Dialing our Strengths

We’ve all got natural talents. And we can’t help but use them. They are a part of our core. A reflex. And perhaps along the road of life, you flagged some of yours and have honed them over time into outstanding superpowers.  Talents/Gifts + Experience + Effort = Strengths.  

They are always available – standing by, waiting to be used. So we do. All the time. Consciously or not. These go-to moves are, by definition, go-to moves which means they may be used at their best or…..cue ominous music…..they may become a barrier or stumbling block. We index them high and low.

An example.  

I have a Natural Talent for…..gathering information and connecting seemingly disparate ideas and data points. 

I’ve Honed this Talent over time into …an ability to gain insight from the in-between spaces (Input, Context in SF language).  

This Helps me Everyday to… add value to my coaching conversations.

AND, this Gets in My Way….when it overcomplicates a situation and slows stuff down – and frustrates others.

It’s like a Mad Lib.  You try – fill in the blanks.

I have a Natural Talent for…..

I’ve Honed this Talent over time into…..

This Helps me Everyday to…..

AND, this Gets in My Way….

And when it gets in our way, we can course correct. Adjust the dials. Recognize what is happening – we are over-leveraging a natural talent.  We can look for ways to match our Strength to the Situation – or kindly ask it to sit this one out. Not every situation needs my zoomed out perspective that takes into account many (many, too many) dots connected in elaborate ways (that I find insightful). It’s sometimes overkill. And annoying or frustrating to those around me.  Time to adjust the dial on the strength. Dial down its misuse and dial up its best use. Use my natural ability judiciously. 

Do you know your natural talents and gifts? You can use an assessment like CliftonStrengths by Gallup, or discuss with colleagues and others who know you well. You can sift through past performance reviews, or even do a scan through your professional life pulling out moments of ease and success and identifying what Strengths you were using in those moments. 

In general, what we’re going for here is:

1. Knowing your naturals
2. Developing them for best impact
3. Recognizing when you’re leaning on them too hard with a negative effect
4. Saying a quick “thanks” (after all this is a strength of yours)
5. Redirecting back to best use

Voila! Easy? Not really. That’s what I’m here for (we’ve established that connecting dots is in my wheelhouse).  Please let me know what you discover.