Use Your Strengths at Work

Are you using your strengths at work every day?  The happiest, most successful people know what their strengths are and use them often.  So once you have identified your strengths, you now need to find opportunities to use them.

If you aren’t currently using your strengths much at work don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to quit your job and find another one.  In most cases you can make small changes to shape your work in ways that allow you to do more of what you do best.

One way to make work more fulfilling is by adding tasks that allow you to use your strengths.  Have you ever come across a flight attendant who has added the role of comedian to his or her job?  I was on a small plane last summer with a single flight attendant who must have been nearing retirement and was pretty strict about how she ran her “ship”.  She was also hilarious and referred to herself as “Grambo”.  Hairdressers often expand their haircutting role to include high quality social interactions by asking their clients personal questions and making self-disclosures.  Come on, I’m sure some of you don’t need to pay a therapist thanks to your hairdresser!

My favorite example is one of my yoga instructors who also happens to be a great guitar player.  He has found a way to include his strength as a musician in his job as a yoga instructor.  He brings his guitar to class and at the end, when everyone is relaxing during Savasana, he pulls out his guitar and sings one of the songs he has written.  We enjoy listening to him play and he is more engaged because he gets to do something that brings him great joy while teaching his yoga classes.

Why not take some time to reflect on your strengths and come up with some creative ways to use them more often at work?  It might involve volunteering to take on an extra task, but the positivity boost you will get from having the opportunity to do more of what you do best will be worth it!

I’d love to hear your stories about how you have shaped your work to make it more engaging.  Please share them with us!