As an avid Manchester United supporter and a sports enthusiast, I can vividly remember what my Gallup trainer told us when I was going through the CliftonStrengths Coaching certification course back in 2016.
“When you think of Cristiano Ronaldo, what is he good at?” The answer was simple- “ Football”
“Michael Jordan?”
“Basketball”, we answered
The next question he asked was thought provoking- “What are YOU good at?”
These 5 simple words left most of the class dumb founded. While we vaguely know what we are good at, we did not a way to define or describe our talents. I was tongue tied back then, and I would not be surprised if you are too.
A case for Clifton Strengths
This is exactly what CliftonStrengths can do for us. By defining and understanding how our talents show up in our daily lives, we can then start to find ways to harness the true potential of our gifts. This was also the main principle that inspired 90% of fortune 500 companies to try using CliftonStrengths as an engagement tool for their employees, in the hope of making them more productive and fulfilled at work.
Yet, for most of the individuals that I have coached, they tend to focus on their weaknesses rather than what they are good at. This is a result of how we were brought up since young. A classic example – how many of us were sent to enrichment classes for our best subjects? And how many were sent to classes that are targeted at improving our worst subjects?
Although our results will still improve when we work hard on our areas of weaknesses, it would require a huge amount of effort which could be draining and unproductive. After all, can you imagine Cristiano Ronaldo playing basketball, or Michael Jordan playing football? In Dan Pink’s book, Drive, he shared that gaining Mastery over something is a strong source of motivation for anyone. And it is definitely easier to gain Mastery in things we are good in. Hence, the case for Clifton Strengths is to understand your talents, work hard at developing them, and use them often to get your desired outcomes.
An example of how talents affect our career and lives
To understand how CliftonStrengths work, let me share a recent experience I had with my friend, let’s call him John, of 26 years. When I first heard him share that he had lost his sense of purpose in his career, I didn’t think that it was serious. John had always been happy about his work (regional sales manager in a global steel distributor) and his team and I thought that it was just a temporary phase he was going through. It was until I realised how much of his workplace frustrations were spilling over to his family and putting a strain on his marriage and his relationships with his kids, that I decided to reach out and offer him a 1 to 1 coaching session with me.
After spending 20 mins of quiet time going through the CliftonStrengths assessment, here’s how John’s test results look like. Upon learning about his Strengths, John was much clearer about what he was good in, and was able to draw the link on how they had supported him at the peak of his career. He was really excited, because he is currently at a low point of his career, and this connection gave him a confidence booster.
We then spent the next FOUR hours discussing about his talents and how it played out in his career and life. For this article, I will just talk about 2 of his talents – Empathy & Deliberative.
To give some context and drawing the links to Strengths: John is in this regional sales role for 9 years. He was always touted to be an asset by his boss, who really appreciated his meticulous nature when making decisions, and also for his comprehensive planning capabilities. This is an example of his Deliberative at it’s best. Because of this, John was often given the trust and opportunity to make the major decisions, and he took pride in it. At the same time, John is much liked by his colleagues and superiors because his Empathy talent makes him an approachable person, and he is usually the go to person for a listening ear, whenever they faced problems at work. That really helped him build deep meaningful relationships that is crucial for a conducive working environment.
However, a recent shift in the leadership team, changed everything. His new boss felt otherwise about his decision making capabilities, because it was considered “too slow”, and hence took away his opportunities to make those decisions. John now understands that someone with Deliberative requires time and space at his own pace to make good decisions, but it may be seen as “taking too long” in the eyes of another. His boss obviously values speed of decision over thoroughness, which made John very unhappy and disgruntled. He felt that the new boss did not trust him, and had also discredited his efforts to be detailed. At the same time, the change in leadership also shifted the company culture. The “people-first” culture that was previously built, dissolved over time with teammates leaving and colleagues disconnecting. Given his Empathy talent, it was painful for John to watch the environment disintegrate. Work conversations are now more task-focused and there seemed to be less care for individuals from top management to the ground. That did not sit well with John and it furthered his resentment.
The coaching session was sobering for him, because he realised now that even though his Strengths were a huge contributor to his previous success, he would have to adopt a different approach, given the new dynamics at work. He is glad though, that he managed to uncover the source of his frustrations at work that had bothered him much in the past few months.
Having gotten to the root cause of his emotions at work, it was easy for him to design a game plan to overcome these challenges. We discussed a few possibilities, from improving communications with his superiors, to looking for a new job in a company where the culture and leadership team that will value his talents.
At the end of the coaching session, his parting words were, “Jian Ming, I feel a sense of relief and a fresh bout of energy now! I have a clear direction in my career again!”
Conclusion
As a CliftonStrengths coach, I have seen many working professionals feel de-energized without clarity of what they are good at, and how their Strengths can contribute to their success. When an individual is anchored in their Strengths and is clear about the true value of what they can bring to the table, they will find confidence in their abilities and look for ways to contribute to the team with their talents. They would not need to suppress their emotions and thoughts, grudgingly trying to improve on their “weaknesses” in order to improve the situation at work. Perhaps, with a paradigm shift, people can start to fulfill their true potential, focusing on what they are naturally good.
Ho Jian Ming is an Advisory Manager representing finexis advisory Pte Ltd.
This article contains only his personal views and opinions and is for informational purposes only. The information provided is of a general nature only and does not take into account your specific objectives, needs and financial situation. The information may not be appropriate to your individual needs and should not be relied upon as financial advice. You should seek advice from your financial consultant before making any financial decisions.
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