Strengths Analysis: A Key Question You Are Missing

Strengths Analysis: A Key Question You Are Missing

When analyzing your strengths, what’s one question you probably don’t ask yourself?

It’s common to assess our strengths and weaknesses through tools like a SWOT analysis. I often do my own for myself and my business at the end of the year.

However, amidst this process, there’s one crucial question often overlooked: How do we leverage our strengths to succeed?

Or if you’re doing an end-of-year review, ask “How did I use these strengths last year to succeed?”

And then you can think of new ways to keep using those strengths to succeed in the following year.

However, I am not a big proponent of only working on strengths or using only a strength-based approach. I prefer more of a balance. I think that we have to recognize our strengths, use them wisely, and then also recognize what our weaknesses are and shore some of those up.

But that being said, many people take their strengths for granted,  and besides knowing that they’re there, they don’t think about them in more depth.

However, when you are doing a strengths analysis, taking the time to assess what are the tangible ways that your strengths have helped you succeed in the previous year, you might see some new ways that those strengths can help you succeed in the coming years. Or ways you can continue using them in the same way you did last year to keep succeeding.

Jo Ilfeld, PhD

An executive leadership coach, Jo helps C-suite leaders, executives, and high-potential managers develop the flexibility, skill, and frame of mind to meet the challenges of the next five, ten, twenty years…. and beyond. She works with individuals, teams and organizations on four core areas of leadership development. Check out Jo's bio page for more information.

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