Finding strengths you don’t know you have
Quick now, name your greatest strengths.
Got ‘em? Are you sure? Really sure?
Most people think they know the standout strengths they bring to the workplace. But the fact is, most people never get a full and accurate accounting — and many people go through life never knowing the best of what they bring to the table.
Why? Because people are too close to themselves to be objective, because they can be too self-effacing, because their strengths may have morphed into habits that they now take for granted, and so on. The reasons are many and varied.
So try something different. Ask three or so co-workers what they see as your strengths.
You don’t need some special meeting for this. Keep it informal and just ask. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and thoroughly informed by their answers.
Will they think your inquiry is strange? Sure they will, at first. But within five minutes they’ll be asking you to tell them their strengths.
