How can YOUR Strengths help you?

I am often asked: "How can my Strengths help me?"

We all have a utilitarian approach to our strengths. "How can my Competition? Strength help me beat them?" "How can my Harmony? Strength help me build the right relationships in my company?" "Why isn't my Discipline? Strength working lately?" Our strengths should serve us, make our lives easier, make us happier and more efficient.

Yes, people using their Strengths everyday DO report a happier, more balanced and efficient life. According to Gallup's research , on average people who focus on their Strengths "are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive and?15% less likely to quit their jobs."

So what's wrong if we don't see a sudden change after discovering and understanding our top 5 Strengths? What change can we expect to see once we have identified our Strengths? What can our Strengths really, concretely help us do?

IIn a coaching session, when this kind of frustration comes up, I always, half-jokingly, turn the question around:

"How can YOU help your Strengths?"?

As much as we expect results from our Strengths, we haven't really invested more than a few minutes to understand them. If our Strengths were a person and we had just met them for the first time a few days ago, would we expect them to "work for us" suddenly? Or would we take a little more time to hear them out and understand who they really are? What they do best? In which context and when exactly? And how can we provide the best environment for them to do that? We expect to be given results without giving anything in return.

I spin the idea that our Strengths are meant to help and serve us. What if our Strengths were not of service to us? What if instead we had to be of service and help our Strengths? What would that be like, what behavioral change would we discover and what results would then ensue??

Through Strengths Trainings and Coachings, I have observed that results do happen naturally with Strengths when we work FOR the Strengths and not ON the Strengths. I push my coaching clients and my trainees to think differently: I require they take a step back and go into a mindset of service: Instead of asking what the Strength can do for you, ask yourself what you can do for that Strength.

Below are a few examples for the Strengths of Achiever?, W.O.O.? (stands for "Winning Others Over") and Strategic?:

• As an Achiever, you could expect your Strengths to help you work hard and get things done, no matter what. Have you considered that your Strength might need you to impose rest, celebrations and/or acknowledgements on regular basis to refuel before a new mission?

• As a W.O.O. (stands for "Winning Others Over" and represents people with charisma or an innate ability and pleasure to break the ice with strangers.) you are expecting excitement about all the upcoming events where you will get to know new people. But have you analyzed which crowds really make you buzz? Which events resonate best for you because you feel at your best there?

• As a Strategic, you expect your Strength to give you quickly clarity about the choices and routes ahead but have you taken a minute to lay down all the options you can see?

You probably have a different set of Strengths and if you wish to grow them, invest in them. You can start by asking yourself: "If my Strength was a person, what could I do to help it grow?" Just like a person, each Strength is unique and requires us to help it develop, grow and get stronger. Take the time to understand when your strengths are at their best. Think about each of your Strength's needs and how to provide it to them.

Well done, you are taking the first step towards grand results with your Strengths!

If this article was useful to you, tell us what your Strengths are and how YOU best serve them. This article can also be helpful to others: please share it! If you wish to contact Marion for a coaching consultation, simply add her on WeChat (ID: MarionCAMPAN) or via LinkedIn.