00:00:00: Introduction
00:01:03: Do not be outlined by strengths you do not get pleasure from
00:01:52: Thought for motion 1: practise sharing your strengths tales
00:04:15: Thought for motion 2: stretch your strengths
00:05:31: Go-to guru
00:05:44: Related podcast episode
00:05:49: Ultimate ideas
Sarah Ellis: Hello, I am Sarah.
Helen Tupper: And I am Helen.
Sarah Ellis: And also you’re listening to the Squiggly Careers podcast. This episode is a part of our Abilities Dash sequence. We have recorded 20 episodes, every lower than seven minutes lengthy, that we hope are going that will help you to construct some profession growth momentum. In each episode, we discuss a Squiggly Ability, what it’s and why it issues, share an concept for motion every, and provide you with a go-to guru and a podcast episode so you may study extra. And we would like you to show your expertise dash right into a studying streak.
And so for everybody who completes a 20-day studying streak, we’ll offer you a free 5 Abilities to Achieve a Squiggly Profession digital workshop in September. In the event you put up about your progress on social and tag us @amazingif, and we’ll be in contact to inform you extra.
Helen Tupper: And on this expertise dash, we will be speaking about strengths, which is one in all our Squiggly Abilities that we function in our e book, The Squiggly Profession. So, that is one which we discuss rather a lot about and we have got a lot of completely different concepts for you, so we have needed to work actually onerous to solely concentrate on two. However let’s simply concentrate on what they’re and why we’d like them for a second, if it isn’t already apparent.
So, strengths are the issues that give us power, and I feel it is actually necessary that we do not say strengths are the issues that we’re good at, as a result of there could also be some issues that you just do that you just truly are fairly good at that you do not actually get pleasure from doing. And so, you do not wish to be outlined by these issues. Being outlined by belongings you’re good at that you do not actually get pleasure from doing will not be a terrific recipe for achievement in your Squiggly Profession. Beginning with, “What’s the work that offers me power that I actually wish to be identified for?” that is what we’re speaking about once we’re eager about strengths and Squiggly Careers.
And when these are the issues that stand out, after they’re the issues that we get identified for, it implies that we get to do extra of the work that we get pleasure from, as a result of individuals will mainly spot alternatives for us to make use of our strengths, that is a little bit of a win. And it additionally means we enhance our impression, as a result of the extra we do it, the higher we grow to be at it. So, actually eager about your strengths is a little bit of a win for you and in addition for the group that you just’re working in too.
Sarah Ellis: So, my concept for motion right here is, practise sharing your strengths tales. So, usually I really feel it is a bit pretend and doubtless not that useful, except you’re in an interview, to sort of go, “Nicely, my three strengths are… and that is how I take advantage of them, and that is how I’ll enhance these strengths”. When will we ever have these conversations? And even in a profession dialog, say, with our supervisor or our mentor, it is not possible that that is how we’re structuring these sort of conversations.
And likewise, I feel we are inclined to really feel extra comfy with tales. You do not even want to make use of the phrase “tales”, it is simply examples of the work that you have carried out that basically convey to life you at your greatest, you utilizing your strengths, what are the examples of belongings you’ve carried out that you just really feel most pleased with when it comes to your strengths actually exhibiting up and standing out and making a distinction. The opposite advantage of tales is they are much extra memorable.
So, if I simply inform you my strengths like, “Oh, I am a terrific creator, I am good at beginning stuff from scratch”, okay, fantastic. But when I then provide you with an instance, if I then discuss, “Okay, so when it was lockdown one and we had been in fairly a difficult second in our enterprise, we created this new Ask the Professional sequence for our podcast, which meant that individuals who truly had obtained a little bit of time on their arms instantly stated sure to us, that beforehand would have stated no. And truly, I am all the time actually pleased with the truth that we created one thing, not solely from nothing, but additionally from a very onerous state of affairs”, and that feels way more memorable, and I might discuss that somewhat bit extra and provide you with a couple of extra particulars. I all the time love Bobette Buster’s work on Do Storytelling, good, it is a very brief e book on storytelling.
And he or she talks about issues just like the significance of gleaming particulars and the way once we inform tales, it kind of connects the mirror neurons in our mind. I talked about lockdown one there, you had been in all probability fast-tracked again to lockdown every body the challenges that that introduced for everyone. And if it is helpful to have a little bit of a construction for these tales, SOAR could be useful simply to assume them by means of, you do not have to inform them on this manner. However SOAR stands for State of affairs, Alternative or Impediment, Motion and Consequence. And it simply lets you body typically the tales that you just share. So, it would simply be price you eager about that, like thus far this yr or within the final six months, what are the 2 or three tales that you’d share with somebody to indicate your self at your greatest? And infrequently once we describe them in tales, we kind of really feel much less uncomfortable about speaking about these issues that we’re actually good at.
Helen Tupper: And my concept for motion is about stretching your strengths. So, that is the place you’re taking that factor that offers you power that you just wish to be identified for, and we’re attempting to make use of it mainly with extra individuals in additional locations. And the precept behind that is, the extra you utilize it, the higher you get. So I consider it as like frequency builds competency.
And the extra individuals who see it, the extra alternatives you get to make use of it, since you get into them recognizing alternatives for you. So, if you’re stretching your strengths, a few issues right here for you to consider how far am I actually stretching them. To begin with, regularity, in order that’s how usually are you utilizing it? That factor you wish to be identified for, simply take into consideration the time that you just spend working in every week, what number of hours are spent utilizing that energy. The second is vary, so what number of completely different conditions are you utilizing that energy in? If it is simply in the identical assembly each week, for instance, then it is going for use in the identical manner; however for those who’re utilizing it on a distinct vary of tasks, you may be utilizing it in several methods, it will be getting greater, it will be getting higher.
The third one is attain, so you actually wish to be eager about, who am I reaching with that energy? The additional your energy goes, the extra individuals it will likely be seen by. And if you’ve obtained your regularity, your vary and your attain actually sorted, then you are going to be stretching that energy and enhancing it and actually constructing your model and your status round it too. Our go-to guru on this, who is definitely the one that actually taught me to consider strengths as power, moderately than what you are good at, is Marcus Buckingham. He is written a number of books on strengths, so we would undoubtedly suggest taking a look at him and his work.
Sarah Ellis: And episode 122 of our podcast was on Methods to Make Your Strengths Stand Out. In order that’s it.
Helen Tupper: Oh!
Sarah Ellis: That is quantity 20 of our Squiggly Profession Abilities Dash.
Helen Tupper: I should not have stated that, I ought to have gone, “Woo-hoo!”
Sarah Ellis: We hope you discovered it helpful, we would like to know. Please simply e mail us at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com. This can be a new format for us. Does seven minutes give you the results you want? Do you’re feeling such as you’ve had concepts for motion that felt related and relatable which you could go away and do one thing with? Is that this one thing you’ve got labored by means of with another person, like a piece greatest good friend or as a group? So, give us some suggestions so we are able to work out whether or not to do extra of those, or whether or not this was experiment however maybe we have to make some adjustments for subsequent time.
Helen Tupper: And if you wish to repeat the dash otherwise you wish to share it with different individuals, all of the sources that we have created, so badges and we have got Prepared Regular Dash doc, all of that can keep on our web site. So, for those who go to amazingif.com and also you go to our free profession toolkit, you may discover every thing to do with the dash there and in addition a lot of different toolkits to help your Squiggly Profession. However thanks a lot for sprinting with us, we actually recognize all of your Squiggly Careers help.
Sarah Ellis: Bye everybody!
