Page 13 - Austin Coaching Handbook

Introduction: ‘Know your Strengths’: Why bother?

Time and again, we have met people who struggle to name their strengths. Even successful people have

found it hard to pinpoint what is helping them to do well. Yet knowing one’s strengths can make a big

difference to a person’s life:

1. Knowing our strengths helps us to feel more capable (Self-Efficacy)

Feeling capable (the fancy word is ‘self-efficacy’) is a key ingredient in:

▪ Good physical health

▪ Good mental health

▪ Learning and achievement

▪ Successful relationships

2. Knowing our strengths helps us to maximise them

Knowing our strengths puts us in a better position to make the most of them.

By being aware of our strengths, we are more likely use them as often as possible,

to help us learn, in our hobbies or interests and to support our family and community.

3. Knowing our strengths means we can let others know them so

they can help us maximise them too

For example, if a science teacher knows we are great at explaining but find it hard

to write, they can give us the opportunity to create a video of our science findings

rather than write a report.