“Strength” sounds good doesn’t it? Think about the qualities associated with strength. Strength gets the job done and does it right. You can count on strength. Obviously, strength is a good thing, regardless of whether it is one of your strengths or you are benefiting from others’ strengths. But what exactly is a strength?
Well, in slightly more technical terms, a strength is the ability to consistently produce a nearly perfect positive outcome in a specific task. Strengths are counted on, and they are appreciated.
Consider these people who consistently deliver a nearly perfect performance on a specific task.
- A waiter who is consistently one step ahead of your needs
- A call center representative who quickly “wins over” every upset customer
- A nurse who routinely administers injections so smoothly that patients “don’t feel a thing”
These are examples of people performing with strength. How did these strengths develop?
First, strength requires talent. Our talents help us understand who we are. Talents are a person’s innate abilities – what we do without even thinking about it. They are what a person does well – naturally. You might even say our talents are hard-wired.
Second, strength develops from investment. If we want to use our talents productively, we must invest in them. We do this by thinking about how we can add our current knowledge and skills to our talents. Additionally, we want to think about what new knowledge and skills we need to be even more effective.
We also invest in our talents through patience. As we become aware of our talents, we can practice using them every day. The investment of skills, knowledge, and practice propels us to strength – the ability to consistently produce a specific positive outcome.
Talent (natural way of thinking, feeling, or behaving)
X
Investment (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge)
____________________________________________________________________________
= Strength (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance)
Source: Gallup Introduction to Strengths-based Development
Republished with permission from the "Developing Your Strengths" May 2013 newsletter, written and published by LLUHC Health Information Management. For more information on "Developing Your Strengths," contact saabates@llu.edu.