Job Fit Fears Resolved by Learning to Play to One’s Strengths

Problem

Despite matching her interests (writing and technology), a technical writer experienced:

• Declining productivity
• Lack of motivation
• Growing job dissatisfaction
• Doubting her career choice
• Mounting anxiety about her performance

Analysis

The Strengthscope™ assessment revealed a misalignment of her personal strengths (relational) with her current way of working (solitary)

• Her core strengths centered on relationships and communication
• Original career motivation stemmed from desire to help others
• Current role structure limited opportunities for human interaction
• Work environment inhibited natural strengths expression

Intervention

Small changes in how she worked allowed her to align her work style with her strengths without changing roles:

• Obtained supervisor approval for direct customer interaction
• Began interacting with coworkers in person or by phone rather than email
• Moved her work station to a collaborative work area
• Invited other coworkers to join her in the collaborative space

Results

The modifications yielded significant improvements:

• Increased job satisfaction and motivation
• Enhanced productivity for her entire team
• Better quality deliverables through direct customer insight
• Development of informal collaborative work group
• Improved visibility and reputation within company

The company retained an experienced employee who contributed to creating a positive work environment for her entire team.

Key insight: Increased use of personal strengths can be achieved by changing how work gets done, not just by changing tasks, and increasing use of strengths contributes to increased productivity and satisfaction.