Everybody has strengths - activities in which they deliver ‘As’, rather than ‘Bs’ or ‘Cs’. So let’s explore what you do best and, if you wish, get feedback from people you respect. You can then focus on how to create the opportunity to use your talents. Sometimes this will be in your personal life, sometimes in your professional life. Let’s consider how to take these steps.

1) You can clarify your strengths.

Begin by tackling the exercise called My strengths. Start by describing the activities where you deliver ‘As’, ‘Bs’ and ‘Cs’. Be as specific as possible when highlighting your top talents. You may start by saying, for example, “I am good at leading teams.” Try to be more concrete. You may do your best work when leading teams that are driving a pioneering project; making the ‘new rules’ in their field; consist of positive people; enjoy lots of autonomy – providing they deliver; must hit a deadline or whatever. Here are some guidelines regarding when you deliver ‘As’, ‘Bs’ or ‘Cs’.

Your ‘As’. These are the specific activities where:

You feel in your element - you are at ease and yet excel. You are calm, clear and deliver concrete results. You see the destination quickly. You go ‘A, B - then leap to - Z’. You see patterns quickly. You have an almost photographic memory. You make complicated things simple. You have a good track record of finishing. You get feedback from people you respect that you score at least 8/10.

Your ‘Bs’. These are the activities where either:

You have the potential to deliver ‘As’, but aren’t doing so at the moment. You were once able to perform the task to a high standard, but now you get bored. You can perform the task to a reasonable standard, but will never hit the heights.

Your ‘Cs’. These are the activities where either:

You simply have no ‘feeling’ for the activity. You keep making fundamental mistakes. You have no interest or desire to learn.

My Strengths

‘As’. The specific activities where I deliver ‘As’ are:

*

*

*

‘Bs’. The specific activities where I deliver ‘Bs’ are:

*

*

‘Cs’. The specific activities where I deliver ‘Cs’ are:

*

2) You can clarify other people’s views of your strengths.

Choose 2 or 3 people who you respect. Ask if they would be willing to do the exercise called Strengths feedback from other people. If so, invite them to describe three things. First, the specific activities in which they believe you deliver ‘As’ - plus their reasons for listing these things. Second, the activities in which they believe you could potentially deliver A’s - plus their reasons. Third, the steps they believe you can take to build-on your strengths.

This exercise can provide a good reality check - but two points are worth mentioning. a) Choose people you respect - it is not 360 feedback. Why? Peak performers are extremists - they do some things extremely well and are not always appreciated by everybody. That does not mean they should dilute their talent, however, to be more ‘middle of the road’. Picasso, Bob Dylan or Mother Teresa wouldn’t have got positive feedback from everybody they met during their careers. b) Ask people to be honest and, if possible, super-specific when they give feedback. Collect their views, ask questions if you would like more information, then move onto the next step.

Strengths Feedback From Other People

‘As’. The specific activities where I
believe the person delivers ‘As’ are:

*

*

The reasons why I have listed these activities are:

*

*

Potential ‘As’. The activities where I believe
the person could potentially deliver ‘As’ are:

*

*

The reasons why I believe the person
could deliver ‘As’ in these activities are:

*

*

Building on strengths. The specific things I believe
the person can do to build on their strengths are:

*

*

3) You can build-on your strengths.

“We do this exercise with all our employees to build-up a real ‘strengths profile,’” said the MD of one company. “Every good sports coach knows the specific talents of their athletes. They know these in detail – rather than relying on general statements – but few organisations go to such lengths. The strengths profile we create goes far beyond normal psychometric tests. We know each person’s top talents and how to use these when it matters.”

Looking at the information you have gathered, take time out to reflect and do some in-depth work. First, describe how you can build on where you deliver ‘As’. Second, describe how you can manage the consequences of your ‘Bs’ & ‘Cs’. Third, bearing in mind your ‘A’ talents, describe what you believe would be your best contribution to an employer. Try completing the following sentences.

My Strengths Plan

‘As’. The things I can do to build on my ‘As’ are:

*

*

*

‘Bs’ & ‘Cs’. The things I can do to manage
the consequences of my ‘Bs’ & ‘Cs’ are:

*

*

Bearing in mind these answers, I believe
my best contribution to an employer would be:

*

This is just a beginning. After clarifying your strengths, set specific goals and work hard to achieve success. You can then continue to build on your own - and other people’s - ‘A’ talents.

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