ITS ALL ABOUT STRENGTHS
I am in the fortunate position that my birthday is near the end of the year (it was yesterday) as it always provides me with the trigger to reflect on the year that has passed and to cast my eyes forward into the potential of the year that lies ahead.
2011 has been a mixed year for me; a year of transition from a work point of view, dealing with the end of a relationship with a very special person, and the continued reality check of a lifelong friend fighting cancer. So a fair measure of personal hardship, which is thank fully always matched or exceeded by growth, enjoyment and progress when attempting to go through life with a positive attitude. The last 4 months of working with LIFESTRUCK at Deloitte Consulting in Joburg, have truly been an inspirational time. I have discovered a desire to help and work with people, that I never thought I possessed, and it has been a great privilege to work alongside a great friend in Stuart Hoy. To be a part of seeing his hard fought dream begin to take shape into something real and tangible, is testament to great belief and perseverance!
Part of my journey of being involved in LIFESTRUCK has been an exposure to the StrengthsFinder (http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx) system that we use with clients. This great tool and program is aimed at getting individuals and organisations to focus on identifying and developing your strengths rather than working on weaknesses (which is the traditional way it has been done). Interestingly I discovered through the StrengthsFinder process, that one of my 5 strong themes is being:
“Futuristic – You love to peer over the horizon. The future fascinates you. As if it were projected on a wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps pulling you forward, into tomorrow. In fact, very often people look to you to describe your visions of the future. They want a picture that can raise their sights and thereby their spirits. You can paint this for them.”
So there it was in front of me, on paper: a reason why I have always loved the time of year around my birthday, where I can dream up my visions for the year ahead….and ultimately energize myself for the path ahead. 2012 is going to be the year that I change my mindset, I am going to focus on MY strengths, understanding them, developing them and making them as powerful as possible. I love what I do, but am driven to be better at it and to make a success of the opportunities that present themselves in 2012. I believe that this strength based approach will get me a long way to achieving my goals.
So as you round off your working year and look forward to a period of relaxation and a recharge of the batteries………I challenge you to think about your strengths and what you love doing? And why not join me in making 2012 all about building on strengths and doing more of what you love doing best!
Wayne
08.12.2011
