7 Ways to Develop within Your Strength Zone

Seven Ways to Develop Within Your Strength Zone

by Chad Hall, MCC

Surveys conducted by Gallup reveal that most of today’s employees are not very engaged in their work and many are even actively disengaged. In my own conversations with managers, leaders, and executives, one of the main reasons for this debilitating lack of engagement is that people do not play to their strengths more often at work.

Rather than bringing and giving their best, many workers leave their best at home because they find themselves in roles that do not leverage what they do best and do not align with who they truly are.

When we use skills (developed ability) that are not supported by strength (natural capacity), everything is fine at first. But when challenge comes, we experience stress, fear, and a sense of not being the right person for the job. Even in not-­‐so-­‐challenging circumstances, the same thing happens when we use these unsupported skills for lengthy periods of time – we develop a gnawing fear of “being found out” because we know that what we are doing (skills) is not truly supported by who we are (strength).

At iNTERNAL iMPACT, we’ve recognized that employees have more opportunity than they realize to change the way they work in order to use their strengths more often, resulting in a more humanized workplace, better performance, and greater fulfillment.

So how can you develop within your strength zone? Here are seven ways:

1. Know your own strengths For many professionals, there is great confusion between what you can learn to do, versus what you’re naturally supported in doing. Since humans are adaptable and creative, we can develop skills that are not supported by innate strengths. This ability to develop unsupported skills clouds and confuses because it’s easy to mistake a developed ability for strength.

To recognize your strengths, look beyond what you can do and notice the natural talents, traits, preferences and capacities that have supported your performance since you were young throughout your life. Also, look back across your life and notice what skills did you most enjoy developing; often these skills are the ones supported by your innate strengths.

2. Look for opportunities that require upward growth Don’t confuse developing within your strength zone as simply remaining where you are. Growth requires adding new skills, so be smart about adding new skills upward instead of outward. Look for new opportunities to add value to your team, to your organization, to your customers, and test which new skills will make the most of your natural strengths. Focus on developing the skills that you would find most fulfilling to use day in and day out.

Example: Becky is an HR manager who is naturally gifted with numbers and takes an analytical approach to problem solving. Rather than adding lots of new “soft skills” to increase the value she brings to the company, she developed skills related to capturing relevant information from team leaders to help them spot problems and possibilities among their workers.

3. Notice your energy when acquiring new skills A great litmus test for whether a new skill is within your strength zone comes during the period when the skill is being developed. If adding the skill seems incredibly inefficient – like climbing a very steep hill – the skill is likely not supported by your natural strengths. However, if developing the skill is

efficient and perhaps even enjoyable, there is a high likelihood the skill is aligned with who you are and will leverage your foundation of strengths.

4. Keep a challenge log Work is full of challenges. Some challenges bring out the best in you, while others cause you a great deal of stress and suffering. Take time to notice and track which challenges you meet with confidence and competence versus those that leave you drained, down, and demotivated. By tracking your responses and reactions to challenges, you can spot patterns to help you better align your work with your strengths.

Example: Rick noticed that some deadlines felt deadly while others generated a positive and productive energy from him. Over time he began to recognize that deadlines related to getting input and buy in from lots of people created a great deal of stress for him. Meanwhile, deadlines that required him to work solo or with a small group of trusted colleagues brought out the best in him. He realized that working across multiple teams required skills he could use, but which were not supported by his true nature. He carried out such assignments with difficulty, inefficiency and stress. On the other hand, working with a handful of people, even in challenging circumstances, brought out the best from him. His strengths supported him in using skills related to collaboration and managing for results, but not skills related to organizational agility.

5. Hand off the easiest, not the hardest As you reorient yourself and your work to align with your strengths, you will want to reduce the responsibilities that require you to use unsupported skills.

A good place to start is to consider which unsupported skills will be easiest to shift. Ask yourself, Who else can accomplish this? How central to my role is this responsibility? Is there an obvious way to remove or reduce this responsibility?

Migrating toward your strength zone will take time, and small steps are often the best first steps. As you limit time spent in your stress zone and increase time invested in your strength zone, you will build the case for making more significant changes. You will prove to yourself and to others that your greatest value comes from using and developing skills within your strength zone.

6. Talk with other decision makers The reality of today’s workplace is that no employee has total discretion over how to organize her time, align her skills, or go about her job. You have a lot of influence over how you work (more than you might realize), but there are alsoothers who need to support your shift from stress to strength. Talk with

your colleagues and peers to help them better understand what you do best and where you most want to grow.

Example: Gustavo had a reputation for supporting others on his sales team by researching industry trends. His ability to do this well led others to believe this was a “strength” of his. The truth was that he had developed this set of skills far outside of his strength zone, but because he used the skills so frequently (and with stress-­‐inducing competence!) his reputation misled his colleagues and resulted in more and more expectation that he would continue to research and share. Gustavo shared with his team members and team leader that such work was extremely taxing and demotivating for him.

He also shared that his real strengths supported work related to problem-­‐ solving common obstacles to making sales. The team began to rely less on his research and more on his mentoring and coaching, which allowed Gustavo to migrate away from stress and toward strength while providing even greater value to his team.

7. Consider radical change Most workplace situations call for a slow move out of your stress zone and into your strength zone, however some cases call for a radical shift. When your strengths and your job are impossible to align, you may need to consider finding a new role, moving to a new department within your organization, going to work somewhere else, or making a complete career shift.

In cases when a major shift is needed, be sure the new position is not simply different, but better. Ask yourself and those who are hiring questions such as: What are the major responsibilities and deliverables for this position? What skills are most needed to effectively carry out the major responsibilities? If I were to be promoted, what skills, responsibilities and outcomes would diminish and which ones would increase? Check the responses to these questions to ensure that the skills most needed for success are skills supported by your own strengths.

We encourage clients to look for at least a 75% alignment between skills needed and their own strengths. Reality is that few people have jobs with near perfect alignment of strengths and skills, so expect to use some skills that stretch beyond your strength zone. Few jobs allow for a 100% alignment of skills and strengths, but when the percentage falls to approach one-­‐third of the job being outside one’s strength zone, trouble is ahead. Personal fulfillment and professional value require a clear majority of your time and energy is invested using and developing skills within your strength zone.

Want to learn more?

Contact us today to learn about coaching, workshops, and resources to support you in developing within your strength zone and helping your team do the same. info@internal-­‐impact.com www.internal-­‐impact.com