3 Strategies to Leverage Your Strengths to Boost Your Career Progression

To be effective in today’s work environment, you must be able to influence those around you. 

Your career progression depends on it. 

You probably have friends who always seem to get the best opportunities. They’re persuasive and engaging. And people are naturally drawn to them.  It’s not by magic. They’re likely tapping into certain skills to further their career progression.

In this post, you’ll discover how to work on any fears you may have about promoting your work, gain clarity on your unique strengths and learn how to cultivate relationships with key decision-makers so that you can increase your opportunities to grow professionally.

For more strategies like these, Watch my LinkedIn Learning course, Use Your Strengths for Impact and Influence at Work. 

Master Your Inner Critic 

It's not always easy to feel confident promoting your work, particularly if you're naturally self-critical, being confident may be challenging. But no matter where you’re at in life, self-confidence is crucial to your progression. 

Self talk can have a negative impact on our life, preventing us from moving forward on a personal or professional level. Arianna Huffington calls this ‘the obnoxious roommate living in our heads.’ This “roommate” she says is there to hold us back and tell us we’re not good enough to succeed.

What we think, particularly our limiting beliefs when not paying attention have major implications on our happiness and subsequently our career success. If you’re an introvert who doesn’t feel comfortable or feel the need to speak up in meetings for example, consider what may be holding you back from putting yourself forward. 

I got a huge culture shock when I relocated from London to New York. Everyone seemed confident and outspoken. Very different to the reserved culture I had grown accustomed to in London. To feel more comfortable speaking up, I began to ask myself: 

• What story am I telling myself as to why I can’t speak up? 
• What limiting thought is running on a loop without me even realizing it?
• What’s the worst that can happen if I speak up? 

Once you become more aware of the thoughts you choose to think, you’ll see that self awareness is truly the first step to managing any negative self-talk. 

Gain Clarity on Your Strengths 

Many of us struggle to fully own our strengths or even feel we don’t have any. It’s important to reflect on your key strengths to fully understand what makes you unique, otherwise years could pass by with you doing things that don’t even light you up.  

Joanna, one of my clients, comes from a traditional middle-class Asian background. She felt pressure from her family to become a lawyer and pursue what was deemed a ‘secure’ career. After a year of working as a lawyer, she was miserable. One day, Joanna decided to take some time to gain clarity on her strengths as she made this career transition. She knew she needed to listen to her inner voice to feel fulfilled or would be left wondering ‘what if’ forever. 

If you’re in the same position as Joanna, here are three tips to identify and get clear on your strengths:

1. Reflect -  Start by evaluating yourself. Note down your core skills, strengths and areas to develop. In Joanna’s case, she has a creative flair and an eye for colour - great skills for an aspiring interior designer. The point of this exercise is to delve deeper into who you are and your short to long term objectives. 
2. Ask a friend - Seek out someone who knows you well and ask them to name three of your top strengths. This is a helpful approach because it removes the potential for personal biases to impact your own self-assessment. 
3. Use a strength test - If you’re still unsure of what your core strengths are, take a test to dig into this. Some of my favourites are Myers Briggs and Disc - both available for free online. 

Whatever approach you decide to take, it will take time, commitment and courage to lean into what you discover to make the necessary changes. Be patient with yourself and don’t be afraid to truly explore whatever comes up! 

Make a Dream List 

Being great at what you do, doesn't mean much if no-one knows you exist. Successful people are intentional about cultivating a supportive network. They see the value of building relationships - long before they need to. When I first started a job at a global company I knew that unless I was intentional about forming relationships with the senior leaders, I’d struggle to progress in the role. Each month, I set a goal to meet new people in different departments to find out more about them, their role and how I could support them. 

Your success in life is directly linked to the time you invest in relationships.  

Create a ‘dream list’ of 5 to 6 key decision makers throughout the company that you want to get to know better. Be intentional about who you select. Then get time on their calendar. The aim here is to learn more about their goals and what success looks like to them.

Remember: Your network, truly is your net worth. Take the time to invest in your relationships and watch more opportunities come your way.

You’ll thrive by taking bold, consistent action to create more impact and influence. Block out time on your calendar each week to do one thing that moves you towards your goals.