1. Know Your Talents
Before you can begin to develop strengths, you must identify your talents. Taking the Clifton StrengthsFinder and affirming the talents in your dominant themes, you are taking steps to do exactly that. As you continue to reflect on and discuss your talents, you will refine your understanding.
Ask yourself:
Which talent within each of my dominant themes resonates with me? How can you use each of your dominant themes in your daily life? Which of my dominant themes do I really love? Why?
2. Value Your Talents and Assume Responsibility for Using Them.
You must invest time, energy, and resources in this endeavor. If you don’t value your talents, you won’t make the investment that developing them requires.
Ask yourself:
What do my dominant themes reveal about how I build relationships? What do my dominant themes reveal about how I manage the things I do or are responsible for?
What do my dominant themes reveal about what motivates or energizes me?
3. Reliving Your Successes Helps You Develop Strengths
Every time you perform with excellence, you have engaged your greatest talents. Consider these successes for a moment.
Ask yourself?
How have my dominant themes contributed to my past successes? How do my dominant themes add value to my team every day?
How do my dominant themes help me succeed in the tasks I assigned to accomplish and how do they foster partnerships that are important to my success?
4. Practice Your Talents
As you use your talents over and over, you will refine these talents. You will gain experience, knowledge and skills that will combine with your talents to create a strength.
Pick one of your dominant themes and ask yourself:
How can I use this theme today?
Source: Starting Strengths-Based Coaching Conversations
Republished with permission from the "Developing Your Strengths" June 2013 newsletter, written and published by LLUHC Health Information Management. For more information on "Developing Your Strengths," contact saabates@llu.edu.