Understand and Use Your Unique Strengths with Liesel Teversham
Channel: George Kao
Date: 2019-02-02

Why is it important to understand our Strengths? What are some of the strengths to look for? What makes your strengths unique? 

In this video I talk w/ Liesel Teversham - Savvy Self Growth for Introverts about these things, with a focus on the "Gallup/Clifton StrengthsFinder" system, which Liesel explains wonderfully. Enjoy!

(Liesel is one of my clients.)

Liesel Teversham helps sensitive souls and introverts to build confidence. She helps them to work through the blocks and fears that stop them, and find and embrace their true, authentic strengths.  Two of her favourite tools  - EFT (tapping), and the Gallup Strengthsfinder - provide a solid foundation for any introvert who wants to make a difference in the world in their unique, quiet way.

Links mentioned:

https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/

www.savvyselfgrowth.com

https://www.facebook.com/pg/SavvySelfGrowthforIntroverts

**

NOTES FROM LIESEL:

I hear so often that people say they don't know their strengths. I'd love to share a few points today about why I love the Clifton StrengthsFinder so much, and what it can do for us.
 
How the Strengths Movement started:

It's fascinating how it started! There was a study in the 1960's that 6,000 10th graders participated in. In the study, Researchers wanted to figure out how much speed reading would improve with different techniques. 

Didn’t find much difference between the results of different techniques but something else came out of the research that was fascinating.

Average readers started at  90 words per minute - increased to 150 words per minute - a 66% increase.

Above average: started at 350 words per minute - increased to 2,900 words per minute.

That's an improvement of 728%. That's staggering. 

They repeated the study to make sure they didn't get it wrong, and found the same type of results every time.

It's been proven over and over that we improve MUCH EASIER in the areas where we have inborn talent, than where we struggle.  We're at our most creative, inspired, energized, motivated and effective if we work from our strengths, rather than from our weaknesses.

A few other principles I'd like to talk around:

Fish in the water

We're like a fish in the water with our strengths. What we do easily feels so 'normal' to us, that we assume everyone else would find it easy too. We tend to discount or dismiss that certain things are easy for us, and don't think it's anything special.

I believe we need to get paid the MOST for the things that are easy for us - because that's where we add the most value to others.


Uniqueness

StrengthsFinder helps us to understand how completely UNIQUE we are.

You can either get your Top 5, or Full 34 strengths through the assessment. If we talk about Top 5 only:

The chance that someone else has your Top 5 in a random order, is 1 in 280,000. Here's the REAL kicker. The chance that someone else has your T5 in the exact same order, is 1 in 33,9 million.

And we have not even considered the rest of your 34, or your history, background, knowledge, education, values and upbringing.

“Be yourself - all others are taken!” Oscar Wilde

 

Your Biggest Difference from me is your Biggest Service to me

When we know our own talents, we can own and embrace that I don't have to be great with EVERYTHING. Others in my life can help me in my areas of weakness, and I can help them in theirs. The people that we often judge the MOST because they're very different from me, and they do things in very different ways, can be the MOST HELPFUL to me because they fill in the areas where I struggle.


4 Talent Clusters

Gallup has found that the talents show up in these 4 ways: 

Executing talents - people who are great with doing stuff, in 9 different ways. Ex Achiever.

Influencing talents - people who are great with getting others to do stuff. People follow them easily. Ex Communication.

Relational talents - they are the "glue" that keep teams and companies working well together - they have beautiful skills and talents to get the BEST out of people. Ex Empathy

Thinking talents - they keep the focus on "what could be" and stretch the thinking of those around them. Ex Intellection.


Quote

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open."

Martha Graham (Mother of Modern Dance)