“Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong… And yet, a person can perform only from strength.” – Business guru Peter Drucker (1909 – 2005)

As many of you who already subscribe to my Leadership Power Tips know, one of my favorite books is Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. When coaching my clients, we talk a lot about Strengths and seek to gain clarity on what theirs’ are. I just completed reviewing my Strengths after reading Strengths Finder 2.0, the upgraded version by Tom Rath. The goal of Gallup Management and the authors “was to start a global conversation about what’s right with people.”

I fell in love with this goal and overall philosophy right away. My passion is to have more leaders really understand who they are by being more aware and observant of the impact of their actions. What do they do well and what do they not do well. Becoming clear on both is really important to leadership development. Focusing on what is a strength as a leader means you will have an opportunity to make a dramatic difference for yourself and your employees. As a leader, I support building on who you already are and being aware of who you are not, managing your weaknesses.

The research Gallup has done “discovered that people have several times more potential for growth when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead of correcting their deficiencies.” Their research also indicates “that people who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.”

In these tough economic times, it is already challenging without the added dynamic of not being able to use your strengths and do what you do best everyday. As Gallup’s extensive research has found (and you and I know from experience) when you are not able to use your strengths at work, chances are that you:

• hate going to work
• have more negative interactions with people at your work
• treat customers poorly
• speak negatively about your company to your friends
• achieve less
• have fewer positive and creative moments

So, if you are experiencing any or all of these, please take the time to pick up this book, Strength Finders 2.0 and begin to confirm your strengths, your natural talents. As 2009 comes to close, now is the time to review what you will focus on in 2010. Why not start out with building on your strengths?

My top five Strength themes are Relator, Maximizer, Positivity, Learner and Intellection. What are yours?

Over the last 18 months, I coached many employees, managers and executives in a very dynamic environment where growth was happening very fast to, unfortunately, where decline rapidly took hold and seemed to spiral out of control. After hiring almost 70 people and watching them enthusiastically take on the launch of a new program, I was several months later laying off all the people I hired plus many more. I witnessed hope, contribution and commitment and then despair, fear and anger.

From the beginning, change was very apparent – new people working together building a team; new processes to be learned and enhanced; new offices being opened and performance being reviewed. Some people thrived on the change and some resisted the changes. It was an amazing time for me to be involved as a coach, a HR manager and an observer. I loved helping employees deal with the new demands; coaching managers to motivate employees and bring clarity to their expectations. Then as the business revenues began to decline just when expenses were increasing, change took on a whole new look – people being laid off; offices closing; programs being shut down and services being eliminated. I also was grateful for helping the employees deal with losing their jobs; coaching managers to make and deal with the results of their tough decisions; and listening as all levels of the organization tried to sort out what the changes meant for them and their families, the company and the clients. Many thanked me for the straightforward approach and compassion I brought to difficult conversations.

In my many roles in business, I have initiated change, been a “victim” of change, and embraced change. For me, I know it is my perspective that drives the how I will handle change. Call it the wisdom of my years (or the hard knocks of experience) but thankfully I no longer am a victim of change. Yes, I may have a few moments of regret, disappointment and even anger reflecting how come, why me, why now… The key for me has been to acknowledge my feelings, giving myself permission to feel bad for whatever I need – 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes – and then I move on… looking for “what’s next” with the intention of making all change beneficial.

Being a leader means you will become familiar with all of the aspects of change and how you handle it will begin to define who you are as a leader. So how are you doing in handling change?

I am a member of the leadership team – Human Resources Director. What I love about this role are many things and two stand out:

1) the organization is not for profit with a commitment to serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community;

2) I still get to do what I love – coaching others, assisting others grow and putting systems in place to streamline processes; and,

Yes, I have the best of both worlds – I get to lead and to follow. My life will be simpler, less stressful, yet still rewarding with the opportunity to continue to make a difference in the life of others.

I am happy, not to say I was unhappy, how about I am happier!

This is also good news for you as now I will have more time to share more, speak out more and keep this blog rolling along. I hope you will join me in this conversation about “empowering passionate leadership” which I so dearly love. I want to inspire you to lead or to follow… in the way that has meaning for you.

I look forward to taking a look at what my accomplishments have been each quarter. Have I reached my goals, achieved any major milestones, meet any new people. I find my time spent on a reflection of the last quarter, the last year, the last five years – can be very gratifying indeed.  My leadership experiences and skills have been improved via new projects, new challenges and meeting new people.

I am reminded that Life is Very Good!