Professional career development planning often builds upon education, experience, and interests. Recent psychology studies into characteristics of unique and special abilities, called strengths, shows the value of building a personal strengths analysis into a career development plan. Utilizing strengths strongly correlates with improved performance, high quality work, greater creativity, and increased happiness; all significant reasons for better understanding one's strengths and how to utilize them.
A focus on personal strengths began with Dr. Martin Seligman's leadership of the American Psychological Association's focus on positive psychology – the study of human well-being. Seligman's Authentic Happiness [Free Press, 2002] popularized the term signature strengths, setting these abilities apart from the dozens of competencies characteristic of fully-functioning adults.
What are Signature Strengths?
At Seligman's request, prominent psychologist Christopher Peterson led a study resulting in identification of twenty-four character traits leading to six ubiquitous virtues valued by most cultures. Peterson's A Primer in Positive Psychology [Oxford Press, 2006] described these strengths as ubiquitous, fulfilling, morally valued, and non-diminishing of others. Alex Linley [Average to A+, CAPP Press, Coventry, England, 2008] recently expanded the definition somewhat, calling strengths "a pre-existing capacity...energizing to the user, and (that) enables optimal functioning, development, and performance."
Signature strengths include such things as: curiosity/interest in the world, integrity/honesty, kindness and generosity, self-control, and zest/passion/enthusiasm.
Further Psychology Studies on Strengths
Linley, a prominent positive psychology researcher and entrepreneur, has advanced and refined the understanding of strengths with the research of his Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP). Linley's research resulted in sixty characteristics which are described in a four quadrant model of human performance characteristics. The four quadrants are:
- Realized Strengths: Traits which result in good performance, are energizing, and often used.
- Unrealized Strengths: Traits which also result in good performance and are energizing, but are seldom used.
- Learned Behaviors: Traits yielding good performance, but which are energy draining.
- Weaknesses: Traits yielding poor performance and which are de-energizing.
Among the sixty characteristics Linley defines are: action, authenticity, change agent, creativity, and empathetic connection.
Important Findings on Job Burnout
Linley's research included a unique parameter in the analysis of strengths: the surge or decline in personal energy when using a behavior. True strengths – which he calls either Realized Strengths or Unrealized Strengths depending on the degree of utilization – are sources of energy. Using strengths not only yields good performance, but is energizing, too.
Considering energy flow permits identification of learned behaviors which also yield good performance, but which are energy draining. These learned behaviors are dangerous if heavily utilized because they can lead to professional burnout, a state characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. Job burnout syndrome is prevalent, but not limited to, the helping professions.
How to Build a Career Enhancing Professional Development Plan
Fortunately, positive psychologists have held true to the philosophy of making their research readily available and affordable to all, without the need for professional assistance. Though a career coach or counselor can be helpful, a career professional can craft an effective career development plan without additional assistance.
In addition to the traditional practice of compiling educational and experiential information prior to developing a career plan, the career planner will want a thorough personal assessment of realized and unrealized strengths, learned behaviors, and weaknesses. With the earlier signature strength assessments still readily available at no cost, taking the online VIA Questionnaire will identify the top five or six signature strengths from an array of twenty-four possible strengths.
Next, purchase the latest strength assessment profile from CAPP, which is named Realise2. The current cost is fifteen English pounds, about twenty-three US dollars at present currency exchange rates. The resulting profile will identify realized strengths, unrealized strengths, weaknesses, and learned behaviors.
Best Path to Career Growth
The greatest area for personal and professional growth lies with unrealized strengths. The career planner will look for ways to further utilize these strengths in both personal and professional activities. This may require creative job modification, additional training, or responsibility sharing.
Realized strengths can continue to be the mainstay of career development, taking carel to not over-use these abilities.
Any learned behaviors identified should be carefully examined in relationship to the career. Heavy utilization of learned behaviors in a career may yield temporary advancement and success, but ultimately could lead to job burnout syndrome. Use of learned behaviors should be minimized, which may require further job modification or even career change.
Weaknesses are specifically identified in CAPP's profile and must be inferred from the VIA list of strengths by noting the least effective of the twenty-four behaviors. Though traditional professional development planning involved a focus on improving identified weaknesses, current thinking is that this wastes time and energy that can be more productive when applied to strengths. Therefore, the development plan should identify ways to minimize or avoid dependence on weaknesses. As with learned behaviors, job modification and shared or traded responsibilities may be effective solutions.
Professional Career Success Using Strengths
The research which has identified the benefits of utilizing strengths and the dangers of focusing on learned behaviors and weaknesses provides readily available and reasonably priced personalized profile information for building an effective professional career development plan.
Jerry Lopper - IPPA member, business and engineering degrees. Jerry's passion for personal development shows in 5 books, hundreds of articles & ...
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