By Sandi O’Connell
Do you know what your gifts are? What are your strengths? What are you good at that you love doing? Do you get to use your gifts and strengths at work every day? If you do, you are blessed, and your company is also fortunate.
We all have some super power given to us so that we can use it to live out our purpose. Some of us are very in tune to what our super power is. Some don’t even realize they have it…yet.
I have had the eye-opening experience of becoming aware of not only my gifts and strengths, but those whom I work with every day. How? We decided as a company to take this StrengthsFinder assessment from Gallup and explained by Don Clifton’s 34 Themes. *See the Book StrengthsFinder 2.0.
It started out as a fun little exercise and had a tremendous outcome. Not only did each of us who took the assessment discover our strengths, but it sparked the conversation amongst us that is ongoing to this day of what each of our strengths allows us to do at work and the act of tapping into those strengths. We have been able to assign certain responsibilities to those team members we know have the super power to excel at those tasks and have found so much success and fulfillment as a result.
Your super power could be creativity or empathy, or you may be an “Achiever” or an “Includer” or even an “Arranger.” You will feel a higher energy when you use this super power. I guarantee it.
The other side of the exercise was some of us discovered our lesser talents or weaknesses. By being aware of these lesser talents, we can avoid major roadblocks by coming up with strategies on how to deal with them.
For example, if you are faced with having to work on something that exposes one of your weaknesses, try partnering with someone who has more talent in the areas which you are lacking. OR if you for example are not detail-oriented but know you must attend to the details at work, you may need to establish systems to manage your lesser talent and keep you on track by creating reminders that are visual and help you remember some of the details.
I challenge you to find out your super powers even if you already think you know what they are. Pick up a copy of StrengthsFinder 2.0 From Gallup and Tom Rath. It is just a small little book with an intro, a code to get online and take the assessment and then a reference of the 34 themes and strategies for applying your strengths. It could be life changing!
About the Author:
Sandi O’Connell is the Vice President of Operations/Owner of Financial Aid Services and is passionate about nurturing the culture of FAS, creating genuine connections with others, and building camaraderie. When Sandi is not building people up, she’s exploring the gift of nature on foot or bike in mountains near and far. As a recent “empty-nester” Sandi and her husband have taken up Van Adventures – traveling to experience new destinations with a good book, and good meal by the fire.