Barbara Sher, author of I Could Do Anything…If I Only Knew What It Was, once shared this story:
When I was a single working mother with two babies, you know what my skills were? I could clean house like a demon, catch a moving bus with my arms full of laundry, groceries, and kids, and squeeze a dolloar until the picture of George Washington screamed for mercy.
I do NOT want a career that uses those skills, thank you.
We often confuse skill – being good at something – with strength. But as this excerpt clearly shows, a vast difference can exist between the two.
The problem? We often choose work based on our skills, without giving adequate attention to our strengths.
This involves much more than just semantics. At its most basic, a skill is something you’re good at. You might be a skilled pianist or excellent with numbers, for example.
A strength, however, is something you’re good at that also lights you up, that brings you energy.
If you’re excellent with numbers but cringe every time you face a spreadsheet, your skill does not translate into your strength. Or if your fingers fly across the keyboard but you hate every minute of playing, you are not engaging your strengths – you’re demonstrating your skill.
Reports show that less than 1/5 of us feel we use our strengths daily at work. What do you think this means in terms of morale, productivity, satisfaction, and engagement?
Assessments like the StrengthsFinder can help you uncover your strengths, as can asking yourself reflective questions such as:
1. What activities light me up or make me lose track of time?
2. What am I frequently complimented on and enjoy? (The second part of that question is important!)
3. What activities engage my talents, knowledge, and skills?
And then:
4. How am I engaging my strengths at work?
If your answer to #4 is, “I’m not,” don’t assume you’re in the wrong field or that you can’t leverage your strengths until you find a new job. I have a client who is a gifted artist and writer, but her professional role doesn’t allow for much of either. So she started a blog where she showcases her art and writes about it, and has developed quite a loyal following while embracing her strengths.
Another client thought she needed to switch careers in order to employ her love of financial details. In the meantime, she volunteered to lead a fundraising campaign at work and found that, with that simple tweak, her current job (which she already enjoyed) met her needs and let her play to her strengths.
Regularly engaging your strengths leads to positive results for you, your business, and those who receive your services. Strengths are also, of course, a required component of successfully doing what you love! Where do you currently employ your strengths? How might you use them more fully? As a leader, how can you help others identify and engage in their strengths, too?
Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
Dr. Christi Hegstad helps you successfully do what you love! As President of MAP Professional Development Inc., she coaches business owners and leaders to get unstuck and reach meaningful results with clarity, confidence, and meaningful action. Learn more at www.meaning-and-purpose.com and follow Dr. Christi on Facebook and Twitter.