and listens to their views. At the same time, he has the ability to quickly get to the heart of the matter.
He then acts at the appropriate speed to resolve the situation. For many years Steve underrated his own ability. He said:
“I did not think it was anything special. Ever since I was a teenager people have come to me for help and I remain calm in most situations.
“Over the years I have gained wide experience and learned to solve different kinds of problems.”
Where do things seem to come easily for you? Where do you make complicated things simple? Or, as the Gallup Organization asks people when exploring their strengths, what are the things that you cannot help but do?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. Start by brainstorming the activities where things come easily and you have done excellent work, then try to be as specific as possible.
You may be good at encouraging certain kinds of people, solving certain problems or whatever. Later we will explore how you can pursue one of these activities and deliver excellence.
Pursuing A Specific Activity
Where Things Come Easily
Looking at these activities, are there any that you would like to pursue more in the future? If you wish, choose one where you have the possibility of delivering excellence.
How to choose such an activity? One approach is to learn from some of the principles followed by peak performers.
They focus on something they feel passionately about where they have the ability to deliver peak performance.
They gather information through many senses. They use their heart, head and ‘hands’ – translating the ideas into action – when performing the activity.
They spend many years learning how to build on their strengths and develop the skills required to make complicated things simple.
They are driven to keep improving and finding solutions to new challenges.
They keep delivering the basics and then add the brilliance to deliver peak performance.
What are the activities where you feel in your element – at ease yet able to excel? Would you like to do more of these things? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following.
Describe the specific activity you want to pursue in which you want to deliver excellence.
Describe the specific things that will be happening that will show you have delivered excellence.
Delivering Excellence
Great workers often begin by having raw talent in a particular area. But then they embark on the journey towards achieving excellence.
Expanding their experience, they develop what is called personal radar. They see patterns, think ahead and seem to have the ability to know what will happen before it happens.
Great workers often have natural self-discipline in the specific activity where they excel. They also demonstrate elements of OCD. (This is Obsessive Compulsive Discipline, rather than Disorder.)
They continually make lists in their heads, complete the tasks and move on to the next list for achieving their goals. Continually wanting to improve, they add further strategies to their repertoire.
Faced by a challenging situation, they dip into their repertoire and choose the appropriate skill. Great workers then apply the skill successfully to achieve the desired results.
You will have your own discipline for achieving your goals. This often begins by focusing on where things come easily for you. But it then calls working hard and honing your skills to achieve success.
If you wish, try tackling the final exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.
Describe the specific things you can do to focus on your chosen activity and deliver excellence.
Describe the specific benefits – both for yourself and other people – of focusing on your chosen activity and delivering excellence.
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