I am currently coaching 29 managers from one company helping them to improve the performance of the individuals on their team. On a coaching call last week, the topic of strengths came up. This manager told me that he was trying to help his team tap into their strengths. We had a discussion on this topic and it turns out that we are both fans of the work of Marcus Buckingham, who has done extensive research in identifying and using your strengths as the single greatest lever of improving performance. In my last residency for grad school, Marcus Buckingham was a guest lecturer and we studied his work. (If you ever have the chance to hear him speak, do it! He's an amazing speaker.)

I have been doing some reflecting and thinking about my own strengths and how I can use them even more in the coming year. Over the next few weeks, I will share with you some of the strategies that I have learned towards that end.

The first thing a person needs to do is to identify their strengths. As Buckingham stresses, strengths are not simply things that we do well; strengths are things that we do that make us feel energized and strong. We don't want to mistake competencies with strengths. We probably all have those things that we do well that we really don't like doing. Buckingham recommends carrying a notepad around for a week and paying attention to when you feel really energized and making a note of that. Likewise, notice when you feel really depleted and drained and note those things as well.

So, here are some of my strengths:

• I feel energized when I am coaching others
• I feel strong when I am teaching/speaking
• I am really energized when I am collaborating with others

Next week, I will show you how I was able to make these more descriptive, more accurate, and more powerful.

For the next week, pay attention to those things which give you energy and life.

P.S. Check out my new blog posting reviewing a scientific study on resiliency and stress at http://www.bobbikahler.com.

To Your Success,

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