00:00:00: Introduction
00:01:03: Do not be outlined by strengths you do not get pleasure from
00:01:52: Thought for motion 1: practise sharing your strengths tales
00:04:15: Thought for motion 2: stretch your strengths
00:05:31: Go-to guru
00:05:44: Related podcast episode
00:05:49: Last ideas
Sarah Ellis: Hello, I am Sarah.
Helen Tupper: And I am Helen.
Sarah Ellis: And also you’re listening to the Squiggly Careers podcast. This episode is a part of our Expertise Dash sequence. We have recorded 20 episodes, every lower than seven minutes lengthy, that we hope are going that can assist you to construct some profession growth momentum. In each episode, we discuss a Squiggly Ability, what it’s and why it issues, share an thought for motion every, and offer you a go-to guru and a podcast episode so you’ll be able to be taught extra. And we wish you to show your abilities dash right into a studying streak.
And so for everybody who completes a 20-day studying streak, we’ll offer you a free 5 Expertise to Achieve a Squiggly Profession digital workshop in September. If you happen to put up about your progress on social and tag us @amazingif, and we’ll be in contact to let you know extra.
Helen Tupper: And on this abilities dash, we will be speaking about strengths, which is considered one of our Squiggly Expertise that we function in our ebook, The Squiggly Profession. So, that is one which we discuss so much about and we have plenty of completely different concepts for you, so we have needed to work actually exhausting to solely give attention to two. However let’s simply give attention to what they’re and why we’d like them for a second, if it isn’t already apparent.
So, strengths are the issues that give us power, and I feel it is actually essential that we do not say strengths are the issues that we’re good at, as a result of there could also be some issues that you just do that you just truly are fairly good at that you do not actually get pleasure from doing. And so, you do not need to be outlined by these issues. Being outlined by belongings you’re good at that you do not actually get pleasure from doing isn’t an ideal recipe for achievement in your Squiggly Profession. Beginning with, “What’s the work that offers me power that I actually need to be recognized for?” that is what we’re speaking about once we’re occupied with strengths and Squiggly Careers.
And when these are the issues that stand out, once they’re the issues that we get recognized for, it implies that we get to do extra of the work that we get pleasure from, as a result of folks will principally spot alternatives for us to make use of our strengths, that is a little bit of a win. And it additionally means we improve our impression, as a result of the extra we do it, the higher we change into at it. So, actually occupied with your strengths is a little bit of a win for you and likewise for the workforce that you just’re working in too.
Sarah Ellis: So, my thought for motion right here is, practise sharing your strengths tales. So, usually I really feel it’s kind of pretend and possibly not that useful, except you’re in an interview, to type of go, “Nicely, my three strengths are… and that is how I take advantage of them, and that is how I’ll enhance these strengths”. When can we ever have these conversations? And even in a profession dialog, say, with our supervisor or our mentor, it is most unlikely that that is how we’re structuring these type of conversations.
And likewise, I feel we are likely to really feel extra snug with tales. You do not even want to make use of the phrase “tales”, it is simply examples of the work that you have executed that basically convey to life you at your finest, you utilizing your strengths, what are the examples of belongings you’ve executed that you just really feel most happy with by way of your strengths actually exhibiting up and standing out and making a distinction. The opposite good thing about tales is they are much extra memorable.
So, if I simply let you know my strengths like, “Oh, I am an ideal creator, I am good at beginning stuff from scratch”, okay, positive. But when I then offer you an instance, if I then discuss, “Okay, so when it was lockdown one and we had been in fairly a difficult second in our enterprise, we created this new Ask the Skilled sequence for our podcast, which meant that individuals who truly had received a little bit of time on their palms all of a sudden mentioned sure to us, that beforehand would have mentioned no. And truly, I am all the time actually happy with the truth that we created one thing, not solely from nothing, but additionally from a very exhausting state of affairs”, and that feels way more memorable, and I may discuss that a bit bit extra and offer you a number of extra particulars. I all the time love Bobette Buster’s work on Do Storytelling, good, it is a very brief ebook on storytelling.
And he or she talks about issues just like the significance of gleaming particulars and the way once we inform tales, it type of connects the mirror neurons in our mind. I talked about lockdown one there, you had been in all probability fast-tracked again to lockdown every body the challenges that that introduced for everyone. And if it is helpful to have a little bit of a construction for these tales, SOAR will be useful simply to assume them by, you do not have to inform them on this manner. However SOAR stands for Scenario, Alternative or Impediment, Motion and Outcome. And it simply lets you body generally the tales that you just share. So, it would simply be price you occupied with that, like up to now this yr or within the final six months, what are the 2 or three tales that you’d share with somebody to indicate your self at your finest? And infrequently once we describe them in tales, we type of really feel much less uncomfortable about speaking about these issues that we’re actually good at.
Helen Tupper: And my thought for motion is about stretching your strengths. So, that is the place you’re taking that factor that offers you power that you just need to be recognized for, and we’re making an attempt to make use of it principally with extra folks in additional locations. And the precept behind that is, the extra you utilize it, the higher you get. So I consider it as like frequency builds competency.
And the extra individuals who see it, the extra alternatives you get to make use of it, since you get into them recognizing alternatives for you. So, while you’re stretching your strengths, a few issues right here for you to consider how far am I actually stretching them. To start with, regularity, in order that’s how usually are you utilizing it? That factor you need to be recognized for, simply take into consideration the time that you just spend working in every week, what number of hours are spent utilizing that power. The second is vary, so what number of completely different conditions are you utilizing that power in? If it is simply in the identical assembly each week, for instance, then it is going for use in the identical manner; however should you’re utilizing it on a unique vary of tasks, you will be utilizing it in several methods, it’s going to be getting larger, it’s going to be getting higher.
The third one is attain, so you actually need to be occupied with, who am I reaching with that power? The additional your power goes, the extra folks will probably be seen by. And while you’ve received your regularity, your vary and your attain actually sorted, then you are going to be stretching that power and enhancing it and actually constructing your model and your status round it too. Our go-to guru on this, who is definitely the one that actually taught me to consider strengths as power, relatively than what you are good at, is Marcus Buckingham. He is written a number of books on strengths, so we would positively suggest him and his work.
Sarah Ellis: And episode 122 of our podcast was on How one can Make Your Strengths Stand Out. In order that’s it.
Helen Tupper: Oh!
Sarah Ellis: That is quantity 20 of our Squiggly Profession Expertise Dash.
Helen Tupper: I should not have mentioned that, I ought to have gone, “Woo-hoo!”
Sarah Ellis: We hope you discovered it helpful, we would like to know. Please simply electronic mail us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com. It is a new format for us. Does seven minutes be just right for you? Do you’re feeling such as you’ve had concepts for motion that felt related and relatable you can go away and do one thing with? Is that this one thing you have labored by with another person, like a piece finest good friend or as a workforce? So, give us some suggestions so we are able to work out whether or not to do extra of those, or whether or not this was a great experiment however maybe we have to make some modifications for subsequent time.
Helen Tupper: And if you wish to repeat the dash otherwise you need to share it with different folks, all of the sources that we have created, so badges and we have Prepared Regular Dash doc, all of that may keep on our web site. So, should you go to amazingif.com and also you go to our free profession toolkit, you will discover every thing to do with the dash there and likewise plenty of different toolkits to help your Squiggly Profession. However thanks a lot for sprinting with us, we actually admire all of your Squiggly Careers help.
Sarah Ellis: Bye everybody!
