I am finally reading Lean In.
If you have read it {guy or gal!}, then we are already of common understanding. If you have not read it, you probably think you understand. But, by nature of the fact you have chosen not to read it yet, you do not.
I only know that because I didn’t either. I thought I knew exactly what I was going to get. Yet, page after page {and I am only half way through at this point}, I continue to be surprised by the humility through which her facts and persuasion are filtered.
From all the hype and hoopla, that is just not what I was expecting. Instead of putting up the defense that I was ready to wield, I find that I am nodding, laughing, and resonating. Validating, challenging and perplexing.
And as I turn the pages and am challenged to think through my own career choices and decisions—those that have already been made and those yet to be made—I sit content.
Content not only that I have decided to “lean in” to my most favorite roles of both parent and entrepreneur, but that I have chosen this path by following my Strengths.
When I first learned the StrengthsFinder language of my own Talents in the Spring of 2007, I was contently in the middle of a fast paced, tumultuously managed, high-change tempo, for-profit healthcare organization. I was thriving, challenged, and excelling. And I was approaching burnout at the ripe old age of 27!
What I grasped a hint of at the time, and now see clearly in retrospect, I was working in a role that did not naturally favor my Strengths. My role in healthcare relationship sales was heavily influential and extroverted, while I am naturally heavily executional and introverted.
Yet I managed to work past my own nerves and the skill that the role seemed to require by using the Talents that actually did come naturally to me.
I did not try to be just like my trainers who built relationships easily, chatted effortlessly, and got in assertively.
Rather I was successful because I jumped in and learned well {Learner}, connected with the leaders inside and outside the organization {Connectedness}, scheduled my days for maximum efficiency {Arranger}. figured out a way to really believe in what we did {Belief}, and just pushed harder than most {Achiever}. That, combined with my skills, experience, passion, and worldview, pushed me to the top.
Now, I get to do this:
And, just to be sure we’re all on the same page here, most days are not quite like this (at all), but most days, I do not have my camera out to capture it. Something about bookkeeping and building custom workshop content that do not have the same photo appeal.
But even in the more mundane, non-photo-worthy-moments, I lean in on my own Strengths to spend more days energized and successful than frustrated and drained.
Today on Episode 27 of Isogo TV | Live and Work Your Strengths Video Podcast, I am sharing very pointedly about Career—Find the Best Career for Your Strengths.
Specifically, I am sharing two stories about clients of mine who are questioning the role of their Strengths in their careers. The first addresses the mystery of two technical colleagues with polar opposite Strengths, both in the same role, and the other tells the story of a brilliant, introverted professional who is considering a career move.
I gained some amazing insight from these guys—who are trying to enjoy their roles and feel successful, just like you and me—and I know you will too!
So, let’s dive in!
And now, I have some additional resources for you to explore your own Strengths in your own Role {or one you are considering!}
First, I recently came across this article from Gallup that fleshes out a Strengths Based approach to career choice and provides extremely practical, tangible steps toward a role that feels like a perfect fit.
Second, requiring less reading and offering an immediate tool to guide your thinking, I created a free resource for you called FIND YOUR BEST CAREER. This one page printable walks you through 4 steps to applying your strengths to your role and your role search. It walks you through the action that comes from this video.
So, whether you are in a role you enjoy and are looking to THRIVE by applying your Strengths more specifically, OR you are looking to begin or transition your career, this free tool is a perfect place to start.
You HAVE to follow your Strengths to the best Career for you. It is the only way. So check it out by clicking here for the free download of FIND YOUR BEST CAREER tool.
LINKS | RESOURCES | a LITTLE ASK
Links & Resources from Today’s Episode
Discover Lean In here
Sharyl Sandberg
Article from Gallup: Building a Career on Your Strengths
Find Your Best Career FREE Resource
Strengths Finder + Strengths Startup
My little ask?
If you loved this Episode and think others would benefit from it, please rate and review over at iTunes. It helps get the word out to others just like you! And I really appreciate it.
As always, one of the best places to join the Strengths conversation is over at our Facebook Group — Energy Up Frustration Down by Strengths. Join us for weekly chatting, complaining and commending, as we all try to figure out just how to use our Strengths to impact the most important things around us—in our work and life.
In the meantime and beyond, I would love to hear from you and help you. So, if you’re thinking about the way a Strengths-perspective could impact your marriage or your family or you’re just not so sure about it all, reach out, and let’s connect about it. You can catch me at Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, all @isogostrong, or by this handy contact form.
Enjoy your day, and {be strong}!
