Going Beyond — step 2; Recognised Strengths
Stage two on the Pyramid of Beyond, in my TEDx Talk; Going Beyond, is Recognised Strengths.
This is all about understanding what your main strengths are and being able to apply them to an opportunity that comes your way. The reason this is such an important stage is that it is personal to you and inevitably it will mean that you connect more deeply with the opportunity.
Despite what you may think, everyone has an inherent talent; a strength. Take some time to figure out what your strengths are. You can take strength tests online if you’re unsure. In my experience, most people have an idea of what these might be and sometimes these can be surprising to others.
Don’t just focus on the obvious aspects of your personality. For example, at our design studio, Thursday, we have an incredible array of talented people — but it is the passions and talents they show outside of their ‘normal’ skills that can often surprise and delight. Our Technical Director, Sim, is a brilliant photographer, for example. Kate, one of our amazing Account Managers, makes beautiful jewellery, has been a snowboard instructor and has a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology! Sometimes it’s those hidden talents that can add real value.
When an opportunity comes your way, see if you can apply some of your incredible skill and flair to it. The example I can give from my own experience is my illustration work. I graduated as an illustrator from university in 2008 and I am still a practicing illustrator to this day, having been commissioned by clients such as Tate, The Guardian, Mazda and Visit England.
My main role at Thursday, alongside business growth and setting the vision, is to lead on new business. In the past I have created illustrations for clients, as a way to say ‘thank you’ for asking us to pitch. This isn’t a gimmick, just a genuine way of demonstrating that we care about them and would love to work with them. During the pandemic I drew a picture of a building, signed and framed it and then hand-delivered it to a client we were pitching to, along with a printed book of our proposal. They were so pleased with the way we delivered our pitch and the genuine passion we displayed that we won the work. The framed work still sits in the clients office.
So spend some time thinking about what your core strengths are, they may be more obscure than you initially think. Speak to people close to you, ask them to list your strengths, try some online tests, you may unearth something surprising and ultimately valuable.
The next time an opportunity comes your way, apply your strengths and see what happens. Because they are your strengths, the experience for the recipient will be totally unique.
