Unlock your leadership potential by understanding your strengths.
When I was first introduced to the idea of knowing my strengths it was like a door opened into another world. So much made sense and it felt a very positive way to bring my best self to work and keep developing.
I’ve gone on to use strengths as a tool to build teams, explore talent mapping and in the individual coaching and team development work I do. Knowing your strengths is one of the foundations of knowing who you are as a leader.
Over the years my exploration of different ways to explore and understand strengths has evolved and it’s time for a long overdue update.
What I have for you here is a list of resources to help you find your strengths. Trust your gut with which one to go with, take a few and see what's similar and what’s different in what they tell you. Most use an online assessment, when doing these be honest, don’t try and ‘pass’ the test. This aimed to help you increase your self-awareness from a different perspective, so be you.
Strengths Finder from Gallup
This is where my strengths awareness started. The little book gives a clear explanation of why working with your strengths gives you a great return on your investment.
This is one of the assessments you have to pay for. You get your top 5 or for further investment, you get your whole range of 34. These are then themed and can look at your leadership style.
This is the tool I used with a team, we explored what we had in common, we looked at what made us unique and how we could all use them more and support each other.
The reports are very thorough and the resources and information available for developing your leadership and team are extensive. One downside is you only get to do the assessment once.
My top 5 strengths
Input | Individualisation | Developer | Learner | Empathy
Strengths Profile
This online assessment talks about realised and unrealised strengths, there is a free introductory profile for individuals and you can add in more details. They have a very readable and clear layout in their succinct reports.
I haven't used this tool with a team, but they have the option to create a team profile which I can imagine would be a great conversation and useful tool to debrief with.
Wingfinder from Redbull
A little different and potentially a little lighthearted with a slight nuances assessment tactic. I enjoyed this aspect of it. What makes you unique is the framing for the reporting. It includes a summary of that strength and also provides a coaching plan for each of the elements. It’s recently had an upgrade and for a free report has a lot of value. Your strengths are themes under 4 components:
Drive - Thinking - Connection - Creativity
There are specific focus areas for you to look at, including career development and interview preparation. The (free) e-learning package to explore why understanding your strengths matters is interactive and engaging.
VIA Character Strengths
This is an in-depth and well-respected tool. It has a free and paid option. Base on character strengths over skill set, so consider the frame you a looking at your strengths from - what do you want to develop or understand by knowing your strengths?
The VIA website has an incredible depth of information and courses that you can access.
What I like about this tool is the positive psychology it uses, when I completed this assessment it certainly added another layer of understanding and depth to what I had uncovered about my strengths. Reassuringly my results match what I do and why I do it.
Your free report lists your 24 character strengths with a summary description. By creating an account you have a dashboard with access to these and the ability to purchase additional reports and more in-depth results.
The Strengths Deck
“Do you know how awesome you are” What a great tagline for a strengths assessment.
If you don’t fancy an online assessment, then this is for you. It’s a card deck. When you get the deck how to use it is clearly explained. This allows a conversational approach to be taken to your strengths and it is the tool I often use in coaching with individuals and teams. It creates a space to differentiate between what you enjoy doing as well as what you are good at. It connects your strengths to your energy and acknowledges that when we overuse our strengths it can have less than positive effects.
The strengths are themed into different groups and this adds another layer of insight and awareness when you have completed the initial assessment.
There are very good online resources and there is a phenomenal self-coaching via the book Unleash Your Awesome.
Knowing yourself, your strengths, your values and your triggers is the key to a strong and stable leadership foundation. That foundation gives you the ability to thrive in whatever comes your way. This is what I work with people on and help them create their awareness and insights, that lead to tweaks, actions and an increase in their confidence and capabilities as a leader.
Maybe you’ve taken one of these assessment and you’d like to delve into what you’ve uncovered and what you do with that new information.
