Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of University students that were in their 3rd and 4th years of University.
I shared with them that...
SELF DISCOVERY is your career’s secret weapon.
Being a Leadership Coach, I am greatly interested in the power of self discovery.
When networking, job hunting, or vying for a new role within your existing organization, this is where your power lies:
1) Knowing yourself then
2) Sharing what you know about yourself with others by helping them see how you can provide value to their team or organization.
As I shared with the university students, you are always in sales. The best way to sell yourself is to be enthusiastic about who you are.
In order to be enthusiastic about who you are, you have to KNOW yourself in order to speak CONFIDENTLY and to make AUTHENTIC connections.
A sale is a transfer of enthusiasm!
So how do we learn about ourselves?
I expressed to these university students that knowing your STRENGTHS is one way to know yourself then you need to know how to talk about it.
Superior communication skills may be one of your strengths. This could also be many other people’s strengths as well, so the power is knowing how to talk about your strength.
Here's an example:
Strength: “I have superior communication skills.
Now connect the dots about how you add value: I have an ability to arrange words and ideas in a way to create impact. In the past, this has not only help me articulate ideas clearly, but it is also helped me influence people on my team when I felt a project should go in a certain direction. So not only does my superior communication skills allow me to be articulate and clear, but I have an ability to influence and persuade.
Now I can see how your strength of superior communication skills would be useful if I was hiring for a marketing team or a project lead.
You see how this works? The more you know about yourself, the more confidently you are able to sell yourself. Your own personal fulfillment rises too when you begin to view yourself through different lenses. You recognize that you are not one dimensional AND that you have more to offer this world than you think you do.
What I often find is that people tend to overlook or discount their strengths and gifts.
For me, there is great value in self discovery. It truly is a secret weapon in your career and in life.
Here are some other great questions to help you on your path of self-discovery:
1. What are must haves in your life?
2. What do you contribute that is unique?
3. What are you obsessive about?
4. What have you been told that you are good at?
5. What lights you up?
I could talk about this all day. There are so many ways to get to know yourself and the value in that is immeasurable!
Remember: Know Yourself and the speak confidently about who you are.
When you are excited about you, the world will be too.
I hope this communication makes you stop and explore a little bit more about who you are no matter what age you are as we are always moving in and out of phases in our life. We could be mid career or retiring wondering what's next or just starting out in life.
We need to know ourselves all along the way. Your life choices and confidence depends on it.
Happy Discovery!
Comments