I read this HBR blog by Whitney Johnson, “How to Lead with Your Disruptive Skills” and loved it, click on the title to see the entire blog post. She explains a slightly different way to look at your strengths and realize that you and you alone have a power that you possess to do something naturally well and differently than anyone else. It may be so natural to you that you do not even realize it is a strength or a talent. I advise my coaching clients to ask people around them, “When have you noticed me at my best?” and if it is not clear from their answer; add “What was it about what I did that showed me at my best?” You will get a nice boost of confidence and happiness just from asking and hearing their stories. Of course, to get sustained performance and happiness then figure out how to apply what you learn on a regular basis (either in your work or home life).
In reading that blog post I also discovered a new way to think about your unique powers. Whiney instructs, “As you begin to inventory and mine for your unique abilities, you may discover that your disruptive skill may not be one skill, but an unusual intersection of ordinary proficiencies.” I thought of my friend Kimberly Amadeo (her blog linked) when I read this. Kimberly has an ability to simplify and explain complex economic data and combine it with humor to make learning about our current economics humorous, practical and interesting. This is clearly a disruptive power. In my own situation, I have a unique combination of supply chain business experience and coaching expertise. I have yet to run into any other Coaches with this combination. Think about your different experiences and talents and what unique combination is a differentiator from the competition and then play it up!
Please share your unique combination of talents or share some one else’s interesting powers in a comment.
photo credit: Stephen – Cat Herder via Flickr creative commons