In this episode, I discuss discovering and using your strengths, based on the StrengthsFinder assessment developed by the Gallup organization. I first took this test back in 2003. It was a major turning point in my leadership philosophy.

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/MichaelSvoboda

One of the most important questions you can ever ask yourself is this: “What are my strengths?” Knowing the answer is the key to job satisfaction and effectiveness.

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Unfortunately, most of us have been trained to think first about our weaknesses. For example:

Teachers pointed out our errors and marked them with a red pen.

Parents scanned our report cards and focused on those subjects where we needed to improve.

Employers have noted our weaknesses and discussed them at our annual performance review, often under the heading, “Opportunities for Improvement.”

I used to do the same thing with my direct reports. I thought I was being helpful. As a leader, I thought that this was my role.

Everything changed when I read, Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton’s bestseller, Now, Discover Your Strengths. At the time, both men worked for Gallup. The book was based on their research there.

They had a simple but powerful thesis. The best way to get ahead in your career and be satisfied in your job is to focus on developing your strengths. No matter how hard you try, you really can’t improve your weaknesses. You are wasting time and energy trying to do so. The best thing you can do is discover your strengths and then find a role that allows you to use them.

In their extensive research, Buckingham and Clifton identified thirty-four different strength themes. They also developed an online strengths assessment that identified your five top strengths. Since the book originally came out, Buckingham left Gallup and went on to write several more bestsellers. Sadly, Donald Clifton passed away.

However, Tom Rath, another Gallup employee, picked up the torch and refined the research. He used the results from the four million people who took the first test to develop an even more accurate, reliable, and faster assessment tool.

In 2007, he wrote a follow-up book called StrengthsFinder 2.0, documenting his research. Gallup then made the new assessment available online, renaming it “Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0” in honor of Donald Clifton.

We have a misguided maxim in our culture that says, “You can be anything you want to be, if you just try hard enough.” Rath tells the story of Rudy Ruettiger as an example of this. He became a cultural icon for this philosophy.

After much research, Rath suggests a better principle: “You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” This is a major key to success.

Here are seven steps you can take to discover your strengths and start operating according to your unique design:

Step #1: Buy the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book and take the test. Inside the book, you will find an “access key” that enables you to take the online assessment. (If you buy the Kindle edition of the book, Amazon e-mails you the key after you complete the purchase.)

Step #2: Review your customized report and reflect on your strengths. Ask, “How well do these strengths describe me?