Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and it’s important to identify them so that you can best utilise your strengths and avoid situations that rely on your weaknesses.
Once you have identified them it is about maximising your strengths in the workplace to take you to the top. There are a few ways that you can hon in your strengths and achieve success.
- Identify when to use them
Not all of your strengths will be applicable in all situations. However, chances are at least one of them will be. Understand what strengths of yours are valuable in what situations so that you can step up when necessary and reach success.
The best way to find situations where you can use your strengths is to actively seek opportunities that focus on them. For example, if you’re really good at talking to people and building relationships then networking events might be the best tasks for you. Put your hand up to represent the team and show them what you are made of.
The more opportunities that you find to use your strengths the stronger they will become and the better success you will achieve.
- Don’t overdo it
Whilst you want to seek out opportunities that allow you to utilise your strengths, you don’t want to become known as a one trick pony. Understand that you will have more than one strength and you need to constantly find opportunities to use them all.
Whilst it is great to be the go-to person for a particular thing, you want to be that person for multiple things. This means that you add greater value to your team and you get greater opportunity to be seen.
- Look to improve
Just because they are classified as a strength doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for improvement. You may be really good at something but that doesn’t mean you are the best and even if you are the best you can still get better.
Find ways that challenge your strengths in a way that they haven’t been challenged before. This may mean enrolling in a course that helps to develop certain areas or taking on challenging tasks within the office that suit your strengths but are unknown to you.
- Understand your weaknesses
Your weaknesses are nothing to be ashamed of but it does mean that you should avoid helping out in areas that you aren’t well skilled in. Acknowledge that you have a weakness in a certain area and divert your time elsewhere for the benefit of your team.