The short, and slightly depressing, answer is that you can’t be at your best every day. That’s because you’re human, and you’re surrounded by other humans!
But you can create situations and move yourself into contexts that bring out the best in you, and encourage you to be your best self. And one of the most reliable ways I’ve found to do that is by getting clear on your strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between, then developing strategies to make the most of your unique strengths fingerprint.
Your strengths fingerprint
With 75 strengths in The Strengths Deck, and five zones on the Matrix, there are literally trillions upon trillions of permutations around which zone a strength lands in, and the rank order in the zone. (I used an online calculator, which told me the number of combinations starts with a two, and is followed by 108 other numbers!)
So, what this means is that your strengths fingerprint is completely unique to you. And when you add in things like your values, your personality, and your life experiences, you can easily see how what you bring to the world is unlike anything anyone else ever can, or ever will.
And this means that what will help you thrive, and be at your best, is going to look different to the person you’re sitting next to, reporting to, or managing.
Tailor your situation
When I first start talking to someone about whether they’re using their strengths in their work, their immediate assumption is usually that they need to change their job to one where they can use their strengths. But that’s not always the case.
You can find new ways to use your strengths while doing the same work you’ve always done. It could be something as big and visible as volunteering for a project, joining a committee, or gunning for a promotion – and using your strengths to make this happen.
On the other hand, it might be as quiet and personal as dialling up your Storyteller (1) strength as you write an email or report. Or using your Welcoming (2) strength to connect with a new staff member. Or taking a moment each day to lean into your Grateful (3) strength to acknowledge and savour good things that have happened, and the role you played in them.
Shift your context
On the other hand, maybe you do need, or want, to change roles to give you a better shot at bringing your special brand of magic to the world.
Knowing your strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between will help you land your next job. And being clear on your values, personality, and goals will be hugely beneficial too.
And this is not just limited to work. You can shift your context within your family or friends group, community organisations you belong to, and your hobbies. Anywhere you spend any amount of time is an opportunity to play with your strengths, run experiments, and try new things.
Experiment your way to your best
Unless we’re medical professionals, or building aircraft or space shuttles, the vast majority of us can experiment to our hearts content, in order to discover the tasks, situations and contexts that best suit us, and allow us to play to our strengths.
Experimentation means we develop a hypothesis about an approach we think will be helpful, then we try out our idea in the real world. We monitor the results, then make a decision about whether to continue that approach, or ditch it and try something else.
I developed a Strengths Experiment Tracker to help you think through your experiments, and reflect on their outcomes. Download it using the form below 👇🏻
Definitions
(1) Storyteller: You weave engaging stories to share insights, lessons, values and humour.
(2) Welcoming: You accept others as they are and seek to include them in everything you do.
(3) Grateful: You recognise all the good things that happen to you and make time to be thankful (check out this LinkedIn post I wrote with a beautiful graphic by Natalie Miller-Snell).