Strengths, weaknesses, and courage.

I work around the Strengthsfinder skills a lot in my job. I work for a trained coach, and with another. I am a believer in the power of knowing your strengths, and most of my top 10 resonate with me.

Recently I sat in on a team session that a very talented coworker lead on Strengths, prior to my afternoon strategic session. I noticed a couple of new things, and wanted to share here.

Clifton defines weaknesses as anything that gets in the way of your success. That doesn't necessarily mean the last 5 attributes in your rank of 34 (though I think that's the case for me!). They could be blind spots associated with your top 10, or a factor that just isn't easy for you. During this session, and into my afternoon one, we talked about courage at work. What it looks like, how it manifests differently for different people, etc. We also talked about the courage it takes to ask someone else to use a strength they have, which might not be strong for you. I admit to sometimes having trouble with this. I lean heavily into my strengths and assume they can pull me through any scenario, which just isn't true.

I don't focus on weaknesses because I don't think that helps me, rather I move around them and find a strength I think will work in place of that. But, I believe there is a power to having a colleague apply the strength you are lacking, if you just have the courage to ask. That also implies you can allow them the space they need to flex that skill in your project, but I am hoping if you ask for the help you will allow someone to offer it. This process also helps build inclusion and for me, it helps make sure we get different voices in the room, which is a big part of how I work.

Look for opportunities in your work to allow a coworker to lend their strengths, and see how you might make a perfect team. As always, I am interested in what everyone thinks about this, let me know if you have comments or questions.