Find Out What You Do Well and Do More of It
December 23, 2009
On a rudimentary level, strengths are the things you do well. On a more sophisticated level, a strength is a pattern of behavior, thoughts and feelings that produces a high degree of satisfaction and pride; generates both physical and/or financial reward; and presents measurable progress toward excellence.
THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A STRENGTH
ONE: LISTEN FOR YEARNINGS
Characterized as the pull or attraction to one activity over another, a process that begins in early childhood and continues. Think of a yearning you have in your work, the things you look forward to working on or that draw you back …
TWO: WATCH FOR SATISFACTIONS
Satisfactions are those experiences where the emotional and physic rewards are great. Competencies and satisfactions are not always partners. If it doesn’t feel good you are not practicing a strength. Think of the things you do at work that consistently bring satisfaction…maybe the work was tough, but the reward was strong, memorable and lasting.
THREE: WATCH FOR RAPID LEARNIG
If you catch on quickly to something your likely to be good at it. Naturals are those who learn by “jumping in”. Slow learning is evidence of a non-strength. It can never be discounted on the assumption that a person will “get it someday”. Think of things you pick up very quickly at work, and within days, or even hours, others are asking you to show them how to do it.
FOUR: GLIMPSES OF EXCELENCE
You can spot a strength by glimpsing a moment of excellence within a performance. Only the trained eye can glimpse moments of excellence. One of the most effective ways to master this technique is by studying success. Think of things you’ve done when you were complimented on your excellence, when someone used words like, “perfect, excellent job, or well-done.”
FIVE: TOTAL PERFORMANCE OF EXCELLENCE
Total performance of excellence is a flow of successful behavior, when there are no conscious steps in the mind of the performer. Total performance isn’t a glimpse but the complete extension of an activity. It doesn’t happen occasionally, but each time the activity is performed. One final test of total performance is the improvement of activity over a period of time. The satisfaction gained by total performance will cause a person to want to repeat it, but with repetition must come improvement. Think of times when you have “lost yourself” in the execution of your work, when the effort was effortless and the success was repeatable and sustainable.
Adapted from: Soar With Your Strengths, Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson, Bantam Doubleday Dell, NY, 1992
