Nothing got me more nervous than “performance reviews”. 

Why? Because it’s often a time in the year managers feel compelled to air their frustrations and mask it as “constructive” criticism.

And, if you’ve ever been on the shitty end of this, the fear is more about the “gotcha moment” rather than the feedback itself.

One year, I copped it, out of the blue…

It was awful, and honestly, I thought I was doing a good job. 

But, he asked me a question that stuck with me…

“What are you actually good at?”

It was a painful (but great) question, the reason?

Let me explain…

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Today's Topics

• That’s Interesting: What are you actually good at? 
• Monday Mindset: Amplify your talents
• Career Hack: Discover your genius zone
• Watch Now: How to get a job you love (and break free from a crappy one).

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What are you actually good at?

I’m ok with negative feedback, but I want it done in the right way.

I don’t want to be told by my manager at the end of the year about all their frustrations, without having had a chance to correct them. 

A manager's job is to connect with their team members, and when something is not working, feedback needs to be provided at the time, and in a manner that’s actually constructive.

Don’t you agree? 

This one year, it wasn’t nice.

But this one thing, that has positively shaped my life, started with this patronising question…

… “What are you actually good at?”

You see, I’d been spending ALL my time trying to develop my weakest skills.

For example, I’m not great with numbers, but I’d spent my time trying to pull together the detailed numbers for a project we were working on.  

(I’m also not great at attention to detail but that’s a story for another time). 

I thought that, if I can improve this weakness (and a few others), I would be able to master anything.

But that year, with all my focus on my weaknesses, I failed to amplify and showcase what I was actually great at…

…and all my manager saw was me struggling. 

As a result, I was miserable, low in confidence and I could feel the judgement.

At that point, I wasn’t clear on my genius zone i.e. the strengths I should leverage.

The ones that were really impressive, actually!

I didn’t feel great getting a bad performance review so instead of hiding in a cave and avoiding another one, here’s what I did:

I shifted gears. 

I worked with a coach to find and articulate my genius zone, and I went to town on showcasing it.

I learned that one of my best skills is how I collaborate and can work with people on all levels, especially the executive teams. 

I’m a chameleon in how I communicate - I can change easily depending on the audience and fit in anywhere. 

I can also understand how to identify others' genius zones, and I know how to connect with people's purpose (hello reason why I became a career coach!). 

Over the next few months, I became the biggest asset in the team. I got a raving performance review the next year.  I was offered promotions. 

How?

By amplifying my genius zone.  And stopping focusing so much on the stuff I wasn’t great at. 

I built relationships across the company so well that on any given day I had people coming to me for advice, from the CEO to the junior team members within operations.

Focusing on my strengths instantly changed how I was perceived.  And not just by others, for myself too. 

Over the years I’ve noticed that it’s actually incredibly hard for people to identify what their own genius zone is.

It was just last week I had a coaching call with one of my Thriving Leaders Club members and identified her genius zone, where she couldn’t. 

Now, she can focus on leveraging and amplifying it and ensuring she can create fulfilment in her current role, whilst looking for her next one. 

Here’s the thing, we often find ourselves in roles that we really aren’t designed to do, or we are doing the things that we aren’t that great at.

But that’s not how you get ahead and create joy for yourself. 

Read the career hack section to help you identify your genius zone.

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Amplify Your Talents!

Keep this one pinned to your desk this week!

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Discover Your Genius Zone

Now, I’m not saying you should avoid the areas you aren’t that naturally talented in, but if you want success, you should definitely be leveraging your talents aka your genius zone.

The hard thing is that usually your genius zone is something that comes naturally to you, so you don’t think of it as “amazing”, when others do. 

If you’re unsure how to articulate your zone of genius, here’s three ways to help you:

The 4-Question Reflection

Start with these four targeted questions that will prompt deep reflection. Set aside 15-30 minutes to write down these answers:

1. What activities make you lose track of time (in a good way)?
2. What work do you find yourself consistently excelling at with ease?
3. What tasks do others often ask for your help with because you do them so well?
4. Which aspects of your work give you the most energy and leave you feeling fulfilled?

Here’s the tricky (but awesome) part…

You have to look for patterns. The answers may not just “show up” for you.

And once you’re clear on them, they will show up in many areas of your life.  

For example:

During my coaching call last week my lovely client talked about her love of real estate and wanting to move into that field.

But when we dug a little deeper, it wasn’t actually about the real estate itself, but how she loved (and was great at) problem solving and creating solutions that allowed for client transformation i.e. happy people! 

Her genius zone was customer transformation. 

She realised that it wasn’t just real estate that she could use that skill. It was one of her underlying drivers and motivators, and she could use that anywhere. 

And…the biggest realisation from that call was that her unhappiness in her current role was not so much her role, but not being able to play in her genius zone. 

Good news, that’s an easy one to fix!  And doesn’t require a total career change. 

2. Strengths and Joy Audit

If the above task doesn’t help, try this one:

Create a simple two-column table:

• Column 1: Strengths - Mark the tasks where you feel you perform exceptionally well.
• Column 2: Joy - Mark the tasks you genuinely enjoy doing.

The overlap between tasks in both columns will help you pinpoint activities in your Zone of Genius.

3. Feedback Loop

Lastly, if you’re REALLY stuck, gather feedback from trusted colleagues, friends, or mentors. Provide a short template for them to give you feedback including:

• What do you see as my greatest strengths?
• What types of work do you think I’m uniquely skilled at?
• What have you noticed that I do exceptionally well and enjoy?

When you’re playing in your genius zone, life is so much better!  You’ll feel fulfilled, purposeful and incredibly powerful. 

Hit reply and let me know what your zone of genius is!

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Cheers & Claps: Our Success Stories

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Wrapping up another fantastic week! A huge thank you for subscribing and diving into our newsletter.  

We trust it sparked some inspiration, motivation, or perhaps offered a delightful distraction. 

Em & the PY Team

P.S.  Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways I can help you accelerate your career: 

1. Book a 30-minute strategy session to brainstorm your next role with a career specialist. 

If you’re a professional woman who is tired of tolerating your job, then you might just be a few strategies and tactics away from getting the clarity and confidence to land a role that not only excites you, but aligns with your life 

Find time in my calendar here

Book your FREE Career Growth Session

If you’re a professional woman who is tired of tolerating your job, then you might just be a few strategies and tactics away from getting the clarity and confidence to land a role that not only excites you, but aligns with your life.  Talk to us today to see what's possible for you - Click Here

2. Join my FREE Career Clarity & Confidence Group 

Inside, we’ll be sharing with you how to get the clarity and confidence to secure a career that not only excites you, but aligns with your life — Click Here

3. Join me for a FREE Online Career Workshop

I’ll be teaching you how to discover your perfect job, confidently go for it & get it (without endless searching on SEEK, the headache of perfecting a resume, or struggling with interview nerves) - attend for FREE here.