Weakened by the Good

Marcus Buckingham writes that the simplest and best definition of a strength is an activity that strengthens you. By contrast, the standard, yet incomplete, definition of a strength is an activity that you are good at. He points out that with the old definition, you were probably the least qualified person to evaluate your own strengths, because you'd either be too hard or too easy on yourself. With the simpler definition he proposes, you are actually the only one that is qualified to evaluate your strengths.

This has a practical application for your career. If you build your career around activities that strengthen you, you will become better and better at your job and have the potential to achieve a high degree of success. If you build your career around activities that you are good at, however, without considering whether they are strengths for you, then you run the risk of burning out in a job you may do well for a time, but which ultimately drains you.

As an introvert, I understand this very well. Over the years, I have developed some skill with communication and interpersonal skills, and I've regularly taught classes on social styles. However, as much as I enjoy framing ideas for others and clearly communicating a vision of the future, extended individual interactions with many people I don't know drains me quicker than many other activities.

Because of my interpersonal and communication skills, many people have a hard time believing that I am an introvert. However, introversion and extroversion have more to do with the way in which you derive your energy, and little to do with your skill level. In this way, this indicator is a kind of strength. I've had friends that will go to a social event all evening, and come home so wound up they can't go to sleep; I go to a social event and come home so drained I can't wait to hit the bed and sleep late the next day.

In your career, it's important to carefully select roles that allow you to play to your strengths, or as Marcus Buckingham would put it, those activities that strengthen you. Be careful not to let yourself get cornered into activities that may weaken you just because you are good at them. Developing meaningful relationships with others is important to me, so I continue to learn and improve my skills in this realm, but I am careful to balance my daily people interactions so that the majority of my time is spent doing the things that strengthen me. Don't let yourself be weakened by the good - play to your strengths and do what God designed you to do with excellence.

Light it up...

Rob