In a world saturated with talented people, you must amplify your strengths to reach your goals & dreams! Having an understanding of the areas where you excel is a valuable way to learn how you can best focus your energy and direct your intentions. Pursuing this line of thought, I have been able to promote my strengths and better my abilities as a leader. In both my personal and professional life, I have found that following these four concepts have allowed me to build my strengths, pursue my goals, and shape my leadership.

  1. Practice What You’re Good At

It’s as everyone always says – practice makes perfect! When I was first starting in my industry, I made staying up to date on the latest news, market updates, and industry events part of my practice – especially when it came to pursuing clients and building my network. Knowing my product, my customers, and keeping up to date with market trends gave me an advantage. Too many people spend time trying to perfect things they are not good at. Don’t waste that time – focus your efforts and practice what you excel in! Whether you are a professional athlete, entrepreneur, or young real estate agent, there is no such thing as too much practice.

2. Rethink vulnerability

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, I was aware that vulnerability would have my male associates perceive me as less competent in my decision making. As I have gained more experience and found trust in myself, I have discovered vulnerability to actually be one of my strengths! There is confidence and self-assurance that comes at the cost of being transparent in your humanity. By being vulnerable, I show my team that I am just a normal person. Whether it’s asking for help in an area you struggle or showing concern for an associate, expressing vulnerability opens the door for collaboration. This allows more room for connection, understanding, and growth amongst my team and within myself. We are all human and normalizing transparency in the workplace can benefit all of us. 

3. Personal Understanding

Understanding the areas where you excel and areas in which you need help, is a key part of learning to focus your skillset. Many people struggle in identifying what they are best at. Don’t waste time wondering – ASK! Start with the people closest to you and begin to identify the trends and areas where you are recognized for your strengths. In some situations, acknowledging that others might be better in a particular area can provide respite from a challenging task. Learning to ask others for help can be a challenge for many individuals, but in my experience – it provides a more powerful outcome!. There is power in understanding your weakness and I am proud that I can acknowledge where I need help.

4. Confidence

Believe in yourself – Believe in you! If you are not confident in your skills, why would anyone else be? Finding the areas where you are comfortable is the key to establishing confidence in your purpose. The other day my father told me, “You have to focus only on your strengths and what you’re good at. Build on your talent. Being comfortable is being confident. Lean into it.” By finding the strengths in your comforts, you can enjoy your work and find passion in what you pursue. That being said – do not ignore your weaknesses, but keep them low on the totem pole and put your energy into what excites you. At the end of the day, enjoying what you do and being able to own your strengths will give you the confidence and drive to succeed.

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