Can You Spot the Strength?  How to Give Genuine Feedback In the Moment

Imagine if instead of tuning OUT when your colleague is talking, you started tuning IN to their demonstrated strengths?

Here’s a simple exercise I came up with that I’m already feeling the benefits of both professionally and personally - and I wanted to share it for your own development.

Last week, I facilitated an executive team session at a corporate retreat held just outside of Toronto. I have a four-hour design using a Core Strengths assessment that works great for this purpose. I was slated to start just as they were finishing lunch, which was a bit of a challenge for my design because I like to kick off my sessions pairing people up and getting them moving around. This wouldn’t work if they were still eating!

I arrived the day before and went for a walk along a riverside path, thinking through a story I had planned to use to introduce how we use strengths as behaviours (and when we sometimes “overdo” our strengths). And then something clicked as it often does when I’m out walking in nature – why not make a game out of this exercise?

Here’s the game: I put my ‘strengths portrait’ up on a slide behind me (that’s my personal ranking of 28 strengths from the assessment). And as I shared my story, they could sip coffee, enjoy their dessert and take mental notes of which strengths (and strengths overdone) they could spot that I had demonstrated in my story.

And guess what? It was a fabulous way to have a relaxed, yet interactive start to the session. AND they even picked up on a strength they noticed I used in my story that I hadn’t previously considered.

Try it out for yourself.  When your colleague is talking about a project, plan or idea, start noticing what strengths they are demonstrating. And then let them know! It’s an example of how you can give genuine feedback in the moment.

To Your Career Success,

Karen Kelloway, BPR PCC
Your Career Story Editor