Play to Your Strengths

Are you making a difference?
Are the people around you benefiting form your services? If you weren't around, what would be missing? How well do you actually contribute to outcomes and results?
Your contribution is the 'end game' or ultimate goal of playing to your strengths. This is what it's all about. What you actually contribute is the sum of your talents, attributes, and trust factors in action. When you're delivering your best, what are your customers receiving? How are they benefiting? This is the real contribution you are making. And sometimes it's different than you think!

Your best contribution is determined by how well you leverage your talents, manage your attributes, and build trust with others.

1. Leverage Talents
You begin by discovering and leveraging your talents. Talents are what you do well. They are the innate skills and natural abilities you already possess. You might be an exceptional planner, idea person, or highly competent business adviser. Leveraging your talents helps you succeed. Ideally, you want your best talents to be at the center of what you're offering to others.
2. Manage Attributes
Attributes describe your style, or the way or manner in which you relate to others. Some people are 'steady and reliable'; others are 'inspiring and creative.' Our attributes are what people see when we walk in the room. Talents are what you do but attributes are your particular way of being.
Our attributes impact what we offer. If you're a steady, reliable planner, you'll make a very different contribution than an inspiring, creative planner. It's important to recognize the synergy of your talents and attributes.
The value you bring is shaped as much by your attributes as by your talents. Our personal attributes are often both a strength and a weakness. Our greatest attributes must be also managed. An overly 'reliable' planner may not be flexible and responsive to change. A "creative" change agent may not know when it's time to stop and develop a reliable system.
3. Build Trust
Trust has a major influence on your ability to contribute. The more others trust you, the more they are willing to rely on your knowledge, expertise, and guidance. Building trust with bosses, employees, and co-workers enables you to contribute more. If you lose trust, you also lose others confidence and willingness to accept your contribution.
Former President Clinton is a sad example. In the role of President, he brought visional talents and influential, charismatic attributes. But when he lost trust, he was no longer able to contribute as fully as he once did.
4. Deliver Value
Ultimately, what you contribute is determined by what your customers, peers and employees actually receive. Your real contribution is what others perceive you have given to them and how they feel about your services. You may think you're contributing great value - but if the people you're serving aren't of the same opinion, you're probably not achieving the outcome you want.
How well you leverage your talents, manage your attributes, and build trust with others determines the contribution you make.
Managing these four elements will increase your job satisfaction, help you identify meaning development goals, and align your strengths with business needs.
Helping employees assess and work with the four Play to Your Strengths® elements radically improves performance and opens up communication about ways to help each other contribute your personal best.
The benefits are faster, easier results, better use of resources, and higher levels of customer satisfaction!

Topics

• Managing Talents and Career