Do You Know Your Strengths?
Most of us have a poor sense of our talents and strengths, yet are acutely aware of our
weaknesses and flaws.
Throughout the education system and subsequent careers, there’s often been much more
attention paid to how to improve and fix our shortcomings rather than enhance our strengths.
“Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at
you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong
answer.”– Peter Drucker, Management Expert
Parents, teachers, and managers are well versed in spotting deficits. In fact, most people –
partners and spouses included – consider it their duty to point out our weaknesses in the hopes
of helping us improve.
As a result, most of us have become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives either
trying to fix these flaws or accept them as permanent character defects.
Consequently, our strengths lie dormant and neglected. The research, however, is clear: we
grow and develop by focusing on our strengths, rather than trying to correct faults.
Over the last decade, coaching and leadership professionals have been placing greater
emphasis on developing personal strengths. The goal is to help individuals work with what they
have and build on their natural talents.
Large corporations like Wells Fargo, Intel, Best Buy, Toyota, and Yahoo now require that
employees take surveys measuring talents and strengths. Their CEOs recognize that company
success depends on leveraging what already works instead of trying to fix what’s broken.
Cultural Differences
A Gallup poll investigated this phenomenon by asking Americans, French, British, Canadian,
Japanese, and Chinese people of all ages and backgrounds this question:
“Which do you think will help you improve the most: knowing your strengths or knowing
your weaknesses?”
The majority of people don’t think that the secret to improvement lies in a deep understanding of
their strengths.
- The most strengths-focused culture is the United States, but still only a minority of
people–41 percent–felt that knowing their strengths would help them improve the most. - The least strengths-focused cultures are Japan and China. Only 24 percent believe that
the key to success lies in their strengths.
Interestingly, in every culture older people (55 and above) were the least fixated on their
weaknesses. Perhaps they’ve acquired more self-acceptance and realize the futility of trying to
be what they are not.
Do you have a clear understanding of your personal strengths? If you’d like to explore and develop your strengths, the herd and I are here to help you with that process! As always, I would love to hear from you. I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
