Somebody had watched my weekly video recently where I mentioned how our individual purpose is found in our giftedness. After watching that he replied to my e-mail. (Those who get the free leadership e-book get these directly to their e-m
ail). He challenged me with the question: what are your gifts?
I don’t know about you, but seeing my weaknesses are easier than realizing my gifts. I took a few minutes and replied with some ideas and asked for his feedback. If you watched that video and then got a little stuck or are at a point where this type of reflection will help you lead more effectively then allow me to provide a few ways to help you discover your gifts.
Ask Others
As I mentioned above some of us can be our worst critic and only see our weak areas. Think for a moment who are up to five people who know you well. Some of them may be in a personal context and others in a professional. Reach out to those people and ask them: what are the top three to five things you see that come easily for me?
As they answer this question this will provide insight on your gifts. Gifts are the things we do so naturally we don’t realize it may be difficult for others. Maybe you easily think of new ideas. Creating order out of chaos may come naturally to you. Possibly you can quickly identify the steps to accomplish a goal. Communicating, mathematical analysis, or many other abilities.
I encourage, if you can, ask people who have known you before you were working. These people will know the abilities that have always come naturally even before you were trained or developed them further.
Reflect on Experiences
I have a friend who took me through a process of reflecting on all my life experiences to get a picture of themes in my life. Through this process we identified certain skills or qualities that were natural in me. For example, throughout my life I have always sought mentors. This reveals to me the natural desire to learn and grow. This may not be the gift but thinking and reflecting may come more naturally to me than others.
As we evaluate our present and past experiences, we recognize themes. These themes will often point us toward our strengths.
Use Tools
An excellent resource I have used and continue to reference as well as use with clients is a Maxwell DISC Personality Indicator. This tool takes only about ten minutes to complete. What is unique and beneficial about this as a leader is the POWER DISC. This helps us understand where we are strong in seven key leadership areas. This also helps us understand our personal style and strengths.
Another tool I have used is Strengths Finder by Gallup which helps us understand our top five strengths. When I originally took it, I received a keycode after investing in the book Strengths Finder 2.0.
These are only two of many tools available. The challenge is taking the information and evaluating what it means and how to leverage our strengths to lead more effectively.
How will you use this new information to lead more effectively? How can this help you determine what NOT to do? As you go through this process you may see the value of a thinking partner to help you see what you cannot see or process how to apply these gifts in your leadership. If so, and I can serve you as a thinking partner, then contact me to schedule a 30 minute no cost to you coaching session. Lead Well.
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