Session Three (part two)

Three Myths & Truths About Strengths & Weaknesses
From Marcus Buckingham
Note: This is a continuation post from an earlier entry.

Myth: As you grow, your personality changes
Truth: As you grow, you become more and more of who you are
If you were to take a personality test every decade of your life, you will most likely get the same result every time.

Myth: You have the potential to grow most in your area of weakness.
Truth: You have the potential to grow most in your area of strength.
You need to ask yourself what situation(s) you can put your strengths in to make them stronger. How can you sharpen your skills? Is it possible that by growing stronger in your strengths you can grow your weaknesses?

Myth: A great team member puts their strengths aside for the better of the team.
Truth: A great team member volunteers his/her strengths to the team most of the time.

Three Skills To Work In Your Strengths Most of the Time:
1. Know Your Strengths
2. Change Something (Each Week) To Help You Grow In Your Strengths
Put Together a Strong Week Plan - where you reduce focus on a weakness and increase focus on a strength.
3. Learn to talk about your strengths without sounding like you're bragging and talk about your weaknesses without sounding like your whining.
This is the only way you can talk to your boss/spouse/secretary/etc. about delegating your weaknesses and working in your strengths.

4 Signs Something Is A Strength (Or, Ways To Identify A Strength)
1. You are successful AND effective at it.
2. If you instinctively look forward to it
3. Doing the thing makes time go faster
4. If it seems as if you were made to do it...you feel energized about it.

Note: Must meet all four qualifications to be a strength. You might really enjoy something but not be effective at doing it.

Basically a strength is any activity that makes you feel strong!