This is Dr. Marla Gottschalk’s fourth post for Gapingvoid. Marla has years of experience as an I/O Psychologist and is an avid work-life blogger. Her love is organizational stability and creating cultures of psychological safety, where we can contribute to our highest potential. If your organization has completed a Gapingvoid baseline diagnostic, Marla has been the one behind it – exploring how we can help your organization evolve to express its values and meet its goals. We will soon be unveiling Marla’s take on the topic of Core Stability for both people & organizations, sharing some of her great thinking here. We encourage you to join the 2+ million people following her on Linkedin and Instagram.
Strengths have endured as a focal point of career growth. Author Whitney Johnson, speaks of our unsung “super-powers” that can drive both career disruption and growth. Massive training organizations, have arisen and flourished, to discuss how we might find our strengths. We all seem to agree that strengths matter — and that their identification is vital.
However, no amount of research, training or persuasion, can help us avoid the wasted energy and missed opportunities which occur because of one simple fact: As individuals, we may value strength identification, but respect for those same strengths does not always follow. The idea of strengths deeply resonates — but adopting an application mindset does not always follow.
We tend to treat strength alignment, as if it were a luxury item — when in fact it functions like water. A fundamental. A basic. A necessity. Respecting our strengths is integral to building Core Stability.
Normalizing the notion of strength alignment, and exploring methods to bring alignment front and center should become a priority. (Few things could sustain us career-wise, with as much power.) Yet “noise” persists while seeking to apply that “strength signal”.
Weaving the notion of strength application into our conversations about work should become more natural, as there are opportunities that we often overlook. For example, when have you freely shared with a team member: “You know, you have an incredible ability to do this — let’s ensure you have the opportunity to develop and apply this skill going forward.” Similarly, when is the last time you asked: “It has come to my attention that I have this specific strength. Any ideas about how I might apply it going forward?”
What happens next? What should be done with that information? Attempt to change the plan going forward. Let that knowledge serve as a guiding force, helping you (and others) through our own career journey. A campaign — so to speak — to apply our strengths.
Aligning strengths won’t happen without a nudge in the right direction.
We must declare that we believe in their importance.
It is up to us, to champion the mindset and lead that charge.
