What are your strengths & assets?
It’s easy to take what we have for granted, including what we’re really good at.
By focusing on our strengths and taking a strengths-based approach we increase our performance, productivity, and wellbeing. It helps create an environment that fosters a growth mindset, creative confidence, and innovation.
Taking this approach doesn’t mean we ignore or don’t develop our weaknesses. But it also means we don’t judge or define ourselves by what we’re not good at. Deficit thinking doesn’t help us or others. It’s damaging. There are more things in the world that we’re not good at than there are things we’re deeply experienced and skilled at – but most of them don’t matter.
This is part of the power of diverse and inclusive teams with complementary strengths.
By focusing on the positive and playing to our strengths, we increase our chances of success. This applies equally at the personal, team, and organisational levels.
The Hedgehog Concept
The Hedgehog Concept from Jim Collin’s classic book Good to Great is a simple example of this.
“Transformations from good to great come about by a series of good decisions made consistently with a Hedgehog Concept, supremely well executed, accumulating one upon another, over a long period of time”.
This happens at “the intersection of three circles: 1) what you are deeply passionate about, 2) what you can be the best in the world at, and 3) what best drives your economic or resource engine”.
Your Strengths & Assets
There’s a simple power in having your strengths and assets listed so you can refer to them easily. Using a strengths-based approach, it’s powerful to recognise our own strengths – our skills, knowledge, connections, resources, and potential – and build on them.
Take Action: What Are Your Strengths & Assets?
This isn’t a time for modesty. Be generous with yourself.
Create a list of what you’re working with. Think beyond a work or professional context. Include your skills, experience, achievements, and relationships.
What are you really good at?
What do you love doing?
What have you done or achieved that you’re most proud of?
What do you really care about?
What do you get paid for doing?
What resources do you have, including money and money you can get access to?
Team Perspective
If you’re working as part of a formal team, I recommend repeating this exercise from a team perspective. What are the strengths and assets you have as a team?
If you think you’re doing this alone… we’ll talk about that in a moment.
Organisational Perspective
If you’re working within an established organisation, I also recommend repeating this exercise with an organisational perspective. What are the strengths and assets you have as an organisation?
This action aligns closely with your purpose and personal why… and your organisation’s purpose and vision. Clarity of purpose makes decisions easier. It gives us a clear filter to assess and prioritise options. What’s your purpose… your driving why?
Your Team
Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of founders – especially in the early stages, when it’s common to be working solo. It can feel like a lonely journey with no one to turn to. It’s really important for us to be proactive in identifying and building a team and support network.
Let’s get started. This simple exercise helps us recognise that we’re not alone.
Take Action: Who’s In Your Team Right Now?
Using a broad definition of “team”, create a list of who’s in your team right now, including your personal support network. This might include your formal team, volunteers, supporters, an advisory board, a coach, virtual mentors (books, video & podcast content, etc), and other stakeholders.
Include communities and networks that you’re a part of. It can also include the close friends and family you go to for support.
When you have your list of people – make a note next to each person saying why they’re part of your team, why you value them, and when you reach out to them for support. Also note the value you bring them and why they value you.
Solve Problems That Matter
This is an excerpt from my book Solve Problems That Matter, where I go into a lot more detail on all of the things I’ve covered in this post… and plenty more.
It’s a playbook with actions and worksheets to help you take a human-centred design and living systems approach to design, build, and launch your idea. Ideas that customers love, make money, and do great things for people and our planet… all while increasing wellbeing.
Let’s Collaborate
We specialise in coaching, training, and working alongside leaders.
A key way we do this is by designing and delivering action learning experiences with masterclasses, workshops, innovation sprints, and leadership, design thinking & innovation programs.
These sessions build personal, team, and organisational capability to solve problems that matter with more:
- 🌿 Confidence to navigate complexity and solve problems that matter for your teams, customers, shareholders – and build momentum with more certainty and less risk while increasing your wellbeing
- ❤️ Clarity to empathically engage your stakeholders, make better decisions, and collaborate to create solutions that your teams and customers love, make money, and do great things for people and our planet
- 🎯 Purpose that drives progress on your goals and creates meaningful value that you’re proud of for all stakeholders – and build the relationships, workflows, rhythms, and habits for success
Ready to have fun collaborating to solve problems that matter?
