Are you leading from your strengths?   If not, perhaps that is one of the reasons you are not experiencing the success you want in your business.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am a fan of strengthening strengths and delegating everything else.   But how do you know what your strengths are?

One way to identify your individual strengths is to answer the question:  Does an activity make me feel strong or does it make weak?  If you feel strong when you are doing something, it is probably a strength that you can develop.  If an activity makes you feel weak, then you will waste valuable time working on that activity.  Personally, when I have to deal with technology, I feel weak.  When I am leading strategic planning, I feel strong.  So guess, what, strategy is a strength for me.  And, I am best if I delegate technology management to someone else.

The most objective way I have found to identify your strengths is using the Clifton StrengthsFinder Profile administered by the Gallop Organization.

The Clifton StrengthsFinder measures the presence of talent in 34 categories called “themes.” These themes were determined by Gallup as those that most consistently predict outstanding performance. The greater the presence of a theme or talent within a person, the more likely that person is to spontaneously exhibit those talents in day-to-day behaviors.  Focusing on naturally powerful talents helps people use them as the foundation of strengths and enjoy personal, academic, and career success through consistent, near-perfect performance.”

A free Strengthsfinder assessment code is included in the book:  StrengthsFinder 2.0 which you can pickup at your favorite book.   The assessment takes about 15 minutes online.

When I took the assessment, my top five strengths were identified as:  Strategic, Relator, Ideation, Arranger and Maximizer.

Here are short summaries from the report for my top five strengths:

• Strategic: People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed.  Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.  This is the Strategic theme at work:  “What if?” Select. Strike.
• Relator: People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others.  They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
• Ideation: People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated with ideas.  They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
• Arranger: People who are especially talented int he Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability.  The like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.
• Maximizer: People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence.  they seek to transform something strong into something superb.

Before you go, leave a comment about your strengths.  If you are fuzzy about your strengths, do yourself a favor:  grab a copy of  StrengthsFinder 2.0 and take the assessment.  It will make building your confidence and your business so much easier.

Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by this blog and I hope you will be back soon.

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.