charlieDEAN’S Blog

Okay, so I talked about this a month ago or so, and I haven’t said anything since…it’s cuz I’ve been thinking & processing…so here’s an update.

Remember, that Buckingham’s central point, is that we will become more successful by concentrating on strengthening our strengths than we will working on our weaknesses.  So, I’ve been in a process of asking myself…”what are my strengths?”

Buckingham suggests that you state these strengths in terms of “I feel strong when…”  This is a critical point…I may be good at something that totally drains me…which means that it’s not a strength…

So I’ve been sifting…not asking myself what I’m good at, but what makes me feel strong.  So here are three “strength statements” that I’ve arrived at:

I feel strong when I communicate Biblical content to groups of people where I get to do a fair amount of study and where there’s a forum for dialogue.

I feel strong when I get to lead meetings that are strategic in nature, where there are clear problems/issues to be solved and where the meeting leads toward action.

I feel strong when I have the opportunity to bring life experiences & things I’m learning to other people who are in crisis or at a crossroads of faith.

If you want to do this excercise, Buckingham says that one of the keys is to make the statements specific enough that you really understand the strength (“I like sales” doesn’t really get at what makes you feel strong about selling stuff), but generic enough that it can apply to various circumstances.