I’m raising a virtual glass to your health, career, life and business ambitions for 2015 and grinning at your gumption and drive to getting there! I hope throughout your stretches and changes, b-elastic and I will be there for you, providing help, insight and inspiration.
And my first gift of the year, another little reminder to pin, post or share to keep you flying in 2015.
Happy New Year! x
Wow! There won’t be many times that I actually get to deliver you a b-mail on 25th December – Christmas Day! 🙂
I wish you and yours an amazing day with great company and wonderful fun. My gift to you is this cute, homemade post card – download, share with the buttons, pin it above your desk, …… it’s yours. Enjoy xx
In the first of this series, you identified your unique strengths and part 2 enabled you to focus on developing and growing them. (Been away? Here’s the links so you can catch up: part 1 and part 2).
But knowing your strengths and growing them isn’t enough to sustain your motivation, build greater success and create the life or career you want.
So to borrow another company’s slogan…..
Actually even before you land your ideal job or promotion, you can utilise you strengths to demonstrate both the way in which you work and what you excel at. By creating a consistent personal brand, you can reinvigorate your online profiles and your personal introductions. Using a strengths based summary statement on LinkedIn gives a clear, easy to understand short review of your talents and aspirations. At events, you can rapidly and compellingly introduce yourself to new people.
Whilst research roles, your strengths could be the search terms you use in job boards or in deciding whether your career switch is really for you.
If you’re considering a career or job switch, I’d really encourage you to look at doing an internship – Escape the City offers a job and internship board of some of the most lovely and usual roles going all in one place (plus great blog and school) and keep your eyes’ peeled for internships being offered as part of competitions (Red Magazine runs “grown-up” internships for a range of organisational positions).
Drafting your CV and applications can also draw from your strengths portfolio. They will run through each role or project and help illustrate how your achieved success or development in them. The “how” is a key indicator of future performance, not just the outcomes.
Many firms are now using strengths interviewing – rather than focus on past experiences, you’ll be asked to describe how you would approach future or hypothetic scenarios based on your talents.
In coaching, we often refer to “signature strengths” – the ones that shine throughout all aspects of life. Let me give you an example, if you’re great at organising chaos into a way ahead then you’ll be the one who at home, as well as work, who tackles arranging holidays, family get-togethers and so on. If you’re naturally talented at making people feel at ease, you’ll do this at home too.
The snag is you possibly don’t realise it.
Take a moment to reflect on where your strengths show up at home. In what circumstances do you draw on them? And how could you use them to better effect? Or is it possible you over use your strengths and diminish your chance to try something new or push outside your comfort zones?
Taking your strengths into volunteering, hobbies, sports or socialising can be a real joy to the soul. These “play” activities typically have some sort of pay-off – they make a difference to you or to others, they lift your spirits, they enhance your wellbeing.
This application of your strengths can also require you to use them in a different way and in a different context to work or home. The pressures or boundaries may be removed or relaxed and you’re likely to be with a different group of people. How do your strengths show themselves in these times?
Looking across all 3 areas, when and how do you use your strengths? Are there any learning or observations that you can draw across into another area of your life to maximise their potential?
Research into happiness, health and success all point to one common factor – knowing, developing and using your strengths consistently. I hope this short 3 part b-mail series has helped you begin the journey to the life and career you desire.
Moving ahead, I’d love to know in the comments how you currently make the most of your strengths and how you’ll be using them in new or different ways in the future. Stuck for ideas? Drop that in the comments too and I’ll be happy to help.
In this 3 part b-mails on your strengths, we’re going to look at how strengths can be discover, leveraged and utilised to deliver happiness, success and flow in your life and work. I hope you found time to do some (or all!) of part 1: identify your strengths – catch up here.
So to part 2: grow your strengths.
It’s no secret that I believe continuously stretching yourself to explore who you are, what you are capable of and where that might take you is an essential part of achieving all that you desire. Moreover, there are literally thousands and thousands of way to grow your strengths – as a trainer, I know you’re likely to have a preferred style of learning. For example, you might be a bookworm or a get out there and just do it kinda person. You might like a lot of structure or complete flexibility to dive in and out as your needs take you.
My humble advice? Don’t go just for the style that makes you comfortable. Push the boat out. Mix it up. Taking this approach means you stretch your brain, your body and yourself beyond your limits or norms – enabling you to find more options, more self-awareness and more resourcefulness.
Awhile back I wrote a b-mail called “invest in yourself without breaking the bank“, which covered off a range of free or low price tag development opportunities. These are all still great options, I just can’t stop myself adding a few more:
Skillshare – one for creative skills
iTunes U – connect with educational institutes on your Apple devices for just about every topic!! You might also consider podcasts whilst you’re in iTunes.
School of Life – with a curriculum from outside the typical school’s reach, this programmes, videos and events can build a multitude of skills. Videos and blogs free and workshops start at about ÂŁ40.
Lots of museums, theatres and galleries run free workshops or courses as do many shops (Apple stores and Liberty both run short courses and events). And don’t forget your local colleges have rafts of evening and weekend events or workshops, which are after free or discounted (e.g. unemployed, targeted age groups and last-minute places)
Staying in the same place, job or habits can help us develop, but after a time we all need something new to inspire, to motivate and to change us.
Find a working holiday, go on a retreat or backpacking, volunteer overseas. I’ve lived and worked outside of the UK and gained new skills as well as developing my strengths by being with different types of people in different environments. (In fact, my university year working in Germany was probably the most valuable and enduring learning I got!)
Tackling strengths development alone can be rather demotivating. Most career families and roles have a professional body, membership organisation or regular newsletter or journal. Sign up, subscribe and get engaged. Not only do they offer relevant, timely and current training, insights and networking events, you also get access to the leading names or figures.
Outside of the “work” sphere, many sports, hobbies and interests have communities and groups that can help you move forward with your strengths. For example, my Life and Career Changer boards on Pinterest can connect you with new information and inspiration as well as pointing you to other experts, peers and resource. Research your local suppliers, clubs, catch-ups and join, pop along, attend an event.
Extra tip: teaching others is a sure-fire way to grow your own understanding, practice and appreciation of your strengths – who can you help grow?
Nothing advertises your strengths like a qualification or certificate to demonstrate your proficiency. Many universities and colleges offer full-time and part-time programmes, with bursaries and scholarships. Pick carefully, read reviews, contact student ambassadors or Student Unions and Associations to get the inside scoop before registering.
Extra tip: promote your achievements on your online profiles – think LinkedIn, your about.me page and celebrate them on your feeds – tweet, post and pin your celebrations!
In order to grow your strengths, you need to invest your energy, sweat and sometimes tears alongside determination and grit. You’re an amazing person and can totally do this – in time. Be patient with your progress. Be kind to yourself by building a support team. Be honest about when you need downtime to recoup.
Looking back at your strengths from part 1: identify your strengths – what are you doing to develop and how? I’d love to be inspired by your growth and development!
You’re really welcome! I hope there’s something in there that excites, motivates and enables you to find your next way to grow!
In this 3 part b-mails on your strengths, I want to help you begin the journey to identify, grow and use your strengths and talents to help you clarify your direction, maximise your potential and fulfil your ambitions and dreams in all parts of your life. I want to balance what I recommend with a price tag with some free options to ensure you can all identify your strengths today. As well as, seeking a balance of things you can do alone plus how I might be able to help.
So to part 1: identify your strengths.
Let’s take stock a moment: what go you here craving a change? It could have been a “final straw” experience, a glimpse of another way or a gut feeling that there’s a mismatch between your life, work or play with your best self. By identifying your strengths, you take the pain and the guesswork out of what and how to change plus you reduce the likelihood of discomfort in making and living the change.
When you’re at your best, time flies by without you noticing. It goes dark outside. You forget to eat or drink. You could go on forever. You can sit holding a pee for the longest time. All because you’re in flow, engrossed by what you’re doing or who you are being.
Take a piece of paper, fold in half. Considering all aspects of your life (work, play, exercises, socialising and so on), jot or draw on the left side, those experiences where you are at your best. Tasks, activities, roles, functions, values and emotions you’re embodying. On the right, the opposite, times when you are at your worst – those experiences that you dread, bore you, exhaust you.
On both sides, try to include the knowledge, actions, behaviours and attitudes you draw on.
Now ask yourself:
Hang on….both sides? Yes. You will have strengths that you utilise even when times are bad or challenging – these may form part of what you take forward. For example, at my worst I take decisions rapidly without the full picture or consultation– this serves me well if the situation calls for this, e.g. when the unexpected drops in and someone needs to pragmatically move things forward. I don’t enjoy it and it doesn’t make me feel great, however I know others value this.
Bringing in the people in your life can be really valuable in identifying your strengths. They know you well and will only have your interests at heart. (PS bonus – they feel good being involved and you help manage their resistance)
If you feel comfortable doing this in person, just ask what they value and admire about how you go about things and what you do. Take a note of the verbs, nouns and adjectives they use to describe you.
If you’d rather have a spot of confidentiality, for example with peers at work, you could do this using a simple Google doc or Survey Monkey type questionnaire.
Once you’ve gather a number of responses, rank the reoccurring strengths. Don’t overlook people and technical skills or knowledge.
My 3 go-to resources to increase your awareness of your personality and character preferences and strengths:
VIA Character Strengths Questionnaire – using positive psychology theories by Martin Seligmann, this tool is available free + paid for versions.
Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath – buy the book and you’ll get an access code to do the online test OR bypass the book and pay for ~£6/$10 the basic test or ~£56/$90 for the full test here.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – This well-known, international tool is brilliant at exploring and uncovering your preferences in relation to work, problems, life and people. You can find lots of free versions of this or I can arrange an online OPP questionnaire and report with 30 minute debrief.
With all 3 of these, I would recommend you review or complete this with a qualified practitioner. Why? Exploring and understanding your results requires an external perspective to get the most out of them, to consider your mindset when completing it and help related them to your life holistically.
Any surprises? Think of these as being in your blind spot – you may not consider some things as strengths if they come to you naturally with little effort, but others do.
Next week’s b-mail: grow your strengths, followed by part 3: use your strengths
This was really encouraging to read. I think sometimes we get so overwhelmed with life that we forget to take care of growing ourselves. And sometimes I am good at recognising that I need help but I don’t know what resources I should use. Thank you for all this…really great!