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How To Create Strengths-Based Success
G’day. I’m Michelle McQuaid, and welcome to Thank God It’s Friday! This week’s
letter comes to us from Sharon who writes, “Michelle, I’m loving
your videos and the idea of building on my strengths as a way to
get ahead at work. But despite my best intentions, I’m finding it really hard to put into practice
each day. Any tips that could help?”
Well, Sharon, this is one of the questions I get asked most often. I find that people
love discovering what their strengths are, but when it comes to
figuring out how we can use them each day at work, it seems to
be quite a challenge. Now, why is this so hard? Well first you have to figure out what
success looks like.
Now I want you to listen carefully to what I’m about to share, because at first, it
can come off sounding a little trite. But science has found, again
and again, that positive images pull us forward. They create
powerful pictures in our brains that then trigger us into actions because we want those
rewards. So it’s really important, once you’ve discovered
what your strengths are, to figure out what success would look
like if you could use these strengths more often at work.
Recently, I was working with a small team who’d been set a really challenging task
by their business to complete over the next 12 months. They’d
figured out their strengths, so we sat down together and we
started to imagine what would the year ahead look like for them if they were able to use
their strengths each day as they took on this enormous project.
At first, they found this really hard to imagine. How would they use things like curiosity,
kindness, humor, and playfulness as they went about what was
a very serious business? As we started to break it down
though into the way they’d feel each day when they came to work, how they’d get others
involved to support the project, what it would feel like
the day that they achieved and delivered all the things that
they’d been asked, it started to become much clearer for them about how their strengths
would play out.
When the team had a really clear vision about what success looked like, they wrote it up
in bright colors and created it as a mantra that each of them
could put above their desks and reconnect with each
morning in terms of what it was they really wanted to achieve, and how they were going
to do it. Twelve months later, not only had they delivered
the project, but they’d scored themselves bonuses and plenty of
recognition in the process. Best of all, most of them describe it as the best 12 months
they’d ever had at work.
Now knowing without doing means that you risk falling into the knowing doing gap, and that’s
not a place you want to be. So make sure you take this
week’s challenge and step it up. I want you to imagine what
would your boss say in your performance review 12 months from now if you were able to use
your strengths each day at work. What would you’ve
achieved during the year? How did you go about working
with your clients and your colleagues? And what strengths did you use each day that made
your performance really stand out? When you’ve
got it down, head on over to michellemcquaid.com and tell us
what success looks like for you when you can use your strengths each day at work.
Like this video? Then be sure to subscribe and share it with your family and friends.
And if you want more great tips on how to use your strengths at
work, then head on over to michellemcquaid.com, sign up for
our free email updates where you’ll hear it all first. In the meantime, stay strong.
You are good enough, and the world needs you to shine your light
in the way that only you can. Thank you so much for watching
ChelleMcQuaid TV. Tune in next week where I’ll teach you how to use these strengths
and break them down into small, positive habits that you
can use each day at work. Take care.
Positive images pull us forward. Positive images pull us forward. Positive images pull
us forward. Positive images pull us forward. Positive images pull
us forward. Positive images pull us forward. Positive images
(gibberish). I need a drink.
How To Create Strengths-Based Success 1