It’s a pretty straightforward question: to improve your performance at work should you fix your weaknesses or build on your strengths? But where would you place your bets?
Yet a growing body of research suggestsfocusing on our strengths can boost our engagement in tasks by up to six times, making it easier to achieve our goals, lower our levels of stress and improve our feelings of well-being.It seems eighty-seven percent of us believe we should take dead aim at our weaknesses and work diligently to improve them.
So which should you be doing?
I believe you should do both – which might sound surprising come from someone who’s trained thousands of people around the world to use their strengths.
Let me be clear. I believe you should be as capable at identifying and fixing your weaknesses, as you are at identifying and building on your strengths.
I also believe you should be able to make an informed choice so in different situations, for different outcomes, you know which approach will serve you best.
Why do you need both?
Researchers have found your greatest successes and greatest growth comes from regularly using your strengths in your work. This is because your brain is hardwired to perform at it’s best by drawing on the thoughts, feelings and behaviours you’ve practiced over and over and over again, because they’re things you like doing and you’re good at.
No matter what situation I’m faced with, I always start by seeing if there’s a strength I can build on. The reality is using my strengths makes things easier, more engaging and more enjoyable, meaning it takes less effort and time to see the results I want.
For example, one of my strengths is curiosity. I love learning new things. When I need to master something I haven’t done before my strength of curiosity is a great way to get me to dive into figuring things out.
But what if you don’t have a strength that would help?
Scientists now know our brains continue learning right throughout our lives, so it’s absolutely possible to take a weakness and turn it into a strength. But, it’s important to be realistic about the amount of effort this requires.
Current estimates are that it takes between 8,000 and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to take a weakness and master it. Put that into context and we’re talking about a couple of hours a day, every day a year for about 8 – 10 years.
Are you being realistic about your weaknesses?
If I don't have a strength to draw upon and fixing the area of weakness is important enough that I’m willing to invest the 8 – 10 years of effort, then I set realistic expectations and start showing up.
For example, when I discovered the field of positive psychology, my strengths were purely in the domain of marketing. Not a huge amount of help. I knew my strength of curiosity could help me stick at what I needed to learn, but I was also realistic about the time and effort it would take to close my knowledge gap. And then I put in the hours of practice.
Had I walked away simply because I didn’t have a psychology strength to build on, I would have missed out on the most rewarding work I’ve ever done.
So what’s the right question to be asking?
When it comes to improving my performance I’ve learnt to always ask: in this particular situation, for this particular outcome, am I better to build on my strengths or fix my weaknesses?
Now where would you place your next bet?
Michelle is a Premium member of Business Chicks, request her online business card and connect with her here.
Michelle McQuaid is a best-selling author, workplace well-being teacher and playful change activator. She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research from positive psychology and neuroscience, into practical strategies for health, happiness, and business success.
She holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and her work has been featured in Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post and more.
Michelle lives to help women discover their strengths, move beyond their fears, and finally discover what it truly takes to flourish with confidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment