Flex your strengths

Do you know what your strengths are? Could you name your top 5 strengths? If you’re having trouble, don’t despair, you are not alone! Many of the people I work with haven’t really thought about their strengths before and certainly haven’t made the time to sit and list their top five.

Our top strengths are those things that seem to come naturally to us. We are good at them and it feels good when we use them.??

Many studies have shown that when we have opportunities to apply our strengths in the workplace we

• are happier
• experience less stress
• feel healthier & have more energy
• feel more satisfied with our lives
• are more confident
• achieve higher job performance.

As humans we are naturally wired to find the problem, the mistake and the negative. Think about it, we tend to look for what’s wrong and then we start planning how to fix it.

Research says organisations typically spend about 80% time focused on fixing weaknesses and focusing on what’s not working, and only about 20% time focused on building strengths.

But I wonder, what would it be like if we flipped that lens and began to focus on what’s going right?

What will happen when we think about what is right with people, rather than fixing what is wrong with them? – Donald Clifton? ??

• How would your family be different if you focused on, named and appreciated the strengths of each member more often?
• What about your relationships?
• How about at work with your colleagues?
• And of course, what about you? What if you noticed, acknowledged, celebrated and applied your strengths more often?

Well, the research has lots to say about the benefits that emerge from a strengths-focused approach to work and life but I reckon the best way to find out is to go ahead and give it a play!

?How will you flex your strengths this week?

#groundedleadership #leadership #strengthsfocused #KatrinaBourke