Fixing your weakness can prevent failures but strength building will lead you to success. This is a key premise on which Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment is based.

At a special workshop on “find your strengths” for early-bird conference registrants on 15 September, Neelakantha Balasubramaniam and Brig (Retd.) Satyendra Kumar took delegates through a series of exercises to understand how strengths influence career choices, actions, and behaviors.

And what better way to convince delegates of the need to play on their strengths than by bringing cricket into the conversation? Mr. Balasubramaniam used the example of Virender Sehwag using his key strength – that is to hit the ball – to get out of a sticky situation during an English county match. He advocated the use of key strengths by professionals to help navigate uncertainties arising out of digital disruption.

Delegates took part in a live poll conducted on the conference app, the results of which were displayed on a screen as the polling progressed. Some of the delegates had taken the CliftonStrengths assessment before the workshop. The results co-related to strengths considered key for project success – such as positivity, responsibility, empathy, and learning.

“With the CliftonStrengths assessment, we can identify our greatest talents or strengths. Gallup believes each person has five signature strengths among a total of 34 strengths. These strengths fall into the four domains of executing, influencing, relationship, and strategic thinking. For instance, if your signature strength is influencing, you will do well in sales,” explained

Mr. Balasubramaniam. Brig. Kumar recalled an incident during his days as an infantry officer in the Indian Army, to explain how his strengths and those of a Major in his team played out during a counterterrorism operation. “Focus on what you have and not what you don’t have. Go back and find out which strengths played a role in your life, and then own one signature theme,” he said.

The coaches urged delegates to get out of their comfort zones and use their strengths, learn new skills to prepare for digital disruptions, find ways to sharpen existing skills, and use their signature strengths to amplify skills identified in the PMI Talent Triangle®.