2015: A Year of Strengths for the Entrepreneur

In a world where we are constantly being pushed to be perfect, we often get caught up in overcoming weaknesses. While this isn’t necessarily bad, per se, it may not be the most effective. What if we decided to focus not on what our weaknesses are but to put our time and energy into developing our strengths?

In the context of this article, strengths will be referred to as the combination of one’s personal and individual skills, knowledge and talents. Donal O. Clifton, the father of strengths based leadership, defines these three elements of strengths as follows:

Skills

“The how-to’s of a role”

• Can be transferred from one person to another
• Arithmetic
• Excel
• Throw a football

Knowledge

“What you are aware of”

• Factual – Things you know
  • Rules of double-entry bookkeeping
  • Language
  • History
• Experiential – Understandings you’ve picked up along the way
  • Trends in markets
  • How you’re perceived
  • Values

Talents

“Recurring patterns of thought feeling and behavior”

• Strategic thinker (Strategic)
• Fascinated by the uniqueness in others (Individualization)
• Driven to meet goals and improve (Achiever)
• Able to understand and relate to others (Empathy)
• See Gallup’s full list of 34 talent themes here

“These three – talents, knowledge, and skills-combine to create your strengths.” – Donald Clifton

Taking the time to understand what your strengths are, and in particular your talents, will dramatically boost your personal “ROI” (return on investment). And not only that, but it will make your work much more enjoyable and effective. Watch for next month’s article on “Discovering Talents” and learning how to employ them.

Until then, Happy New Year and may 2015 be your best yet.