Building Your Strength Treasure Chest
Strength focused leadership isn't a magic power; it's a continuous practice.
Designing Your Strength Based Leadership
By now, you get it: strong leadership isn't a magic power bestowed upon you; it's a continuous practice. Think of your 7-week challenge as merely the starting line. This chapter is about turning all this insight into long-lasting behavioral change and creating the structure to sustain your growth.
Because, let's face it, life gets busy. Those old habits and doubts can sneak back in if we're not intentional. We need a system to keep our strengths front and center, both for those days when you're feeling unstoppable and those times when you need a quick recharge.
Building Your Strength Treasure Chest
Here's where we put it all together, creating a toolkit for keeping your strengths top of mind:
Your Cheat Sheet Summarize the key takeaways from this journey. Your signature strengths, your "overdrive" red flags, those middle-tier strengths to develop.The Playbook Note a few go-to strategies for leveraging strengths in typical leadership scenarios (team meetings, conflict resolution, etc.)Strength Spotting Journal Keep it going! Jot down moments you catch yourself using strengths effectively. This builds confidence like nothing else.Your Strength Squad Who's that colleague, friend, or mentor who can be your strength-spotting partner? Sharing this journey builds support.So, there you have it: your leadership toolkit, brimming with the tools to not just identify but amplify your strengths. It's your secret stash of self-awareness, your custom playbook for navigating tricky leadership terrain. Think of it as a portable pep talk, a reminder that you've got this. And hey, don't be a lone wolf. Rope in your trusted confidants, because celebrating wins together makes them even sweeter. Keep spotting those strengths in action, keep honing your skills, and watch your leadership evolve from good to darn impressive.
The Challenge Cadence
Change is hard, so let's break it down into manageable chunks with these ideas:
Daily Dose: Pick a tiny habit to reinforce your insights. Maybe review your "cheat sheet" each morning, taking a few moments to center yourself.Weekly Check-In: Schedule dedicated time on your calendar. Analyze your journal, reflect on the week, and course-correct if needed.Monthly Tune-Up: Go a little deeper. Choose one strength to focus on. Consciously practice it for a full month, noticing the impact.One word of caution: aiming for strength-based perfection is a recipe for a new kind of frustration. This is a lifelong exploration because YOU are ever evolving. Some days you'll nail it, others... well, let's just say, there's always tomorrow to try again.
Your Challenge (Should You Accept It)
Design your own "post-training program":
1. What will be your non-negotiable strength habits? Keep this realistic based on your life/work demands.
2. Accountability Plan: Will you involve a colleague? Set progress review dates with yourself? (Mark them on your calendar right now!)
3. Choose your growth stretch: What's ONE new strength you want to try developing over the next few months?
The journey doesn't end here; it's truly just the start of becoming an even more extraordinary version of the leader you already are.
Wrap-up and Final Inspiration
Think of your strengths like a favorite pair of jeans. Sure, they feel great right out of the wash, but with consistent wear, they become perfectly molded to you, even more comfortable and uniquely your own.
This strength-focus isn't a one-time makeover, it's like a daily habit. A little bit of intention goes a long way. Soon, showcasing those strengths feels as natural as slipping on that perfectly worn-in denim⏤an effortless expression of the best, most capable leader you are.
VIA: Your Strength-Decoding Tool
The most well-respected tool for uncovering your character strengths is called the VIA Survey of Character Strengths. It's free, has a ton of research backing it up, and takes only 15 minutes to complete.
VIA Survey Link:
Go ahead and do the VIA Survey now. I’ll wait…
Don't overthink the survey; go with your gut reactions. The key is honesty, not trying to guess the "right" answers. When you're done, you'll get a ranking of all 24 strengths. This is your starting line, your personalized leadership blueprint.
If you choose to move forward without taking the aforementioned survey, please pick 1 to 3 strengths from the list below that you would like to work on.
To read more about Strength-Based Living and Leading:
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