Your career can still take off even if you're in a job that's the wrong fit! Learn three ways you can start discovering your strengths today, even in that dead end job.

1. DISCOVER YOUR
STRENGTHS...
HOW TO
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
In a
Dead End
Job

2. W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Hi!
My name is Megan
Leatherman, and I'm a
Career Coach & Human
Resources Consultant.

3. A LOT OF
PEOPLE ARE
IN
"DEAD END"
JOBS
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Meaning: jobs that don't provide opportunities
for the use of their unique strengths.

4. IN FACT...
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Only 20% of employees surveyed in
a major Gallup poll reported that
they regularly get to use their
strengths on the job.

5. THAT'S TRAGIC!
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
It's tragic because discovering
and using your strengths in your
career is one of the greatest gifts
you can give.

6. BUT THAT DOESN'T HAVE
TO BE THE END OF THE
STORY
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Just because you're in a job
that's not the right fit doesn't
mean you can't begin to live out
your strengths.

7. THIS IS ACTUALLY A GREAT
OPPORTUNITY
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
A dead end job can act as a
reflection, showing you what
you like and don't like.
We learn so much about
ourselves when something
isn't working.

8. AS MICHAEL CARROLL
SAYS...
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Maybe problems arise at
work not as interruptions or
intrusions, but as invitations
to gain real wisdom.

9. SO HOW CAN
YOU DISCOVER
YOUR
STRENGTHS?
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
...starting today, in this job that
may not feel very good...

10. FIRST, WE SHOULD DEFINE
"STRENGTH"
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
I'll use Marcus Buckingham's definition, which breaks a
strength into 3 parts:
Raw talent (what you were born with)
Knowledge (experiential and fact­based)
Skills (what it takes to complete an activity)

11. A LOT OF PEOPLE FORGET
THE "RAW TALENT" PART
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Many of us assume
that with enough
degrees, training, and
experience, we can
develop ANY strength
we want.

12. AND SURE, HUMANS ARE
GREAT AT LEARNING...
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
But without tapping into
our natural abilities, our
careers are going to feel
totally forced and, well, like
dead ends.

13. OK, BACK TO DISCOVERING
THOSE STRENGTHS:
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Here are 3 things you can do today, in
this job, to start learning about and
nurturing your unique set of strengths
(those special combinations of talent,
knowledge, and skills you have).

14. 1: BE MINDFUL
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Start getting to know what feels like
the right fit, and what feels like the
wrong fit.
Practice being more present so that you
can hear your inner "yes" and "no."

15. BE MINDFUL
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In order for you to sense what you're
naturally good at, you have to be able
to think, feel, and see clearly.

16. BE MINDFUL
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Many of us are going a million miles a minute
in ever-changing workplaces. and we miss so
much by working frenetically.
Today, practice being more mindful - pay
attention to what your intuition is trying to tell
you.

17. HERE'S A MINDFULNESS TRICK:
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
The next time you get a cup of
coffee, tea or water, simply observe
the action. What does the mug look
and feel like in your hand? What do
you hear around you? How does
the drink taste and smell?
Just start training your brain to be in
the present moment.

18. 2: FEEL IT IN YOUR BODY
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
Discovering and living out your strengths isn't just an
intellectual exercise.
For this to work, you have to FEEL it...it has to be a visceral
experience.

19. WHEN HAVE YOU FELT
GOOD?
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
When was the last time you felt good at work?
How did you feel when you nailed that presentation?
How about when you really got through to that employee?
Strengths feel good.
So find what feels good in your job today and do more of it.

20. 3: STRENGTHS V.
COMPETENCIES
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It can be hard to figure out what's a true strength and what's
a competency, which is more knowledge and skill-based.
For example, if you're an Excel whiz but don't really enjoy
editing everyone else's spreadsheets, is that a strength?

21. IT DEPENDS...
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M
It depends on whether it feels good.
Marcus Buckingham says that a strength is something you feel
STRENGTHENED by.
So unless you feel like a better, healthier person when you're
working in Excel, it needs to stay put as a competency.

22. A TOOL: THE STRENGTHS
QUADRANT
I've developed a quick little exercise to help people parse out
the work that really doesn't feel good, feels okay, and feels
awesome.
It's called the Strengths Quadrant, and you're welcome to
download it today by visiting this link:
http://eepurl.com/bWEchX

23. IN SUMMARY
Just because you're in a "dead end
job" doesn't mean you can't begin
to discover and live out your
strengths.
In fact, this is a great opportunity
to dive deep and learn about what
lights you up.
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M

24. IN SUMMARY
Three things you can start doing today to make the most of
this experience are:
- Attune yourself by getting present.
- Feel it in your body.
- Parse out what's a strength v. what's a competency (you can
use the exercise in the link below)
http://eepurl.com/bWEchX
W W W . M E G A N L E A T H E R M A N . C O M

25. WANNA LEARN MORE?
This was a deep-dive into the topic of a blog post that I wrote
recently titled, 5 Ways to Discover Your Strengths.
You can click on the title above to read the post in its entirety!
Thanks for joining me!

26. Megan Leatherman, MS, PHR
web: www.meganleatherman.com
blog: www.theintegratedworkplace.com
linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/meganleatherman