Playing to our character strengths

It’s been said that it’s better to have character than be a character. But what’s the importance of character to our wellbeing?

Whilst working in Financial services I managed a lady who had previously been a window dresser. Through our discussions it was clear she’d had a real passion for window dressing and loved to make things look good; she always took pride in her own appearance.

Using our strengths creates meaning

It occurred to me that these strengths and skills, whilst not core to the role, could be put to good use by helping to keep our office notice boards, signage and displays looking great. After discussing this with her she took to it willingly and did an excellent job of creating a much more stimulating office environment. For her, this helped to create extra meaning and wellbeing at work by playing to her strengths.

Understanding our strengths

To get a better understanding of our character there is an excellent free resource available at  VIA Character Strengths. By clearly understanding our strengths we can bring these more into the workplace to the benefit of both ourselves and our organisation. *Research shows that if we see more of a fit between ourselves and our job we are more likely to experience work as personally meaningful and be happier as a result.

Understanding the character strengths in our teams

This exploration can also extend to team performance. Once we know the character strengths of all team members plans can be developed to make use of these for everyone’s benefit. Perhaps one of the team members with ‘teamwork’ as a core strength might like to take responsibility for organising team events, but there are many other possibilities.

Organisations can benefit too

Character strengths can play an important role in improving organisational performance on two levels. Internally, by encouraging individuals and teams to explore and understand their own strengths a brand can benefit through greater engagement, creativity, commitment, staff retention and performance*. Externally, the strengths and personality of an organisation, which are reliant on the teams and individuals delivering it, can be used as a point of differentiation, creating greater connection and meaning with customers and other stakeholders.

Taking some time to think about character strengths now

Why not give some thought to strengths, and how they’re best utilised, at personal, team and brand level in your organisation? Other ideas on creating extra meaning can be found in blogs on Meaning, Values and Naming.

Improveon provides consulting, coaching and speaking services to help individuals, teams and organisations thrive. Call or contact David now if you’d like to explore how character strengths can help you, your team or your organisation perform better.

*Caldwell, D. F., & O’Reilly, C. A. (1990). Measuring person–job fit with a profile-comparison process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 648 – 657 and Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman and Johnson (2005). Consequences of Individuals fit at work. Personnel Psychology 58, 281-342.