Building your professional life around your strengths is essential for your success.
Skills and knowledge can be acquired through learning and experience, but talent is innate. Be aware of your talents and then refine them by adding knowledge and skills.
Also in this series:How to manage and develop your career
1. Boost your confidence
Many people are not fully aware of their own strengths and are often surprised when they receive positive feedback about them. Self confidence will help you make the most of your talents and use them to your best advantage.
2. What are your talents?
List the core competencies of your job. Ask yourself which ones you enjoy the most and find easiest to do. Ask your friends and colleagues to give you some feedback too.
3. Play to your own strengths
Follow the 80/20 rule. You should spend 80% of your time making use of your key strengths because that is how you will get the best results. This means you may have to find ways to delegate some of the tasks you are not very good at or get up to scratch in your weak areas by setting up a development plan for yourself.
4. Don’t wait to be recognised
Don’t wait to be recognised by your boss or to receive the promotion you have been expecting. Put yourself forward for a new task, do some research, talk to people. A lot of people have great ambitions and desires but fail to put them into practice – so change your attitude and take actions.
5. Get yourself noticed
Tell others what you’re good at. Blow your own trumpet through trade assocations, award schemes, conferences and online forums in order to make new contacts and
get noticed.
6. learn from failures
Failures can often lead to greater understanding of what works and what doesn’t. There is no point in criticising yourself, but there is a point in learning how to avoid it happening again. Make sure you don’t brush failure under the carpet – take time to understand what went wrong and why.
7. Enjoy what you do
If you enjoy what you do, you are also having fun. It is much easier to contribute and be noticed when you are energised and engaged. Think about the projects or tasks that were fun for you and put yourself forward for more of the same.
8. Speak your mind
Most people want to be liked. All too often we are drawn into saying yes rather than what we really mean. Don’t be afraid to say no, but explain why. Get into the habit of speaking your mind and having your own opinions. Express them calmly and you will stand out from the crowd.
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