Take Advantage of Your Signature Strengths
According to Ryan Niemiec of the VIA Institute on Character, “character strengths are positive traits …that are reflected in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and are predispositions toward moral excellence.” They are expressions of what is best in human beings, and important for personal and societal well-being.
Being aware of your strengths, and how best to use them, gives you a powerful advantage in meeting life’s challenges. Your ‘signature’ strengths are those that are most prominent in your sense of identity. They reflect what is most important to you, and using them feels essential to who you are, as well as effortless and energizing, leaving you feeling uplifted and motivated.
How do you identify your specific strengths? You can complete an assessment at the VIA Institute on Character to receive a strengths profile. Or, you can use this informal approach: Consider the following list of strengths categorized into virtue clusters, and select those strengths that best describe who you are at your core. Which strengths are essential, effortless, and energizing to you?
The Virtue of Wisdom
Creativity: originality; adaptability; ingenuity
Curiosity: interest in what’s new; novelty-seeking; exploration; openness to experience
Judgment: critical thinking; thinking things through; open-mindedness
Love of Learning: mastering new skills & topics; systematically adding to knowledge
Perspective: wisdom; providing wise counsel; taking the ‘big picture’ view
The Virtue of Courage
Bravery: valor; not shrinking from fear; speaking up for what’s right
Perseverance: persistence; industry; finishing what one starts
Honesty: authenticity; integrity
Zest: vitality; enthusiasm; vigor; energy
The Virtue of Humanity
Love: both loving and being loved; valuing close relations with others
Kindness: generosity; nurturance; compassion; altruism
Social Intelligence: aware of the motives/feelings of oneself and others
The Virtue of Justice
Teamwork: citizenship; social responsibility; loyalty
Fairness: just; not allowing feelings to bias decisions about others
Leadership: organizing group activities; encouraging a group to get things done
The Virtue of Temperance
Forgiveness: mercy; accepting others’ shortcomings; giving people a second chance
Humility: modesty; letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves
Prudence: careful; cautious; not taking undue risks
Self-Regulation: self-control; disciplined; managing impulses and emotions
The Virtue of Transcendence
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: awe; wonder; elevation
Gratitude: thankful for the good; expressing thanks; feeling blessed
Hope: optimism; future orientation
Humor: playfulness; bringing smiles to others; lighthearted
Spirituality: religiousness; faith; purpose; meaning
Self-Reflection & Journal: Recognizing Your Strengths in Action
For each of your top five strengths, answer these questions:
- How does this character strength describe the real me? In what ways is it a true description of me?
- How is this strength of value to me? Why is it important for me?
- What are the costs of this strength for me? In what ways does it not serve me well?
- How have used your strengths in your past successes? When you were at your best, what strength did you use?
- How have you used your strengths in your struggles? At times of high stress, what strengths helped you move forward?
- How have you used your strengths recently? Today, this week, this month?
- Is there a strength you would like to use more frequently?
Relating & Learning
Keep strengths in mind as you relate to others, and learn from their experiences and feedback.
- Tell others how you appreciate their strengths. Name the strength you see them using. For example, “John, I was impressed by how well you kept your cool during that heated discussion yesterday. That took a lot of self-regulation on your part.”
- Discuss what “strength of character” means with family or friends. Consider the core strengths of your family, and how they have showed up over the years.
- Share what your strengths are, and how they’ve benefitted you. For example, you might point out how you expressed your creativity at work in the last week. Request feedback about the strengths others see in you—they may see strengths of which you are not aware.
Building Strengths
To build strengths, we must put them into action. Over the next week, pick four times to experiment with using one of your signature strengths in a new way.
- Think about how you use one of your signature strengths regularly in your life. How might you expand that use? How might you use a strength in a new situation? Or with a new person?
- Is there an aspect of the strength that you use less frequently than others? For example, if it is the "nice and friendly" part of kindness that you tend to display, think about how to show kindness to someone through generosity.
- Could you use one strength to boost the use of another less-developed strength? Niemiec explains, "For example, if you have problems with perseverance, try using social intelligence to convince someone to help you persevere on a project, or use hope to energize yourself to persist."
Enjoy this experiment as you expand your signature strengths.
Balancing Strengths
To balance strengths, we think about the costs involved in over-using or under-using a strength. The optimal use of strengths requires the right combination of strengths, to the right degree, and in the right situation—what is called The Golden Mean of Character Strengths. These questions will help you consider how you might better balance the way you employ your best qualities:
- What does it look like when you bring forth one of your top strengths too strongly? How does that overuse impact others? Yourself?
- What does it look like when you forget to use one of your character strengths or you bring it forth too weakly? How does that underuse impact others? Yourself?
- Consider a recent problem or stressful situation. Did you contribute to the issue by overusing a strength? Or were you underusing a strength?
- Was there a recent situation in which you feel you did not bring your best self forward? Were you underusing your strengths?
- Has the use of your signature strengths ever gotten you into trouble? How so?
- Consider a time when someone at home or at work said that they were upset or frustrated with you. Can you identify the overuse or underuse of a strength in that situation?
- In situations in which others have upset you, can you recognize the influence of a signature strength? Are you overplaying or underplaying a strength such that it leads to frustration with others?
Employing your strengths is a powerful way to remain motivated and energized through work. If you would like to discuss your strengths further, or address other career development needs, I am here for you.
Schedule a free, exploratory conversation.
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