Strengths-Based
Focus
by Janet
Shlaes, Ph.D.
“Too many
people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”
~ Malcolm S.
Forbes
Ask someone
about their weaknesses and they will easily provide you with an extensive list
of their perceived deficiencies. Ask them about their strengths and they will
often pause for a moment or two before they finally come up with a strength.
This phenomenon is a pretty familiar one to me in my client work in the career and
leadership development realms. Why does this type of response consistently happen? Let
me explain…….
You often
fail to recognize and feel connected to your strengths because they exist as
your normal way of being in the world. Perhaps your strength is creativity or
problem solving; perhaps it’s kindness, connecting with others or intuition. You
naturally utilize your strengths or natural gifts from a place that is outside
of your conscious awareness. Similar to unencumbered breathing, you just do it
without much thought or effort. It’s just who you are. To others, however, your
natural way of being in the world appears as a strength. Learning to recognize, honor and intentionally
focus on utilizing your strengths often results in your perceived weaknesses significantly
diminishing.
I invite you
to experiment with a strengths-based focus for a week. If you find it
challenging to come up with a strength to focus on, ask someone who is close to
you or a work colleague to identify one of your strengths. Focus on
intentionally utilizing this strength for a week and notice the shifts in your
perception of and relationship to your “strengths” and “weaknesses.”
Janet
For
additional insights and observations, check out the following links:
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