Leading with strengths is the path to courageous leadership.
And sometimes, our biggest strengths are disguised as weaknesses.
To borrow what Brené Brown said (she even wrote a book about that), when you ‘dare to lead’ from a place of vulnerability, you are open and honest about your feelings, fears, and failures.
It’s about embracing and using your imperfections as a source of strength.
In short: you overcome adversities and learn to use that experience to lead with enough humility and a strong but kind heart.
Most people follow what their old childhood conditioning taught them, on autopilot, till the end. How we think about ourselves influences our feelings about others, creating our reality.
By shifting our mindset we unlock potential and pave the way for personal growth and development.
Just imagine the possibilities if you could reprogram your mind, turn your life around, improve your business and achieve your goals.
How To Change Your Narrative And Start Leading With Strengths
Whether you are a team leader at a large organisation or are a solo entrepreneur, student or at home parent, or someone struggling to make ends meet and feels like every day’s jut pure survival – leading with strengths might require you to change the narrative your mind has been receiving, i.e., the self-programming.
I could leave this here as the main takeaway: positive changes in your life must start with you.
Do a life audit, list your strengths and weaknesses to start with.
As mentioned above, sometimes, we overlook specific strengths disguised as weaknesses simply because of our current—and limited—perception of ourselves.
Remember when you talk to someone, and they compliment you on a trait you never paid too much attention to? Others see us differently from how we view ourselves.
Adopting a more objective observation of ourselves could be the first step towards identifying our strengths that we can later capitalise on.
But what if there’s more to us? What about that almost indescribable excited energy we radiate when we get in the flow?
Into The Flow
If you haven’t yet, read Mihaly Csikszentmihaly’s book Flow (originally published in 1990).
Many authors, coaches have discussed this topic since, sometimes twisting and turning it a little to make the concept theirs.
The point is that this is not only a trending topic but a timeless concept.
In short, we should aim to get into a state of flow.
We can achieve that by doing something not too hard but not too easy; just challenging enough to keep us going.
When fully immersed in what we do, we can continue without consciously forcing ourselves due to energised focus.
Come full circle – the state of flow is an optimal experience that can take us closer to creating a meaningful life.
Reprogram Your Mind
When we stop thinking with emotions and more like a controller of this excellent biological computer called the ‘brain’, I think that’s where leading with strengths begins.
You see, I went through life trying to repair the damage old conditioning had done to me.
That dated conditioning had seeped into everything, from relationships to professional decisions, for far too long. Now, when you only realise this over forty, I can tell you that’s one rude awakening!
But age is just a number—it really is. Plus, I never asked for my time on Earth to be divided into chunks like years. That wasn’t our invention, was it? We were born into a ready-made world. Nobody asked whether or not we liked how it was.
The best thing we can do is to make the most of it.
If you’re older than me, you probably agree that life goes by in the blink of an eye.
If younger, you might think you have much time left.
Regardless, I invite you on a journey of self-discovery where you shut out the noise of social media, the neighbour, and all the distractions, even if for fifteen minutes a day to start with, focusing only on yourself.
You have so much power in you, you can’t even imagine.
The endless distractions that surround us keep us from realising our goals and dreams.
If you want to achieve lasting change, then start acting with intention.
You can begin rewriting your story by identifying your strengths. You might be asking:
How I Started Leading With Strengths
Don’t be afraid of your weaknesses!
Be very clear about them. Before, when people told me, “You’re too emotional”, or “Too this”, or “Too that”, it got to me.
But now, after I started the process of reprogramming my mind (on a very basic human level simply feeding it with different words and thoughts but with intention), my reaction is more like:
1. Ah, okay, they aren’t talking about me, but themselves.
2. How interesting! What can I learn from this?
It’s like stepping away from my character and observing it as an outsider, looking closely at where I can tweak this character avatar to make it serve me better.
Some people get a smooth sea to achieve their dreams.
Some of us have to sail through many storms.
What worked for me was shifting my focus to my strengths instead of dwelling on my shortcomings.
This focus shift helped me become more confident in my abilities.
You develop resilience when you experience hardships that force you to overcome them.
Leading with strengths means leading from a place of confidence and resilience.
Utilising strengths in your life and career is the beginning of a new chapter.
How To Rewrite Your Story?
I can only talk about the first steps I took towards rewriting mine.
I knew I had a lot of unnecessary information and unprocessed stories in my mind that needed to be structured, demolished, and reshaped – I let you choose the word.
Writing is a big part of who we are because, besides its many advantages, by writing, we gain clarity.
The language and the words we use determine how we look at ourselves and how others perceive us.
The wonderful thing about the brain is that when you begin feeding it with a different code, i.e., a new vocabulary that aligns with your goals and a future-successful-self, it helps create a different life.
So, without further ado, let’s look at those three things that can help you too.
1. Journalling
You have probably heard different gurus and coaches tell you at every turn to do this – journalling is almost always part of the advice. When I started journaling, I thought it went okay, but after a while, it felt more like a constant moan-fest than a productive activity.
Was I doing it wrong? Or was there something wrong with me?
Neither. I will talk about using language the right way in the next section, but here, the point was to just start.
Journalling every day helped discipline my thoughts and emotions, and also got me into the habit of writing.
I quickly learnt two things:
First, writing out everything that bothered me about my past gave me more clarity about what I did not want in my future and helped me recognise the patterns where it all went wrong. That’s invaluable information the next time you face a similar situation.
Second, focusing on the future suddenly opened up a new world of possibilities. It started with little things like, ‘Okay, yesterday I missed exercise, but today I did not.’ And when the next time you write that you exercised again, got your steps in and completed the daily 500-word count, you are on your way to rewriting your story.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Small steps, but consistent.
2. Changing your language
You have the power to free yourself from limiting beliefs.
You can change the future by changing your language to talk to yourself.
From the moment we’re born, we hear people talking around us.
The language they use and the surrounding culture shapes who we become.
As we age, we start shaping our identity, primarily based on learning. We might think we’re entirely free to become whoever we want, but our environment, like our culture, dramatically influences us. So, while we’re trying to create the best version of ourselves, there’s always room for improvement.
Whatever language you speak, if you feel trapped by dogma, your own or by other people’s limitations around you, start reading.
Reading will expand your vocabulary and widen your viewpoint on any subject. Not sure how to think more positively? Read a book about it.
The world’s busiest and wealthiest people read more than the average person. Regardless of where you are in life, there’s always the next level to go to, and reading might take you there.
3. Meditating
Meditating was something so foreign to me at first I even felt stupid doing it. I would sit down and put a YouTube video on, AirPods on sound-cancelling mode, but just couldn’t focus!
My thoughts were all over the place, and I was distracted by every little thing. I thought there was a miracle method to this that I wasn’t yet aware of.
In truth, I was distracted and unable to focus for longer because I lost focus.
Read Johann Hari’s book Stolen Focus. It will give you a clear picture of what is happening to you and the people around you in this ever-overstimulating, fast-paced era. Getting your focus back should be your priority if you want to build a meaningful life.
From my personal experience, both reading and journalling helped improve my focus. When meditating, even if you start with 5 minutes and then increase to 10, try to focus on one thing: your breath.
There’s no magic formula.
As I got better at it, its positive effects appeared in other areas of my life, I felt less stressed and more patient. It helped me rebalance by giving me a sense of calm. Practising daily, those rushing and distracting thoughts slowed down or disappeared entirely.
To conclude,
When we acknowledge our weaknesses and accept responsibility for where they have taken us in the past, that’s the beginning of leading with strengths.
We all have a strong base to build on wherever we are in life. Sometimes all it takes is to get out of the old story and create a new one.
We can choose how we think about things. And we can choose leading with strengths.
Thinking different thoughts will change how you feel, and that, in turn, will change your energy. Your narratives are powerful; words can make or break.
When you change your language, you change your life.
So, what will you choose today?
Latest Posts:
- Tips To Balancing Body and Mind for Optimal Health
- Fitness Over 40: A Guide to Staying Strong and Healthy
- 11 Tips To Take Back Your Power
- Find Courage: 9 Tips To Empower Yourself
- A Guide to Leading with Strengths: The Foundation
Disclaimer: The entire content of this website, including each blog post, is based upon the thoughts and opinions of the authors. Readers may implement advice and suggestions entirely at their own risk. The content of this website is not to be used without the written consent of the blog author.