The Strengths-Based Career

I save every performance review I’ve ever gotten. I have them in a sub-folder in my Google Drive under a master folder titled “Professional Development”. I often review them to make sure I am working on mitigating my weaknesses.

However, recent events have caused me to question if the way I use the feedback in these reviews is helping me develop professionally at all. I have always been hyper-focused on my areas of improvement. That’s what you're supposed to do, right? Understand what you’re not doing well and do it better.

But what if you’re not. Think about artists - we don’t tell pastry chefs that they need to be better at making pasta. We don’t tell drummers that they need to be better singers. So why, in business careers, do people who excel in building relationships feel the need to also become analysts? Undoubtedly, being great at three things is better than being better at two things. But tradeoffs come into the picture. As humans, we have limited time and energy to dedicate to being great. That energy needs to be channeled effectively so that we can become great at a few things; otherwise we risk being mediocre at many things.

A great tool for understanding where your strengths lie is Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment. Rachel Rodgers (author of We Should All Be Millionaires) did a great interview discussing how leveraging the CliftonStrengths assessment helped her take her business to the next level. In this interview, Rachel discusses how working with a coach helped her see that trying to improve her weaknesses was a low-value use of her time: 

“A few years ago, I met a CliftonStrengths Coach and shared my top five strengths with her. She told me that I have no execution strengths and that I should stop doing anything in my business that doesn't have me on a stage in front of people. At first I was offended. After reflecting on it for a minute, though, I realized that I had always struggled with sitting my butt in a chair to do focused, solitary work. But getting on the phone with clients or on a stage in front of a group of people I could help? I lived for that and would jump at the opportunity. That's when I realized that I could hire other people to do that execution work. From that moment forward, I began hiring a team that could do all the things that I was not good at. This was a massive breakthrough moment—and it was the first year that I earned $1 million.”

What if we all thought like this? Instead of trying to get better at the things we are weak at, we found ways to avoid doing them and getting even better at the things we excel at?

I am learning this in real-time. I lead with Influencing CliftonStrengths themes, which, according to Gallup, means the following: Every team needs to communicate, both inside and outside the group. No matter your goals, effective communication is essential to achieving them. High-performing teams rely on people with strong Influencing themes because they take charge, speak up and make sure others are heard. When your team needs to sell its ideas and persuade others, look to people with the following Influencing themes. They can help your team reach a much broader audience and convince others to aid in accomplishing your goals.

I relate to this so much. I am exceptional at working cross-functionally to push complex, seemingly impossible projects to the finish line because I have a knack for knowing when to communicate what to who, getting a large group moving in the same direction and problem solving a path forward when varying opinions threaten to derail. It’s my thing. It’s when I feel alive, and when I am in my zone. 

I am currently in a role where around 40% of my time is spent using this super power. The other 60% of my time requires me to use other skills. While I appreciate the skill diversification I am getting in this role, I know that to really accelerate my career, I’ll have to find a role where 75% - 90% of my time is spent doing the things I am best at. That is the role where I will perform most strongly, stand out and get raises / promotions. This is how you craft a strengths-based career.

Beyond us as individuals moving toward crafting a strengths-based career, I believe companies and managers need to do the same. Instead of spending precious performance review time discussing someone’s weaknesses, managers should spend more time discussing how their direct reports can deploy their strengths better and more often. If that is not possible, managers should lead a discussion about how their direct report can plot a move to a role or team that makes better use of their strengths. 

Have you been feeling disengaged at work? You probably have the most to gain from understanding if your job is making the highest and best use of your super powers. Start by taking the CliftonStrengths assessment, but also don’t ignore your gut. Many of us know what our super-powers are, we just have to internalize that they are enough.

Interested in help with understanding which roles are the best use of your skills or interpreting your CliftonStrengths report? Click here to book an introductory career coaching call.