5 Steps To Knowing And Expressing Your Greatest Strengths
Written by: Dianne McKim, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Several years ago, working in a major corporation, I found myself in a position where my management truly did not understand my job responsibilities or my abilities. The sad reality at that time was that I didn't fully understand them either. My self-esteem was incredibly low, my confidence was lacking, and I definitely did not know my strengths, and even if I had, I did not know how to express them. Reflecting back to that time, I remember my manager at that time telling me, "Let's face it, anyone could do your job."
Wow, that comment is so revealing! After some time, I applied for and got a job in a different division of that organization. A few months later, I saw that same manager in the hall, and we stopped to chat. His comment to me at that time was, "We really miss you." He now had three people doing the job I had done before!
With all that, I still didn't understand my strengths and abilities. I know I worked hard, and my productivity and efficiency were high, but that wasn't enough for me to successfully express my strengths.
Maybe you can relate, or you feel like you are not smart enough or good enough. Perhaps you struggle with moving ahead in the company you work for because you don't know your strengths or cannot express yourself clearly for upper management to hear you.
Fast forward to today, and I tell a very different story. I know my strengths, I know my abilities, and I know how to express them. I am confident in who I am.
So what changed for me, and how can you experience this same kind of shift in your professional and personal life?
Several impactful events in my life helped me understand my strengths and successfully talk about them with anyone. The first was my faith. At that time, I had none; however, as I was going through a difficult divorce, and found myself looking for and seeking something. I didn't know that I would discover what I was looking for at church, but I did. My faith grew over time, and so did my understanding of who I was.
The next thing that helped me was being a part of a community of like-minded people and friendships that developed. These helped me to know that I had value, and the building of my self-esteem grew.
Changing companies also helped. I left that company I mentioned earlier and took a job in another organization. Over time, I became a "go-to" person for many in upper management, including the CEO. I had many opportunities there to shine and even led teams and projects.
Let me pause here to say, I still did not have a full grasp of my strengths yet, but my confidence was continually growing, and I had a much greater awareness of my abilities.
Another change in companies gave me even more confidence and strengthened my abilities.
As time continued, a turn of events beyond my control put me in the job market. It was during this time that I discovered and stepped into coaching. One of the certifications that I achieved is a Strengths Champion Certified Coach®. Through this training, I took the Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment and learned what my strengths are. Combining this understanding with all that I had already learned about my skills, talents, and abilities, I was able to see the impact they had on me, helped me in my career, and even became part of my whole life.
When I look back to that first company, if I had this ability to talk about my strengths, perhaps I would have been able to tell that manager what I brought to that job and why he needed to promote me, give me a raise, anything but devalue me.
Your take-aways from this article that will help you move toward knowing your strengths and abilities are:
Do some soul searching. Take a look at where you are drawing your beliefs from and see if they are building you up, filling your heart with joy, and helping you grow in confidence.
Find a community of like-minded people and join in. Make friends and find a couple of them that are trustworthy and deepen those connections.
Be brave and change jobs or companies if you find you are not recognized and acknowledged for what you bring to the table.
Get coached and fully dig in to understand your strengths and your abilities.
Move forward, maximize your strengths and let them shine.
The truth is EVERY person has strengths, abilities, talents, and skills that are valuable and that this world needs.
My top 5 strengths: Individualization, Relator, Communication, Connectedness, Responsibility
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Dianne McKim, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dianne McKim is a leader in personal, professional, and spiritual coaching. She has the depth of experience, training, and certifications to provide her clients the transformation they need to excel. Whether your team needs to maximize productivity and cohesiveness, your underperforming employee needs help to improve, you need help in life to overcome obstacles, or you desire to move forward from whatever is holding you back, Dianne is the coach who can make it happen. Her clients say it best... "If you are looking for someone who will help you grow as an individual, work better with a team, or simply get “unstuck” and discover your purpose for being, Dianne will certainly challenge you and work with the unique individual/organization you are."
