08 Oct Ask Yourself These 4 Questions to Discover Your Greatest Strengths
via Heleo by Alissa Carpenter
“We all have strengths. Even if you don’t realize it, you are subconsciously acting in certain ways because of them.”
The best employees bring something to the table that no one else can. But sometimes these talents and strengths are overlooked, underutilized, or even mistaken for weaknesses. When we don’t know each other’s strengths, we’re not maximizing the effectiveness of the conversations we can have, and we’re not making efficient use of our talent resources. Taking the time to uncover each of our strengths helps us understand why people communicate in certain ways and what information they need to make decisions. Doing so also provides us with insight into how we can adjust our own communication styles to be more effective, and it helps us get to the bottom of why we seem to butt heads with certain people, while having better synergy with others.
While at work, have you ever encountered these scenarios?
- Have you been a part of a brainstorm session where a few people seem to have all the ideas while others silently listen?
- Have you had a supervisor who constantly looks for more data and facts before making a decision on beginning a new project, while you have been ready to start the project since before you even talked to your supervisor?
- Have you had a colleague who stops meetings and goes around the room to see if anyone else has anything to say, which adds another 20 minutes to your already long meeting?
- Have you had a peer who’s always 10 steps ahead of everyone else while thinking through a project, while you’re just trying to focus on what needs to be done by the end of the day?
These are just a few examples of diverse strengths being applied in the workplace. We all think and act differently, and although certain actions may be frustrating to you, they are not necessarily bad. This is how others utilize their strengths to benefit their work, and they should not be thought of as right or wrong. In fact, the way you conduct yourself in meetings at work may be just as frustrating to others. If you don’t know where someone is coming from, or why they complete tasks the way they do, it can be infuriating.
“The people who are silent in your brainstorm session might be deliberating about what to say and how to say it.”
For instance, the people who are silent in your brainstorm session might be deliberating about what to say and how to say it. They might not talk a lot, but when they do, it is logical, well thought out, and can be something no one else has thought of before.
And that supervisor who always wants data to support their decisions? It might appear to you as if they’re holding you back from moving forward, but they’re likely working through potential pitfalls and managing risk for the success of the project. They’re concerned about doing things right (and thoroughly) the first time.
The annoying colleague who spends extra time going around the room to get feedback is making sure everyone’s opinion is heard. Doing so might make the meeting go longer (eye rolls inserted here), but what they really want is to ensure that the group is not missing any details and that all attendees feel valued and are given the chance to share their insight.
And your peer who is already 10 steps ahead? What they’re really doing is thinking about the future and what the project will look like as a whole. It’s important to them to be inspired by thinking about what could be and how what you’re working on right now will positively impact the big picture…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE
#happiness #happy #happier #psychology #positivepsychology #strengths