Latest / SisterSmart Leadership / 6: Stop Trying to Turn Your Career Weaknesses Into Strengths

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6: Stop Trying to Turn Your Career Weaknesses Into Strengths · SisterSmart Leadership

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  Jill Avey: Many of the women who start my program can go on and
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  on about what they're not good at and what they need to improve.
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  The thing is when I ask them what they're good at, sometimes they're
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  at a complete loss because it's just not even on their radar to
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  be thinking about their strengths.
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  If you've been struggling to build your confidence, this might be the reason.
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  As women in the workplace, we are used to hearing a lot of critical
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  feedback and much of it comes from inside our own heads, right?
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  We might be getting some of this critical feedback from others in our organization
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  because as women leaders, we don't tend to fit the traditional leadership
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  models often in different organizations.
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  What I'm here to tell you is that you don't have to fix your weaknesses.
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  There's nothing wrong with having weaknesses.
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  In fact, I think that we ought to celebrate them instead.
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  At least own your weaknesses because nobody can be good at everything and
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  everybody has weaknesses, and so that just tells you where to put your focus.
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  So it's important to focus on what you're good at because you're going
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  to get so much further by operating what I call your zone of brilliance.
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  The stuff that you're really good at, where you shine, this is the
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  best way to build your confidence.
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  I'm Jill Lavy, a career success coach, and this is Sister Smart Leadership, the
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  show that explores how women can rise from director to vice president and beyond
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  by fully leaning into their feminine energy as their biggest advantage.
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  Let's get you one step closer to the recognition and promotion you deserve.
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  Jill Avey: So we're going to talk about strengths today, and I've got Sarah,
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  our coach and sister smart with me.
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  And we're going to talk a little bit about strengths.
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  Go ahead, Sarah.
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  Sara Spencer: Yeah.
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  Thanks Jill.
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  I think this is such a great topic because you're right.
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  As women, we're not taught to focus on our strengths because we
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  don't want it come off as bragging.
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  Right?
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  We, need to focus on what do we need to improve, because there's
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  always going to be that, right?
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  and you're right, we all, we are human.
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  We're not going to be perfect in every single area.
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  We've never really arrived, right?
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  But to know what we are really great at is typically what we love to do.
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  I like to use the Gallup Strength Finder along with values.
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  And in the Sister Smart program, we look at that and then it's, what
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  are those things that, that zone of brilliance, those things that you love
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  to do, you know you're really good at.
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  And you've gotten some feedback on that those are some of your areas of strengths.
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  I think that's really important to focus on those areas because when we do
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  that we can really show up and thrive.
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  And when we're working from that space, I feel like we can
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  have just so much more impact.
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  People want to work with us and for us when we're, in that zone of brilliance.
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  I just want to share this one client story that took the StrengthsFinder® also worked
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  on her values and then used that in an interview for a global leadership role.
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  And so when she was able to communicate from that space, like this is who I am.
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  This is the work I've done, and this is why I love doing it, because this
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  is how I show up in, in the world that hiring team was just like blown away.
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  And they saw her as someone who is really in alignment with this position , and a
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  leader that is very self-aware and knows what her strengths are, and is showing
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  that like fortitude and strength that they were looking for in that role.
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  And a lot of times we'll focus on the red.
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  Where are things breaking down instead of.
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  Let's focus on the green.
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  So even if we take it to, , looking at our KPIs in the organization,
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  we do focus on what's not working.
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  And so it is a shift in our mindset.
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  And I feel like the, the program that , we work in really focuses on that.
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  let's highlight our strengths, right?
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  Because that's really fun and we're going to have much more impact.
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  So it's a really great topic.
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  Jill Avey: Exactly, and I love that you're bringing up the StrengthsFinder 2.0.
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  We're recommending that because it's something that anybody can go buy.
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  You just buy the book and it gives you a code, and then you've got
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  that book with you, or you can just do it on the Gallup website.
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  And in the Sister Smart Program, we use what's called the Strengths profile.
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  And I love that one even more because it, breaks down your
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  strengths into four categories.
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  It looks at your realized strengths, your unrealized strengths, your
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  learned behaviors, and your weaknesses.
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  And this is kind of cool because those top realized strengths are
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  the things that you're known for.
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  Like when you walk into a room, everybody knows that about you,
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  that you're good at those things.
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  You can just look at the top maybe quarter of the StrengthsFinder report
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  and know that those are probably your, your realized strengths.
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  And those ones are the ones that we just kind of want to rest
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  in and, and have confidence in.
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  And then the ones that are a little bit further down the list, those are the ones
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  that where we probably have some more room to work and that we can focus on those.
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  And so in strengths profile, they call those the unrealized strengths.
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  And then you also have these learned behaviors that are sort of that middle
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  ground of the things that you're good at.
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  You had to learn how to be good at these things, and we like to keep
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  you away from those strengths because those ones are usually taxing.
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  They're tiring because you have to work at being good at those things.
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  And then you've got your weaknesses at the bottom, which we're just trying to avoid.
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  What if you can't avoid your weaknesses is a question that comes up.
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  I do a lot of ADHD coaching as well, and, , we can't avoid being neurodiverse.
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  So what I talk about is we create scaffolding around that thing
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  so it doesn't hold you back.
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  We would really like to just not do the things that involve our weaknesses.
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  But for example, I had one client who had some weaknesses that were
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  really critical leadership skills.
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  She had a weakness in self-belief, feedback and narrator.
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  And those are all things that you really need as a leader.
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  she couldn't avoid these things if she wanted to lead at the higher level.
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  So what we did is we worked out some frameworks that she could use to
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  keep her self-belief high and give feedback that helped her relationships,
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  not harmed her relationships.
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  And then she worked on her storytelling skills so that she
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  could improve those as well.
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  She wasn't trying to become a storyteller at the Moth.
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  You know, like she, she knew the fundamentals of storytelling and
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  then she identified a partner in her company that was a great storyteller.
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  I.
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  That she could run her stories by and get some tips so that she was,
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  knew she was at least doing kind of the minimum with her storytelling.
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  It wasn't you know, it wasn't something that she was heavily
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  leaning on, but she knew that her stories were, you know, helping her.
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  So, and then this worked so well.
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  She also she worked on giving feedback.
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  In a way that was really helpful for her team.
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  And so she learned how to use appreciative feedback.
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  And this worked really well on her team of salespeople because some
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  of them were 20 years or senior and they'd been in the territory
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  for a long time and they'd had many managers and they were a little jaded.
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  And you know, these were industry veterans that she was.
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  That she was now leading and they made great gains in the, even the first nine
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  months that she was in the job and she was, she knew that they were, set to
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  be the best territory for the year.
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  And so they were all really behind her and loved the feedback that she was giving
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  them even though they've been doing this for a long time, because she was able
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  to use a really good framework for that.
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  So while that might not have been something that she would've come up on
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  her own, she could rely on that framework and really use that to turn the team
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  into a really high performing team.
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  Sara Spencer: One way I used the strengths finder, everyone
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  got their individual feedback.
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  But then we looked at how are these strengths showing up for you.
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  It's very broad.
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  And so she was looking at how does this behavior show up in her day to day,
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  and how can she highlight it even more?
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  So how can she put more focus and energy in it so this becomes part of her brand.
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  So we talked about taking it from a strength to a talent, to part of her
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  brand, to something that she's known for.
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  In order to do that, we also went back to her values.
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  So we did some values work and aligned like her strengths with her core values.
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  And then we explored how when we are in this space, that is that sweet spot that
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  is our zone of brilliance when we can work in this space and feel our values
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  being fulfilled in the work that we do.
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  And so she added them to her resume and then she wrote out how they show up
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  in her work and the projects that she worked on and the impact that she had.
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  And the more she found out about this position during the interview process
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  both the, the hiring team and herself were like, wow, this is really in
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  alignment with, with my strength.
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  So it just pushed her up for I think, being the ideal candidate.
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  So this is just a recent experience with this client, how she used this tool.
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  Because I think that's what she would focus in on more is like, where am I?
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  Not where am I not performing?
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  That was her initial tendency before partnering together.
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  So it was a shift in her mindset.
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  Even like, okay, so I'm going to focus in on my strengths versus
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  what I, what I need to work on.
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  Jill Avey: How did that change her job search When you're in a job search, it
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  can be easy to focus on what you're not good at and what you don't have enough of.
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  And then it makes people want to go out and take a class, you
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  Sara Spencer: know, Right, right.
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  And get a certification.
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  Another certification.
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  Right.
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  So she was able to see herself in the position.
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  she was feeling very stuck and this is what it is, and like
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  making, making the best of it.
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  And then by doing this work, she was able to see I can do this.
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  I actually can make this leap.
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  I actually can be in this role.
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  It helped with just her mindset shift that to see that zone of brilliance
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  and and really aligned the work that she's doing with something that's one
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  of her values, one of her strengths.
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  So I think it helped her to see the statement of work and the
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  position in a different light.
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  It took a little bit of time, but now she sees it as this is
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  what I'm meant to do right now.
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  And so to be able to take that mindset into an interview, like just
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  showed a lot of, by focusing on her strengths, like how strong she is,
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  and she does have the experience for
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  Jill Avey: And think of how much more strongly you're going to present
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  yourself as a candidate when you're coming in as here's my strengths versus,
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  do you like me and am I good enough?
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  You know, which, so, so often we feel like we're auditioning for something
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  Sara Spencer: Right.
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  Jill Avey: Versus, Hey, here's what I have is that you, you know what you need.
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  And, and that's a different
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  Sara Spencer: Yeah, it can, it creates a level, more of a level
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  playing field because then it's a dialogue of what do you need?
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  And this is who I am, and is there a fit?
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  Jill Avey: I always recommend when people do the StrengthsFinder,
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  there's a, less expensive, $20 version that's just your top 10 strengths.
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  But I always recommend that you go for the full 34 because that gives you the real
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  big scope of, what you're good at that top 10, but also these bottom ones and, and
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  I really like to to just encourage people to avoid the stuff that we're not good at.
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  Like we're so often beating ourselves up trying to be something that we're not.
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  We're never going to be it, and you know, let's just embrace that and say, Hey,
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  you know, I'm not a detailed person, so I'm not going to apply for, you
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  know, a job that entails you like in accounting, you know, but that, that's
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  going to be a lot of, intricate numbers and checking data and things like that.
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  I am not going to perform well there.
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  I'm not going to be happy there.
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  And you know, you talked about that earlier, Sarah, of like.
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  When we're working in our strengths, that it feels good to us.
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  And so I think that really helps with burnout too.
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  Sara Spencer: For sure, if we look at our energy, when we're able to
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  work from that zone of brilliance, we are going to feel more alive.
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  And I like to think of it as thriving in that role.
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  Like we get up in the morning and we actually want to go to work.
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  We want to be with our team.
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  So those are some indicators.
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  If you're feeling like exhausted, you're feeling like you're on the edge of
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  burnout, then am I trying to develop myself in a space that isn't my strength?
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  I am not detailed and I'm working in accounting.
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  You may not be in a point in your career where you can make that shift,
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  but are there other things that you can bring in to the role that are going
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  to support you which are strengths.
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  Jill Avey: That's an important point that you're bringing up is job crafting.
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  Sara Spencer: Mm-hmm.
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  Jill Avey: You can take a look at your strengths and say, okay, in this role
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  that I'm in, you know, the company needs me to do this role and so.
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  Some of it I'm going to be great at and some of it I'm not so great at.
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  Are there other people that I could delegate that to?
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  And if not, how can I get this done otherwise?
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  Or what I always love is to use accountability partners.
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  So that might be a buddy that I do something with or sometimes even just
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  saying, Hey, You know, one of the things that like I struggle with in my own
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  business is doing the bookkeeping because of this detail orientation problem.
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  And so every month I have a buddy that I get together with for
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  an hour, and we do the books.
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  And so it gets, gets it done and it makes it fun.
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  that's never going to be my role and that's Something that I could potentially
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  delegate as well, but I've chosen to keep that because it's something
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  that I want to stay in touch with.
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  But yet that's what I call the scaffolding, is that partner,
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  that, that will help me with that.
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  And so I think it's really great to be able to co-work with people
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  when we need accountability.
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  It's a tool that I use a lot of.
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  Sara Spencer: Yeah, that's a great practice.
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  Jill Avey: Yeah.
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  Are there any other ways that you recommend for people to be able
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  to deal with their weaknesses without trying to change them?
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  Sara Spencer: Especially if it's something that you need to do in your
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  role and you know, it's a weakness I always recommend looking at like,
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  how could you invest in yourself?
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  typically we have some type of budget, right?
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  So is there Any type of development that would be fun
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  for you to develop in that area?
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  So to kind of shift it from being like a weakness, something like I don't really
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  feel good about, but is there any type of training or coaching or mentorship so
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  that, that as you develop into that space, it could be a fun experience for you.
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  Jill Avey: You know that that's a great way to look at that, Sarah, because just
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  going back to my bookkeeping example, I found this method of bookkeeping that
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  works really great for entrepreneurs that's not that detail oriented.
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  And so that was something that I could go out and learn how to do.
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  That really made this not such a weakness for me.
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  It's still my weakness, like it's never going to be my strength.
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  But it helped the whole situation drastically.
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  That's for
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  Sara Spencer: Yeah.
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  And it sounds like there is some kind of activity ritual, like if
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  you value relationships, you're doing it with someone, so, right.
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  Thinking about your values and how can you bring that into maybe that activity,
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  so it's a really creative solution to still stay close to that one activity that
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  that's important to grow in your business.
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  Jill Avey: I think it's also important that we own our
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  weaknesses to other people.
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  We can say like, Hey, that's not what I'm great at, but this is what I'm great
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  at and this is what I want to focus on.
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  These can be in discussions with your manager when you want to change
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  your job description a little bit.
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  These are ways that you can make your case of really owning, owning the weakness,
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  but in tandem with owning that strength, I think is a really important thing of
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  making sure that we're communicating both of those things out together.
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  I also have found some clients really hesitant to own their strengths.
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  Maybe they're coming from a place where they're really not feeling
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  confident, and this is one of the first things we do in the program.
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  so a lot of people come in with very low confidence and we build
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  a lot of confidence in our program.
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  And so I even have people make flashcards with their strengths and
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  take a look at one strength every day.
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  Really sit with it for a minute and soak it in and own that baby
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  and know that, this is my brand.
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  This is what I'm good at, this is what I'm about, and so that can be
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  a really helpful practice as well.
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  Sara Spencer: And I also love the practice of looking back over your
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  work history and pulling out those successes and then digging in a little
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  bit into those successes and go, okay, so what was the strength of mine that
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  helped me make this large impact?
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  And write it down, put it in your office somewhere so that when you're looking,
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  you know, at the calendar or things.
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  You can see that, and it's a really great reminder of who you are
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  and, what you bring to the world.
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  Jill Avey: That's fantastic.
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  I love that one.
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  Always good to do that reflection.
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  Our three shifts for you that you can do right now are start
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  focusing on your strengths today.
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  probably there's some time in a day or a week that you're trying to fix
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  a weakness and try to catch that.
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  That's the first step is to catch yourself doing that and shift it.
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  Shift the whole conversation around that.
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  Don't fix that weakness.
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  Find some scaffolding for it.
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  Maybe learn a little bit around that skill so that it's not holding you back.
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  Just, you know, embrace that weakness own that too and let it be yours.
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  The second shift that we have for you is to get that Strengths Finder
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  book and take that assessment.
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  So find out, you know, what your makeup looks like.
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  It's super enlightening to be able to do that.
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  And then three, as Sarah was talking about start a Daily Wins journal.
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  So, Write down three things every day that you did well.
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  And this is a powerful thing.
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  I love to have this at being a separate journal so that you have just one book
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  that's about all the stuff that you did.
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  Well, that's really fun to have.
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  What is one strength that you have?
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  What do you know right now that's a strength that you have?
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  We would love to know in the comments, if you're watching this on YouTube.
• 18:41
  And we have the zone of brilliance exercise for you
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  that's linked in the show notes.
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  This exercise is going to support you in boiling down where your strengths lie,
• 18:50
  and it's going to help you improve your confidence and be able to communicate
• 18:53
  your viewpoints more effectively.
• 18:55
  So if you're a female leader who has the ambition to rise up the ladder so that
• 18:59
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