DO YOU HAVE A CLEAR SENSE OF YOUR OWN STRENGTHS?

Have you ever had a moment when you doubted your abilities? Have you ever made a mistake that shook your self-confidence? Did anyone ever tell you that you don’t have what it takes to get something accomplished?

If you have found yourself in these situations, rest assured that you’re not alone. Everyone has felt this way at one time or another. We tend to be hard on ourselves and lose confidence when something doesn’t go the way we hoped. You’ve probably heard the saying, “you’re your own worst critic.” We tend to be harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else.

We take for granted the things we do well because they come easily. However, most people remember and even dwell on what isn’t working. We tend to focus more on our shortcomings than our strengths.

The question is, how fast can you bounce back from this feeling of inadequacy? How resilient can you be? To regain your self-confidence, you may need to shift your thinking to a new paradigm. A tried-and-true approach is to remind yourself of what you do well. You have abilities, skills, and talents that you’ve proven time and time again. Think about those moments in your career when you demonstrated your professional capabilities. What was the context? What did you do well? How did you make it happen? What competencies did you apply to the situation?

Reflect on your entire professional career. Identify your successes, big and small. Perhaps you were recognized by your supervisor and other employees and received an award for your accomplishment. Or maybe it was a small achievement that only you knew about. The point is, you had to apply your strengths, skills, and knowledge to the situation to make it work.

As a supervisor, you’re responsible for your staff as well as yourself. People are counting on you to do your best. Your ability to manage people and projects is critical. Supervision is often called a “soft skill.” However, there’s nothing soft about it; it’s hard to supervise well because there are so many variables. You’re dealing with people and their needs, values, work styles, preferences, and expectations, which don’t always converge.

What are the strengths of a successful supervisor? One of my best bosses asked for my input and included me in decision-making, especially when it involved my responsibilities. I felt valued, that what I contributed mattered. He recognized me and other staff members for going above and beyond, and told each of us how much he appreciated our efforts.

Early in my career when I was a supervisor at a chain of community newspapers, I recognized the strengths of my staff, which I thought were being underutilized. I worked closely with the graphic artists to enliven the visual aspect of the papers, creating a more updated look. I asked the staff for their ideas. I listened to their suggestions and concerns—and let them know what I could and couldn’t do. I expressed my appreciation for the improvements they made and highlighted the positive impact they had on the entire organization.