Why Should I Identify My Strengths?
Once you know your key strengths, you’re empowered to find more and more ways to employ them. You can begin to look for opportunities to express them in all the arenas of your life, becoming more and more authentic and heart-centered in all you do. The value-centered life is the good life—as identified across the centuries and across the world’s cultures.Your strengths are ultimately the keys to your success. "When we do things we're already good at, our business acumen is quicker
1. Watch for signs of excitement. When you engage in an activity you are truly good at, your excitement is visible. Your pupils dilate, your chest is broader, your speech is fast and fluid, and your arms spread wider. "You can see someone feels alive and motivated when they're using a core strength.
Ask a close mentor when you appear most animated or observe yourself for a day. When do you feel most engaged? Most energized? "When people are using their strengths, they pop out of the backdrop
2. Break away from job titles. To uncover your gifts, you need to explore new roles. "Think of your company as a laboratory, . Encourage flexible roles and see how it goes. "If people are excited about trying something else and you have some evidence that they could be good, then experiment with it," he says.
For example, one executive wanted a more creative, innovative workplace but wasn't the man to do it himself. Kashdan helped him identify a maverick on his staff -- someone creative and unconcerned with others' opinions -- then put that person in charge of innovation. By assigning roles based on strengths, rather than job titles, they were able to create a stronger team.
3. Notice what you do differently than everyone else. In a situation where you are truly using your strengths, you will stand out from a crowd. Your approach will be unique. To name your strengths, you want to identify those moments and articulate how you are different.
4. Describe your strengths creatively. When naming your strengths, avoid what Kashdan calls "wastebasket terms," meaning overused words like 'passionate' or 'dedicated.' Instead, come up with a unique term that captures your specific strength.
"By coming up with an exciting word, you avoid all the typical connotations," Kashdan says. He uses terms like storyteller, autonomy supporter, investigator, energy incubator, and battery. That specificity helps leaders apply their gifts. "Once you can put a word to your strengths, it becomes much more embedded in your everyday life," he says.
Once you know your strength.... here are some exercises more tips to increase your creativity.
1. Make a list of things that bother you
As you go about your day, Staw suggests creating a "bug list," or a list of annoyances. You might list slow internet or noisy air conditioner units. "Usually, if something has bothered you, that means there's a hole in the service," Staw says.
By thinking of possible solutions, you may stumble on a product opportunity. For example, one frustrated inventor created a stemware tether to stop wine glasses from chipping in the dishwasher.
2. See if you can Re-imagine a familiar situation in different way.
To think more creatively, consider alternatives to obvious choices. If you assume that a restaurant will buy and prepare the ingredients for your meal, then make a list of other options. Perhaps the customers bring their own ingredients for the chef to prepare, or the restaurant provides ingredients that customers cook at their tables. "Think of opposites or radical differences,"
3. Practice breaking the rules. "To learn how to act creatively, you have to violate norms," Staw says. Practice breaking the rules with harmless violations that might be embarrassing or uncomfortable, like asking to read a poem over the loudspeaker at the grocery store, or offering to help the usher hand out programs at a play
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