2. The Strengths-Based Approach - Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger!

For most of our lives, we’re taught to focus on improving our weaknesses. That red cross on your school test, the "areas for improvement" in your performance review—the message is clear: find what's wrong and fix it. But what if that’s a fundamentally flawed strategy for building a joyful and successful career? The Strengths-Based Approach offers a radical and liberating alternative. It argues that while you can manage your weaknesses, your greatest potential for growth, engagement, and excellence lies in your natural talents. It's time to stop trying to be well-rounded and start being outstanding at what you're naturally good at.

Overview: Lead With Your Best 💪

Pioneered by Don Clifton and Gallup, this framework is built on a simple but profound idea: you will be more successful and fulfilled by maximising your strengths than by trying to eliminate your weaknesses. Think of your talents as the powerful engine of your car. Your weaknesses are the brakes. While you need to make sure the brakes work, you don't win a race by focusing on the brakes—you win by pouring fuel into the engine. This approach is about identifying your personal engine and giving it the fuel it needs to perform at its peak.

A Deeper Look: The Power of Your "Strengths Zone"

This mindset distinguishes between three key terms:

• Talents: These are your innate, naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behaviour. You don’t have to work at them; they are just part of how you’re wired. Maybe you’re naturally empathetic, competitive, analytical, or futuristic.

• Skills & Knowledge: These are things you can learn. Skills are the "how-tos" (like using software), and knowledge is "what you know" (like the principles of accounting).

• Strengths: This is the magic formula. A true strength is created when you take a natural Talent and invest in it with Skills and Knowledge. The result is the ability to consistently produce a near-perfect positive outcome.

Spending your day working on your weaknesses is draining. It feels like writing with your non-dominant hand—it’s possible, but it’s slow, awkward, and the result is never as good. Working using your strengths, however, feels energising and authentic. You enter a state of flow, you learn faster, and you produce exceptional results with seemingly less effort.

How You Can Implement It

1. Discover Your Talents: While you can get a good sense through self-reflection, the most direct path is taking an assessment like Gallup's CliftonStrengths. It will give you a detailed vocabulary for your unique talents. I have created a quick and easy 10-minute quiz that can be found in the resources section to get you started! Then ask yourself: What activities give me energy? What kinds of problems do I love to solve? What do people naturally come to me for?

2. Own Your Strengths: Read the descriptions of your top talents and look for them in your life story. See how your "Achiever" talent pushed you to finish that marathon, or how your "Empathy" talent helped you resolve a conflict at work. This isn't about ego; it's about appreciating the unique value you bring.

3. Aim Them Intentionally: Look at your current role. Which tasks allow you to use your strengths? Which don't? Start actively looking for opportunities—projects, tasks, collaborations—that play to your strengths. Volunteer for the presentation if you have a "Communication" talent; offer to organise the team project if you have a "Discipline" talent.

4. Manage Your Weaknesses: Weaknesses aren't ignored, they are simply managed. Don't try to turn a weakness into a strength. Instead, find a strategy. Can you partner with someone who is strong where you are weak? Can you use a tool or a checklist to compensate? Can you delegate the task or redesign your role to minimise it?

Personality Profile Resonance (MBTI & DISC)

• MBTI: This approach has broad appeal, but particularly resonates with Feeling (F) types (INFP, ENFJ) who value authenticity and want their work to be a true expression of themselves. It also appeals to Perceiving (P)types (ESFP, INTP) who thrive when they can flexibly apply their natural gifts rather than conforming to a rigid structure that forces them into their weaker areas.

• DISC: Individuals with a high Influence (i) profile are often energised by this framework. It validates their natural, people-oriented talents in communication and collaboration. Those with a high Steadiness (S) profile also find comfort in it, as it encourages them to lean into their dependable and supportive talents rather than forcing them into highly competitive roles that go against their nature.

Final Thoughts

The Strengths-Based approach is a powerful act of self-acceptance. It gives you permission to stop apologising for who you aren't and start capitalising on who you are.

• Who It's For: Anyone who has felt drained or inauthentic trying to be someone they're not at work. It's for the individual who wants to build a career based on ease, flow, and genuine excellence.

• Further Reading: StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. The book includes a code to take the assessment and is the best starting point for this journey.