Identifying and leveraging strengths is central to capacity building.

Knowing what our strengths are, discovering ways to use them, and owning the impact that we have when we’ve engaged them, is a powerful way to increase capacity, performance, and fulfillment. The learning and energy that is generated by using our strengths draws us in, re-engages us, and expands our potential. Yup, it’s that easy.

How can we leverage our strengths to strengthen our coaching?

Example:
Curiosity is my top Character Strength. When I purposefully recruit my curiosity to support me in my coaching, my capacity to engage increases.
I’m more present and dialed in, which then provides me with more to draw on as I listen, watch and identify questions that will support the mentee’s forward action.

How do we identify our strengths?

Consider and respond to these questions. And, offer them up to support your mentees in identifying their strengths:

• What strengths do I know I have?
• What yearnings show up consistently in my life?
• What do I love to do? What strengths lie within?
• What strengths drive or sit underneath my passions and aptitudes?
• What do people consistently come to me for?
• What strengths do others acknowlege in me? (e.g., mentor-coach, colleagues, teaching partners, family, friends)

Follow up: What strengths are on your list? Which ones feel most familiar to you, and likely the strongest? Which strength(s) do you want to purposefully recruit as leader and/or as coach? Take note of how it feels when you do. What happens to your energy, fulfillment, performance and/or impact?

Listening for Strengths

The following excerpt of a mentor-coaching conversation illustrates how deeply “listening to” the language of the mentee can allow the mentor-coach and mentee to “mine” areas within the mentee for expanded awareness, choice, and clarity together. Listening for and accessing the mentee’s strengths can be a powerful resource for energy, commitment, and intentionality.

Mentee: I am frustrated with that group of students we talked about before. I have spent time with them exploring their options and encouraging them…and not much has changed…Now what?

Mentor-coach: Clearly you have brought your encouraging self to them. What other strength of yours might you recruit?

For lots more on the critical role of strengths in capacity building, and how to listen for and integrate them into your questions see ‘Strengths’ in the WMMC index.