“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
~ Thomas Edison
Benchmarking involves measuring yourself against a certain standard or point of reference against which things may be compared or assessed. The best leaders know the importance of understanding their own strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth. These leaders are continuous learners and as such they have a high-level of self-awareness.
In this vain, I have all my coaching clients complete a SWOT, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Strengths analysis to help create their benchmark for success. This process helps you see what patterns emerge so you can gain insight into your strengths and discover the gap(s) or areas for improvement. This uncovers your unique talents and benchmarks how far or close you are to achieving success. The Sage Alliance SWOT matrix will help you complete this exercise.
(S) Strengths
Your strengths are what come naturally to you. In some cases, your strengths may be a surprise. Why? Because you employee them effortlessly. You may not realize others do not perform at the same level of expertise as you do, in these areas. To further uncover your attributes, leverage past performance reviews or even better take an assessment to uncover your greatest strengths. Think about how these strengths “show up” on the job. Take the time to list these adjectives or traits in this first box along with examples of where you leverage these strengths the most.
(W) Weaknesses
We all have development areas or for the purposes of our SWOT analysis, weaknesses. These are the areas that we struggle with over time. It takes greater effort and energy to perform in these areas. As you think about your weaknesses, focus on the soft skills; those skills that will help you connect with people, communicate effectively, be a better leader. Steer away from functional requirements of your job such as “I could be better in finance” or “I need to learn the finer points of power point”. Your weaknesses are the things that will stand in the way of you reaching your goals and ultimately render you less effective. Consider the following questions: What areas take greater energy or focus? What are your potential blind spots or challenges? And how do these areas “show up” in your behavior, i.e. what do others notice?
(O) Opportunities
The Opportunities section is where you think about ways in which you can leverage your strengths. Earlier, you made a list of examples of where these attributes are demonstrated. Now is the time to think about proactive measures you can take to put your strengths to work. It may involve volunteering for projects that leverage your talents or taking the initiative where you had not in the past. Whatever it is, it is important to come up with solid ways to put your strengths front and center. For you to achieve success, you need to be doing more in the areas that come naturally to you, your strengths.
(T) Threats
And lastly, the Threats are what stand in the way of being consistent. We are our own worst enemy. Ensure you are doing everything you can to mitigate your weaknesses and lead with your strengths. Look for opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and not let fear of failure hold you back. When you are intentional about taking risks, you are in a better position to succeed. Threats can also be peripheral. For example, organizational factors, such as a new manager or a reorganization that could be a threat to your success if not managed accordingly. This is the time to gain clarity on the obstacles that stand in your way. You will need to create an action plan to overcome any hurdles you may encounter to ensure success.
With this new insight, you will be positioned to leverage your strengths to reach your full potential and stay the course to success.
Sage Alliance, a Leadership Performance Company, provides coaching, teambuilding and assessments, workshops and speaking on topics including; leadership development, empowering teams, communications, lasting impressions, personal branding and building a coaching culture for executives and high-potentials – for both team and individual leaders.
Contact us today to discover how your organization can get the most through improved productivity, efficiency and direct impact to your bottom line, while leaders gain powerful insight, crystallize opportunities for growth and fine tune their strengths, enabling them to make the greatest impact. You can contact Shelley Hammell directly at shammell@thesagealliance.com.