Two weeks ago I had an appointment with Human Resources about my growth within the company. I was asked to take a personality test and the Director of HR, Kevin, wanted me to also watch a DVD called "Trombone Player Wanted". He then met with me this week and we discussed my strengths and weaknesses.
My test results indicated that my strengths are being creative, conscientious, adaptable, and I'm a leader. I'm in the middle between an extrovert and introvert.
I found the DVD lent to me quite thought provoking. It broke down defining your strengths and weaknesses and how to hone your abilities in six steps. The main reason why I found it interesting was because normally we are told to spend the most time on developing our weaknesses to create a more well rounded individual.
So, what's stopping you?
The best thing you can do for yourself is to find your strengths and spend time growing in those areas. Where you could grow an inch in your weakness you could grow a mile in your strength.
Do you know what your strengths are?
What are your strengths? Things that you feel a sense of empowerment after accomplishing them. Things that resonate inside of you. Try to get very specific with it. You may be talented at organizing but if you feel drained after doing it. Organizing is then not one of your strengths. You are the only person who can answer this question.
I'm a focused person. I like to know the task at hand and use my creativity to make it my own and accomplish it in a specific time frame. I like to exceed what is asked of me but I can only do this when I know the boundaries and rules I must stay within.
How can you make the most of them?
Here he talks about seeking advice from people that have similar strengths. Watching people and talking to them and learning new skills to further develop your growth. Marcus advised volunteering your strengths in group settings.
How do you cut out your weaknesses?
Stop doing them and see if anybody notices. Talk to your boss and see if there is a way to work around doing what you hate and if doing the task is necessary. You could also find your nitch and just hone in on that skill and have a team that has strengths in the other fields. Some of the best partnerships in business are when two people have opposite strengths and weaknesses.
Why is it so hard to talk about?
All teams fall into three categories, solo performance (where each individual comes up to bat; like a baseball team or a cricket team) the highly choreographed team (where they work together but everybody has a very preset role, and it works because everyone sticks to the role like an orchestra), then the highly improvised team (there are preset roles but everyone improvises to get the work done). Regardless of what team we are on we are going to have a lot of conversations of our strengths or what we can bring to the table. A team functions best when they know the strengths and weaknesses of their team. You can not turn a weakness into a strength. You can improve it but that's not where you are the most valuable.
Why can't this last forever?
When you find that your daily activities are full your weaknesses then you need to talk to your boss and see about how to veer you back on the path to your strengths. Dig into the activities that you love and share that information with your boss and your teamates. You can control the time you feel at work. You have powerful strengths, no one has the same set of stengths as you do, and you will be your best when you can play to your strengths.
One of my favorite movie moments from Akeelah and The Bee...
http://youtu.be/oh6hNsf5J7k
The quotation...
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." by Marianne Williamson.
I also recommend the book that it was taken from A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles.
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