How to Identify Your Strengths — And Actually Use Them to Perform Better
Most people can list a few of their strengths. But knowing them and using them to your advantage? Two different things.
At Sustainable Life Coach, many One-to-One Coaching clients arrive saying:
“I know I’m capable… I just don’t feel like I’m performing at my best.”
Let’s change that.
This guide outlines what strengths really are, how they affect your performance, and how to use them to create momentum, clarity, and progress.
What Are Key Strengths?
Your strengths are the natural qualities that energise you and help you succeed when you’re at your best.
Some examples:
Strategic thinking – spotting patterns and making smart plans
Empathy – understanding others and building strong relationships
Discipline – keeping structure, consistency, and follow-through
Communication – explaining ideas in ways that resonate
Adaptability – staying calm, flexible, and responsive under pressure
But strengths only boost performance when they’re applied with intention.
Why Strengths Don’t Always Equal High Performance
You can have great strengths and still feel stuck. Here’s why:
You don’t know how to apply them
You might be highly creative, but struggle to finish what you start.You overuse them
A strength taken too far becomes a liability — empathy can lead to emotional burnout, discipline can become micromanagement.You’re in the wrong environment
Your strengths need the right context. A great communicator might underperform in an isolated role.
Without clarity, your strengths can work against you.
How to Optimise Your Strengths for Better Performance
1. Get Clear on What Your Real Strengths Are
Most people confuse learned skills with natural strengths. One-to-One Coaching with Sustainable Life Coach helps you identify the strengths that energise you — even ones you’ve been underusing or dismissing.
We use tools like CliftonStrengths, the GROW model, and tailored exercises to uncover your true power.
2. Align Strengths with Your Goals
Are your strengths moving you in the right direction — or just keeping you busy?
Whether you're building a business, changing careers, or trying to feel more in control, coaching helps you match your strengths to your actual goals, not just your habits.
3. Know When a Strength Is Becoming a Weakness
High performers often hit a ceiling because they overuse what’s always worked.
Your confidence might look like arrogance to your team. Your focus might shut out collaboration. Coaching gives you the space to step back and see the whole picture — before burnout or friction sets in.
4. Use Strengths to Support Your Growth Zones
You don’t need to fix every weak spot. Instead, use your strongest traits to balance the areas you find harder — without burning yourself out.
That’s what Sustainable Life Coach is here to help you do: design a way of working and living that plays to your strengths, but supports the rest.
What This Looks Like in Coaching
During One-to-One Coaching, we’ll:
Clarify your unique strengths and how to use them strategically
Spot patterns that hold you back and replace them with better ones
Build a personal strategy for growth that’s energising, not overwhelming
Reconnect you with your confidence, drive, and clarity
You already have strengths. It’s time to use them on purpose.
Want Support Optimising Your Performance?
You don’t need to figure it all out alone.
Book a free intro call today and let’s talk about where you are, where you want to be — and how your strengths can get you there.