My “Why” As A Strengths Coach

“You’ve always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.” – Glinda, from the Wizard of Oz

 I’ve always loved this quote. From the first time I heard while watching The Wizard of Oz, it struck a chord. True wisdom can be found in the strangest places, and Glinda the Good Witch was onto something. Her words have been with me ever since.  

In my life it’s been pretty revolutionary to think about my power and potential in this way, as things that are innate, unique to me, that just needed to be named and developed. This mental framework has unlocked the door to my confidence and to success in my career. 

It’s this desire to hold a mirror up to others’ talents, to show them how powerful they already are that fuels my work as a CliftonStrengths coach. I also know how important it is to have someone on your side. I’ve been in a lot of situations where I dealt with the bad boss, or stayed in a bad job, and made the choices I thought I was supposed to make. I know what it’s like to be stuck and not see a way forward. I often think to myself, “if I would have known what I know now 20 years ago, who knows where I’d be?” But I’m so happy with where I’m currently at. And a big piece of that happiness is knowing that I get to impart this learning to others, so they can start living their lives authentically right now.

It’s incredibly gratifying to help my clients unearth what they really want to get out of their lives. Too often we live under the burden of everyone else’s “shoulds.” We listen to voices other than our own, and heed advice from people who tell us what we’re supposed to be doing (according to them, anyway). But we don’t stop to ask ourselves if those “shoulds” resonate with what we actually want. The language of strengths helps people make their inner voices that much louder. It’s a tool that not only allows us to tap into who we are and what we want and need, but to communicate those findings with others.

Another big driver of mine is seeing the impact strengths can have not only on the individual level, but at a larger scale, from the company as a whole, to the leaders, to the employees themselves. 

For Organizations:

When I bring strengths into organizations, I can immediately feel almost a release of tension. In a way, it humanizes people within the company. Teams are given the language of strengths to add an extra degree of ease to their communication. Contributors are able to identify each others’ weaknesses in a way that’s free from blame or shame, and conversely, learn how to leverage each others’ strengths to best advantage both for the team and the organization as a whole. It’s incredibly validating when I see teams work better together, improve overall performance, and taking those daily small steps to learn more about each other through the framework of strengths.  

For Leaders:

The thing I love best about working with leaders is helping them find their authentic leadership style. Too often, leaders will come to me with a big case of imposter syndrome. “I don’t see myself as a leader… if a leader looks like that, then I’m not it.” In their minds, there’s only one way to lead. Or maybe they’re playing the comparison game and modeling their leadership off of other people. By analyzing each leader’s unique combination of strengths, I’m able to show them that to lead successfully they need look no further than themselves. Someone strong in Empathy and Individualization can be just as powerful a boss as someone with the Command and Strategic talent. It’s all about being true to yourself, and nourishing your specific talents so you can lead powerfully centered in your own talents. 

For Employees:

On an individual level, I’ll never get tired of seeing people light up with confidence after one of our coaching sessions. It’s deeply rewarding to almost see the lightbulbs light up above their heads when they say things like, “I’ve never thought of myself like that before, but now that you’ve said it, it totally resonates!” or “oh yea, now I can see why my WOO helped me be successful at that point, or why my Deliberative might have gotten in the way that one time.” The increased self-awareness and understanding of how to leverage those strengths lets them know that they’ve always had this. Whenever I can help a person see their potential, and connect their contributions to the organization’s bigger picture, then my day is totally made. It’s moments like that that keep me going.

From big organizational impact to individual empowerment, put in its simplest form, my why can be defined by this: I’m dedicated and driven to helping people see and communicate their innate, individual value so they can live a life of authenticity and true fulfillment.

Because if you could be yourself while achieving your goals, wouldn’t that be amazing? If people could confidently follow their dreams, wouldn’t that be something? If organizations could use a common language to build stronger teams and communicate with more clarity, wouldn’t that be so powerful? If individuals could look within themselves, and see the talent and potential that’s always been there, wouldn’t that be magical? At the end of the day, it’s the promise of unlocking these things for my clients that drives me to wake up and do what I love doing every day.