The advice that made the biggest impact on my career and ultimately my business...
Like many I am sure who are reading this, I went through a lot of training courses when I was in the corporate world, some good some well, not so good. In the most part these courses were always focused on what we needed to learn, what we needed to develop, what some people might of said were their "weaknesses" and that was my main takeaway from corporate training - what mattered is what you needed to improve, not focusing on what you were good at - what your strengths were.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not anti training or improving on our skills at all and as anyone who knows me will agree, I am a BIG fan of learning, and self development is just as an important part of the entrepreneurial journey as it is in the corporate world ( I would probably argue even more so).
When I hit a bit of a wall in my corporate career, a mentor I had at the time suggested I really reflected on what I was good in order to work out what direction to take my career. It sounds really simple, but it really changed my perspective (and it is how I ended up in Operations!).
Strength-based focus can be a powerful tool for increasing motivation and performance. We feel feel more confident, self-aware and productive when focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses. Our strengths are great for increasing our energy and making us feel dynamic. It's not uncommon to lose track of time when focusing on an area where our strengths shine - being in a state of "flow"
The result of putting our strengths into what we are doing is joy, energy and feeling more alive!
So, why do we accept the loss of joy? The answer is very familiar: While living in a "fixing" environment, we focus on our weaknesses to fix, rather than the strengths we already have and can act on. It's the idea that only if are weaknesses could be corrected, we could be fixed and feel complete!
The problem is this mindset causes a definite feeling of insufficiency. This sense of "I'm not enough" invites other negative emotions, like anger, fear and anxiety, especially if it concerns the vulnerability of us putting ourselves out there in our capacity as a new business owner.
We can hold ourselves back in business by thinking we need more qualifications, more certifications and not seeing the value in our experiences, our learnings, our past career, the trainings we have completed, all of which are our strengths and all go to make up the value we can add to our clients and customers.
?? So today I invite you to focus on the JOY and all of your amazing strengths ??
???? My question to you: Have you identified what your strengths are? and are you capitalising on them?
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Sally is a new business mentor for ambitious women who are making the move from their corporate life to setting up a business or side hustle with a real focus on practical solutions and advice.
I am currently running an low cost investment BETA 1:1 3 month 1:1 offer in exchange for testimonial & feedback - if this is something you are interested in please dop book a free consultation call so we can discuss how I can help!
Lastly I invite you to join my free community group. If you are thinking about starting a business or a side hustle or have just done so and are looking for some support - come and join us! We have live weekly trainings, accountability, we celebrate our wins and is a place to connect with other female business owners. Join "Striving to Thriving" here.