Know Your Strengths for Performance and Resilience – Traci McCausland (#028)

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Know Your Strengths for Performance and Resilience - Traci McCausland (#028)
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Traci McCausland is a mother, wife, entrepreneur, and coach, where she utilizes the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment to help her clients uncover their natural talents. She is also a breast cancer survivor. When she got the cancer diagnosis, she turned to her natural strengths to help her through that journey.

Contact Traci McCausland

https://www.followyourstrengths.com/

traci@followstrengths.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/traci-mccausland-8717971/

 

Mentioned in this Episode

CliftonStrengths Assessment - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253868/popular-cliftonstrengths-assessment-products.aspx

5 Clues to Talent: A Guide to Real Strengths Conversations - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/251636/clues-talent-guide-real-strengths-conversations.aspx

Marcus Buckingham - https://www.marcusbuckingham.com/

 

Bobbi’s Takeaways

I hope that you enjoyed that interview and that you found it both inspiring and rich with practical takeaways. Here are some of my favorites.

1.When you are facing a battle or a challenge, find your own way through it, because here's the thing, the ways that have worked for others may or may not resonate for you.

2.Don't “should” all over other people or yourself. We beat ourselves up with “should.” You know how it sounds:  

  • “I should do this.”
  • “I should do that.”
  • “I should feel this way.”

 I am on a personal mission. That every time I start a sentence with, “I should,” that I stop. And I intentionally challenge why I am saying that is that it is a “should.”

3. To tap into your innate strengths or talents you can of course take an assessment. And I love assessments. They're great. Also, as Traci said, you can begin to really pay attention to what gives you energy and what sucks the energy out of you. We can learn so much about ourselves in general, when we do this reflection.
I'll never forget when I was in grad school and Marcus Buckingham came and spoke to our class. And first of all, it was absolutely amazing. It was such an honor. And he was just so amazing. And number two, I remember that he said that a strength is not just something that you're good at. It is also something that gives you energy.

And he said, if you're good at it and it doesn't give and give you energy, then it is not a strength. A strength should give you energy. Not steal it.

4. Also related to Marcus and what he said that day is something that Traci and I talked about here. And that is that performance is the point when it comes to understanding your strengths and the strengths of those around you. It is how we can be at our best and how we can help others be at their best.

5. When facing a challenge, reach out to others who have been on your path or who are on your path and support each other. There's so much comfort in knowing that you are not alone.

6. There is nothing wrong with you if your job doesn't make you happy, there's no shame in that. And it doesn't mean that anything is necessarily wrong with the company or the job. It simply isn't a fit for you. 

And most importantly, like Traci said, there is a way forward. 

7. Top performers are always learning and always looking for adjustments so we can continue to improve and be at our best. 

8. I loved when Traci talked about getting in the weeds of what you really have to give and what the world needs.

9. We need leaders who can and will do the following

  • Build trust.
  • Show compassion
  • Provides stability
  • Give us hope.

Which makes me think, how can we all strive to be leaders in our lives for those who need us and then provide those things. And here I'd say take a broad, a broad view on what leaders and leadership really is because we're all leaders in some way, whether that's as a parent, a friend, a sibling, a spouse, a teacher, however that might be, but really take a broad view on that.

10. Don't underestimate the value of humor to help you through a challenge.

Again, these were just some of my takeaways. I loved talking with Traci, and I'm sure that you have your own takeaways.

 

Note on Goals

In coaching as many people as I have over the years, I've noticed that sometimes we just don't make the progress that we want towards our goals. We have good intentions. We write out our goals. We believe that the goals are important, and yet there's just something holding us back. It's as if we have one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake.

Because I've seen it so often, I'm putting the finishing touches on a guide to help identify if we are falling prey to one of the biggest derailers of our goals. And I call it the Just-Wait Voice. This is an insidious little voice that shows up and encourages us to wait just as we are about to act. I truly hate that voice and I want to help fight it with what I've learned over the years.

If you're interested in signing up for it, it's a free guide. You can go to http://www.unyielded.net/goalkiller.

This has been the UnYielded podcast where we are committed to bringing stories of growth and triumph. If you have found it helpful, please consider leaving us a review on Apple, as well as sharing it with someone who could benefit from the message of hope and positivity that we are sending.

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