15.11.17
So, we know our strengths – now what?
Around 150 years ago, Sir Francis Galton (among others) developed the field of psychometrics, exploring the characteristics that we possess, and how these might make us more or less successful in our environments. We’ve been enthralled by trying to ‘measure’ ourselves and others ever since – most recently through a wave of online tools designed to quantity our personalities, attitudes, and beliefs in the workplace.
Unfortunately, these psychometric tests don’t really engage us as human beings. They’re most often undertaken alone at a computer and result in complex reports that we scan once or twice before relating to a drawer (if we’ve even been interested enough to print them off). Very few of us do anything with the awareness and learning they can provide.
Discovering our strengths – the things we enjoy and excel at – builds on the understanding we might have gained through these kind of tools, but the same criticism can be levelled: just knowing our strengths doesn’t really change very much. The real power lies in being able to apply this knowledge in a practical and relevant ways for our roles and organisations.
To help organisations do this most effectively, we’ve developed a series of six 45-minute workshops, supporting all people to apply their understanding of their strengths to improve individual and team performance:
Workshop 1: Building on our strengths
Identifying ways we can use our strengths more often and more skilfully
Read Joshua’s article, sharing his experience of building on his strengths to craft a working life he loves
Workshop 2: Being our best
Exploring overplayed strengths and weaknesses, and how we can work around these
Read Grace’s story, illustrating the difference between weaknesses and overplayed strengths, and how both impact performance
Workshop 3: Making our goals meaningful
Creating inspiring goals that reflect our strengths and values
Check out this article, exploring how we can set really motivational goals
Workshop 4: Growing our careers
Evolving our thinking and conversations around our learning, growth and career progression
See this article, offering an alternative to climbing the traditional career ladder
Workshop 5: Collaborating effectively
Understanding how to work together better to leverage everyone’s strengths
Read this piece on working successfully as a collaborative team
Workshop 6: Inspiring our clients
Learning how to use our strengths to be more creative and productive for our internal and external clients
Held via an online learning platform, team members can dial in from wherever they are, making the sessions scalable and accessible across multiple sites. Simple and practical, they are designed to be both enjoyable and highly relevant to day-to-day life – helping the learning to stick.
For more information drop us an email or give us a call on 01273 830830.
What if we’ve not done any work on strengths?
While it’s useful for participants to have some understanding of their own strengths in advance of the sessions (e.g. to have attended a ‘Strengths Discovery and Strengths Spotting’ workshop), it’s not essential. Workshop 1 is designed to develop a basic knowledge of personal strengths as a starting point, drawing in any previous self-awareness work (e.g. results from psychometrics or feedback from annual reviews).