An ideal job is one in which you are having fun while creating high value for an organization. You are having fun when you are doing what you are doing best. You are in control of what satisfies you in your professional life, which in turn enhances your personal life. It starts with discovering your strengths and learning how to build a job around these strengths.
What is a strength?
A strength is something you do well. But it takes more than experience and training to develop a strength. Strengths start with an inherent talent. A talent is “a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied”*. It is something that comes natural to you, something you have always had. A talent cannot be created. It needs to be discovered. A talent developed then becomes a strength. An undeveloped talent lies dormant, along with the fun of applying it. Recognized and activated, it becomes a strength.
Discover your talents and strengths
Because talents are inherent, they may not be obvious to us. They can be undiscovered hidden gems. Although there are a number of assessment instruments available, they can be too generic to help us to personalize them be helpful. Here are some ways to discover your talents that are all about you:
Write some success stories about yourself. Describe a situation in which you were successful. Be specific. Don’t analyze. Just describe one success in some detail. Then write another, then another. Add to this list of stories from time to time. A success story can be about something that happened last week, last year or many years ago.
Interview people who know you well with the following question What do I do well? As they talk – listen and take notes – and as appropriate ask questions like Will you elaborate a bit more on that? Can you give me an example? These people may be friends, colleagues, family or mentors.
After you have completed a number of stories and interviews, read your stories and notes and identify themes that emerge. Particularly pay attention to themes that keep emerging from a variety of situations. These are indicators of your talents and your strengths.
Create your ideal job
Start with your current job and ask yourself:
How am I currently using my talents and strengths?
What is one additional responsibility that I would like to add to my current job that utilizes a strength?
What’s one thing am doing that does not leverage my strengths?
How will this change in my job help my organization – help me?
Schedule some time with a mentor, your boss, HR to develop a plan to change your current job or find a job that is a better match.
You don’t stop here. You may want to consider opportunities with other organizations. Create a position description of your ideal job. You may find that you can create a position and not just find one. Put together a portfolio to highlight your strengths and achievements. Work samples --- and they don’t have to be limited to your current job – are powerful for telling your story and building your credibility.
Next Steps
To get started write one success story in the next 24 hours. It is easy and fun to do. Set up an interview with one colleague and ask them “What do I do well?” That will get the ball rolling. Let me know how it works at dr.mjcolburn@gmail.com and I’ll share some additional thoughts with you.
* This definition comes from the book First, Break All the Rules (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999).
Dr. Michael Colburn has built his career on performance improvement at the organization, team and individual levels for a broad range of clients in the private and public sectors for more than 30 years. He recently retired as an Associate Professor of Management at Ashland University where he taught Organization Development, Operations Management, Strategic Management and Self-Management & Accountability. Michael has authored numerous papers in academic, professional and trade publications. His first book, Own Your Job: Five Tools for Self-management and Accountability in the Workplace will help you think more entrepreneurial and teach you self-management skills and increase your performance and influence.