Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best EVERY day?   Very few of us are so fortunate.  Some of us don’t even know what we do best.   Do you?

So often we have talents that go unused.  Untapped by us and our employers.  These are natural strengths we should be building upon. We spend a lot of our time trying to fix our shortcomings and hiding our weaknesses instead of developing and improving our strengths.

People who have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged in their jobs and have a good quality of life.

If you do not get to focus on what you do best, it can cost you, the company you work for, your family and your community.  You will find a current of negativity in your life.

Several years ago, I read a book titled, Now, Discover Your Strengths.  It was very eye opening and revealing. The book basically focuses on how society has traditionally trained us to spend all our time trying to improve our weaknesses and imperfections and rarely focuses on what we do well.  Most learning programs help us to become who we are NOT.   If you don’t have a talent with numbers, you’re still forced to spend time in that area to attain a degree.   From infancy to adulthood, most people devote more time to their shortcomings than to their strengths.

In reality regardless of how much a person practices and studies if they struggle with n umbers, they probably won’t make a great accountant or statistician.   Someone with little empathy will not be good at comforting agitated customers.  We each have our own areas of strength.

Instead of trying to improve something we are naturally NOT good at, the book suggests we spend that time developing and honing our natural talents or strengths.

While I agreed with everything the book was saying and the theory of it all, it was hard to do since real life takes over and job pressures force you back into that mold of trying to improve yourself.   Most employers don’t overlook the weaknesses and simply focus on what you do well.    In time I totally forgot about the strengths.  Occasionally I would read an article and be reminded or I would do something that others thought was very difficult and I found it easy and I would attribute it to one of my strengths.

Recently, our administrative team at work was assigned to read the new Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  It is updated and now measures your strengths against 34 possible themes.   Some of the themes are Achiever, Adaptability, Command, Competition, Deliberative, Empathy, Harmony, Input, Maximizer, Restorative, Significance, and Woo.  These are just a few.   You take an online assessment and it measures your natural strengths against each theme.  The test code is included in the book.

The assessment takes about 30 minutes and is multiple choice.   You don’t have to study for it, you just give your natural answers.   An example would be, “Which do you prefer to do, go to a ball game or read a book?”

Once you know your top five strengths, then you can use the personalized development guide to align your job, goals, and life with your natural talents.

At work we are using this as a team to map out the entire team’s strengths and who is best at doing what.   Why have someone who is weak in strategy handling the strategic aspects.  Let the people who are strong in communication handle that aspect, let the people who are strong in Woo be on the front lines to impress people. The list goes on.   We feel this will make our team stronger if everyone is working in an area of strength and cultivating that talent.

Reading the Strengthsfinder 2.0 has been a huge reminder of what my natural abilities are.  They have changed slightly over the years.   I am using them in my personal life to be a better wife, mother and business owner.  I realize that forcing myself to do the tasks I am weak at and hate doesn’t benefit anyone.

So what happens if you do not use your strengths at work?   There is a good possibility you

• Dread going to work
• Have more negative interactions with colleagues
• Treat customers poorly
• Complain to friends about the company you work for
• Achieve less on a daily basis
• Have fewer positive and creative moment.

Do any of the above statements apply to you?   Are you working from an area of weakness or strength?

So why aren’t we all working with our strengths.  Most people are unaware of, or unable to describe their own strengths.

“Most people think they know what they are good at.  They are usually wrong…..And yet, a person can perform only from strength.” ~Peter Drucker

I thought I knew where my strengths were, but found out that I had natural talents in areas I was overlooking.   Now I am making sure I include time to work in a strength area every day.   A small amount of time doing what I am naturally good at helps to build confidence and deal with the times when I have to do things that are not part of my talents.

I feel happier about work and at work.

Our passions and natural talents last for a lifetime.  But all too often, our talents go untapped.  It is up to us to figure out what those strengths are and how we can build upon them.   A great place to start is by reading the Strengthsfinder 2.0 and taking the assessment.

Are you using your natural talents every day?  Please let us know how you use them in the comments below.