Play to Your Strengths

Of course, you know what you’re good at, you know you’re strengths - they’re easily identifiable because it’s what we excel in. They are things that come naturally, and maybe it’s something you enjoy. Your strengths are what allowed you to start and run your business.

Recognizing Your Strengths

For me, one of my strengths is organization and planning. If I have a goal or project to complete, you better believe I am writing a detailed to-do list, giving tasks hierarchal importance, and checking items off on time. I’m planful, to a fault – I like knowing what I’m doing, how I’m doing it, and when I’m doing it. It makes working make sense to me, and planning allows my mind to run like a well-oiled machine. My planful nature is how I accomplish tasks and allow myself maximum productivity.

Whether the project is in my professional or personal life, I like being able to organize, break down, and plan each aspect of a task. If I’m coordinating a conference for 200 people, or a birthday party for my friend, I know that I can manage to pull off a successful event because it’s in my nature.

It’s up to you to identify which traits and skills make up you. You could be detail-oriented, creative, expert with customer service, friendly, communicative, whiz with computers, and so on. Use your strengths to your advantage and allow them to work in your professional and personal life.

Room for Growth

We hear the term “Weakness” on the spectrum of skill sets. Job interviewers even ask what your weaknesses are. If you're solid in skill set it becomes a strength, and if you’re not so good, on the complete opposite end, it’s a weakness – which almost feels like it’s Kryptonite. If you’re analytical and systematic, you may lack a creative side (always exceptions of course). Creativity wouldn’t be a weakness for you; instead, it’s Room for Growth. You can constantly improve yourself by observing, learning, mentorship, repetition, etc. Simply by switching the words, a term that had a negative connotation becomes inspiration and potential for more. You no longer have “Weaknesses” instead, you have “Room for Growth.”

Finding Those Who Excel

Ninety percent of my business is done from computers. I’m using internet services, a server for my files & documents, and several cloud services. Tech talk – tech talk. I know the bare minimum when it comes to IT – if there’s a problem, the best troubleshooting I can do is shut it down and try to reboot it. If the problem persists, it’s out of my hands. I admit computer functions and IT are not one of my strengths, and as business owners and professionals, just as we can recognize or strengths, we must know when we have room for growth. We want to do everything and anything, but it’s better to delegate and hire someone who excels at the job or task to have it done correctly. Delegating is a simple concept, but often hard for us to do – We are conditioned to run everything by ourselves with limited help. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone who can help you – that’s one of their strengths.