Balanced Approach

Our society is wired to focus on gaps in skills, knowledge, and abilities. We compare ourselves to others constantly, and we become critical when we don't excel in areas that seem so easy for others. Similarly, in organizations, performance evaluations typically place emphasis on identifying "opportunities for improvement," and they often culminate in the creation of plans to develop the identified weaknesses, versus plans to leverage strengths.

At Gratiam Development, we believe this approach places focus in the wrong area. The weaknesses we have as adults are often the same challenges we've faced throughout our lifetime. Investing time and energy to "correct" or improve these areas is often an uphill battle, and will likely leave the learner feeling uninspired and frustrated. Instead of attempting to convert these weaknesses to strengths, a better approach is to simply minimize or neutralize any negative impact they may have on performance, results, and career growth.

In addition to our weaknesses, every individual is endowed with unique and wonderful strengths. Our goal at Gratiam Development is to help you uncover, praise, and leverage these strengths so you can achieve your potential and goals. You reap far greater benefit from investing in your strengths, because these gifts come naturally to you and are the key to your professional advancement. Think of a time you worked on a project or assignment and you had thoughts like: "I'm really on today" or "things are really flowing" or "I really nailed that." Have you ever considered why that happened? You were likely tapping your areas of strength. Success is inevitable when you align with your gifts.

You might be thinking, "I just want coaching on how to build a strategic plan. I'm not sure this balance, strengths, and weaknesses stuff applies to me." We would argue that even a topic, as business-focused as strategic planning, should take into account the leader's strengths and the strengths of the team members. Your team's success hinges on your ability to leverage your team's strengths and minimize the impact of their weaknesses. Everything planned for your team should be done with in-depth knowledge of your available resources and where you are lacking. Without this information, your plan may face significant challenges.

So how does all of this tie to balance? 

You can't and shouldn't have a conversation about strengths, weaknesses, and professional development without talking about your personal goals, passions, and purpose. You shouldn't report to work everyday to only achieve someone else's goals. You deserve the opportunity to bring your gifts to the world, and to experience the fulfillment that comes with spending the majority of your day leveraging your strengths.

We will bring balance to every coaching interaction by helping you understand how to leverage your strengths to achieve both your personal and organizational goals. By using this approach, we are confident that success will flow more easily, you will feel inspired, and the results you seek will be within reach. 

We also believe this will enable you to live and work more authentically. We want you to feel empowered to own your strengths and wear them like a badge of honor. Likewise, we want you to own your weaknesses. There is no shame in saying, "that isn't a strength of mine, but I'd love to work with you on this project, because I've heard that is one of your strengths." This way of thinking encourages candor, openness, authenticity, and diversity, and discourages leading from the ego -- all winning attributes.

If a balanced approach to professional development aligns with what you are seeking, please reach out today. We look forward to working with you!