The practical method for identifying one’s strengths is gold. And the notion that a strength is more than just what your good at but also includes instinct, growth, and needs really provided an much deeper understanding of what strengths really are. It’s also a great point that nobody can identify your strengths for you, you have to do that, because so much of a strength has to do with what’s going on inside of you when you’re working within it. Those insights makes it much more likely a person will understand and correctly identify their strengths, which is the first step and a prerequisite to focusing more of one’s time on one’s strengths.

I also really want to be conscious of the strengths-based approach as my kids get older – helping them become great at what they’re good at rather than mediocre at what they’re not gifted at.

Through his humor he related powerful truths that touched our entire summit group. Discovering our own strengths and understanding 3 things that make us feel strong is challenging. My first thinking was “I don’t know if I can figure this out on my own, I’ll ask my spouse, my colleagues, my friends. They know me and probably could help me.” But he pointed out the fallacy of that thinking, since my strengths are part of me that others cannot read from the surface. Others don’t know what makes me feel strong based on the SIGNs.

Identifying my strengths is a challenge that I plan to face in the next 3 days. So far, I can say that I have an idea about one strength: I feel strong when I work with a team to plan schedules or format events. I love figuring out how to make things fit together and work for the purpose of the group.

Another area for me is creating situations where I can help my students recognize their strengths. I haven’t put this strength into the specific statement yet, but I am working on it.

I have set a goal as a result of the session: Focus the majority of my attention on my strengths and the strengths of those around me (especially my own children).

What are you doing to identify your strengths? How did Marcus Buckingham impact you?