Our 12 Days of Coaching - Day 5: Why Strengths coaching is NOT hard work

So far in our 12 Days of Coaching we have focused on some of the things that might hold people back from coaching - the timing, not knowing what coaching is, the fear of leaving our comfort zone. And today we tackle the fear that coaching feels like hard work.

After years of research into human behaviours (in particular people's natural patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour), Don Clifton became curious about the impact it would have if people focussed their development on their Strengths - i.e. what is naturally 'right' and great about them, rather than fixating on what is wrong with them. And the findings were incredible - people who focus on weaknesses can prevent failure, which is great, and has it's place. However, people who focus on their Strengths and apply them (and refine them) day in day out, are able to predict 'near-perfect performance'. Those two measures of 'success' are really very different - preventing failure stops the ship sinking, but it doesn't put us in control of an expensive high performance yacht. However, focusing on Strengths means we can ALL achieve what we set our sights on, albeit taking a different path there based on our Strengths.

In years gone by, as a Development Consultant, I would have sat down with people and looked at two sets of data - their job description and their performance data. I would have measured the gaps, spotted the weaknesses and set about creating a plan to 'fix' the problems. Without realising why, I would often find that even where I observed initial success, this quickly faded, and old ways crept back in. Or worse than that I would spot people becoming discontented and cynical about their role, their abilities (and mine!) and just what we were trying to achieve.

I can honestly say that now I practise as a Gallup-certified Strengths coach, development conversations are easier, more productive and genuinely make a difference. So why is this? With coaching clients I often use the analogy that being in your Strengths zone is like writing with your naturally preferred hand. It is instinctive, comfortable, (for some!) neat, quick....yet if you try and write with your other hand? It is uncomfortable, the results aren't great, and no matter how much we try, our results are never as good. Now that I draw out people's Top 5 Strengths and liken them to the fingers on their dominant hand, people understand the things that make up their best chance of genuine success.

Linked to this, Strengths coaching by its very nature, is completely personalised based on the client's profile. This means I am no longer prescribing any 'one size fits all' development interventions. This is not to say that courses have no place, they do, but they are a starter, not a full solution. The key is following up on that input with a personalised approach that allows the client to make the content real for them, to view it and apply it through their own lens.

During Strengths coaching we are looking for the 5 clues to talent identified by Gallup:

• Yearning - which activities are you naturally drawn to?
• Rapid Learning - which activities do you pick up quickly?
• Flow - in which activities do you seem to instinctively know what comes next?
• Glimpses of excellence - in which activities do you have moments of subconscious excellence and think 'how did I even do that?!'
• Satisfaction - which activities give you a kick (during or afterwards) and leave you wanting to do more of the same?

We encourage clients to seek out more of the activities that take them to these places, that give them fulfilment and which are natural indicators that they can succeed by doing more of this very type of activity. Clients go away feeling empowered and inspired to be more of who they naturally are. This is not hard at all once they have built the self-awareness and belief. What WOULD be hard would be to go away trying to be someone else. For me as a coach, my sign that someone is not thriving is that they are unable to play out their Top 5 - they cannot be authentically them and they feel like they are failing because they are not doing those things that are within their Strengths zone. People who are able to live out their Top 5 every day are proven to be more likely to report an excellent quality of life (x3), be more engaged in their roles (x6) and more productive (x8). This, to me, just shows the power of focusing on what is naturally great about each individual.

These are just a few reasons why Strengths coaching is not hard work. The hardest part is probably getting started/making the time - but we can make even that easy through our Coach Bank (see Day 4 of this series for more details). Investing in your natural talents leads to true Strength and an ability to predict NEAR-PERFECT PERFORMANCE. Strengths coaching makes easy work of your goals and aspirations.

Discover how to be more you and how to succeed naturally. Engage with a Strengths coach - we promise it will not be hard work at all.