How self-reflection can help you thrive

At the 2021 Future Work Summit, the term “up-skilling” was referenced as one of the most important elements of candidate employability, as evidence of a “growth mindset”. But what exactly does it mean to up-skill and how can we up-skill more effectively? This article will take a closer look at self reflection as a tool to better understand our strengths and weaknesses, encouraging growth, success and thriving our careers.

Upskilling is defined as “improving a person’s aptitude to work through additional training” and is considered important to one’s career as it encourages continued growth and development, thus improving employability. We should always be pushing ourselves to learn more and become experts in our fields and linked fields. For example, for Product Designers in the tech industry, it’s useful to understand the basics of coding - not so they can write code themselves, but in order to communicate more effectively to developer peers and to understand the limitations of their designs. 

Upskilling aside, it’s argued that if we have an understanding of what we’re naturally good at vs. what we are not genetically predisposed to do, we can use this knowledge to focus on our strengths, and fast-track our career growth while we’re at it. There is evidence to suggest that when we use our strengths, not only are we happier and more productive, but according to American Psychologist Alice Isen, our cognitive function also improves. Other studies, such as those outlined in Michelle Mcquaid’s work have shown links between using our strengths and self-control, making it easy to understand why productivity can increase when we are doing something we enjoy and are naturally good at.

In a world where we have continually been critiqued (by ourselves and others) for our shortcomings, the idea of neglecting our weaknesses can be a daunting prospect. Dishearteningly however, it’s estimated that it would take 2 hours a day for 8 years to turn a weakness into a strength and that strengths (and weaknesses) are hard-wired early on due to continual reinforcement of the neural pathways needed to carry out a given activity. 

In this way, by practising our weaknesses, we are going against the natural flow of our brain's neural pathways. 

Did your parents ever force you into seeing a tutor as a kid, only for you to drop the subject completely when you were old enough to realise it wasn’t going to make you any money? Imagine what would happen if all that time and energy went towards harnessing our passions early on. By focusing on our strengths, we can get better at the things we’re already good at and show up as the happiest, healthiest, most energetic version of ourselves while we’re at it.

Identifying our strengths

This all sounds great but how exactly do we do this? This first involves simply being aware of what our strengths are. There are various empirically validated strengths tests, including Clifton Strengths Finder, Realise2, DISC and VIA Strengths. The latter is increasingly used in the workplace, by companies such as PwC, Deloitte, and Bupa as well as Aussie mindfulness meditation startup Smiling Mind. 

Benefits of the VIA Test are that it is free to use, and is useful for employment settings derived from core values, making them applicable to most industries. For example, strengths according to VIA are things like honesty, leadership and humour, as opposed to more task-specific strengths (like mathematics) which aren’t so easily transferred across professions. Psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman (2004) speak of the link between using our core values in what we do with being linked to meaning/fulfilment and show how this can improve resilience, performance and even relationships at work. VIA provides an indication of our core values, allowing for proactive application of these in our everyday lives.

Leveraging your strengths

Okay so you have done a test, you know what your strengths are - now what? 

For some, even just knowing what our strengths are, makes us more aware of when we use them on a daily basis, thereby heightening the meaning and fulfilment of daily tasks. This was the case for me - the simple knowledge that I used many of my core strengths a lot in my job allowed me to focus on them, making me feel more motivated and happier at work. I was also grateful when I discovered that I was able to leverage some of my top strengths in my work daily, knowing some people don’t have that privilege. Such self realisations can lead to increased productivity, improved client relations and personal fulfilment.

There are various ways we can leverage our strengths on a daily basis in order to improve our working lives and overall well-being. One empirically validated method was pioneered by positive psychology Founder Martin Seligman (2014). Inelegantly named the “use strength in new ways” intervention, this involves setting aside time every day (forming a habit) to use one of your top strengths in a completely new way. It is scientifically proven to increase feelings of meaning and fulfilment in work, whilst increasing employee engagement.

For example, if your top strength is creativity, ask your boss if you can be in charge of a weekly newsletter for your team. If your strength is curiosity, pull together some of your favourite readings and share with your colleagues. Kindness? Offer to teach others about your area of expertise. Incorporating more of what we’re really good at into our daily lives doesn’t have to mean changing jobs completely. 

Another benefit of being aware of our strengths is for team and colleague relationship building. Having open conversations about one another's strengths and weaknesses builds empathy, harnesses frustration, and allows us to work more effectively together to achieve even greater things. If people were more open and honest with themselves and others about what they’re good at, we’d be a lot more effective, make better use of company resources and improve relationships within our teams.

Finally (and most notably), strengths-based approaches are shown to be incredibly effective for line managers to use for employee development and performance reviews. In fact, line managers who regularly have conversations around employee strengths improve levels of meaning and engagement amongst their staff more than any other tactic according to a workplace survey conducted this year. 

Other studies have found that leaders who focus on the strengths of employees benefit from lower levels of staff turnover, higher levels of productivity, more satisfied customers and greater company profitability. Why? Because, by focussing on building strengths, we are creating a workplace where employees feel seen, fulfilled, and are engaged and able to do their best work.

Reflections

Are you aware of your core strengths? How can you use them more in your role, or in your everyday life?

Are there any tasks you are able to delegate, to free up more time for what is important to you?

As a manager, what can you do to identify and harness your employee's individual strengths?