You've identified your strengths. Here's how to make them work for you.

You've just kicked-off the year-end performance review cycle, joined two difficult stakeholder meetings, and somehow squeezed in year-end budget planning between back-to-back meetings. Yet despite all your accomplishments, you're wondering: "Am I really using my strengths to their fullest potential?" If this resonates, you're not alone.

My HR clients often ask me this exact question after we've done a deep dive into their strengths, either through a Hogan assessment, the VIA Character Strengths Survey or other tool. They know what they're good at, but they're stuck on how to actually leverage those strengths in their demanding roles.

Today, I'm sharing practical strategies you can use so that your strengths start showing up more clearly in your everyday leadership. Using tools like these, I was able to reflect on my own career journey as an HR Business Partner. I wasn't happy in my role because I wasn't using my strengths. Now, as an Executive Coach to female leaders in HR, I use my strengths every day. I want the same transformation for each of my clients!

1. Make it a habit

I've recently been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and love the simple frameworks he provides for initiating behavior change. Based on the work of Charles Duhigg, (The Habit Loop), Clear talks about introducing a 10-minute routine (your desired behavior) that is tied to a cue, then a reward (cue-routine-reward loop). I've used this approach with clients who want to remember to leverage their strengths throughout the day and to manage strengths that might be derailing them.

Here's how it works:

• The cue - A trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and prompts the habit to start (ex: when you grab your afternoon coffee, when you turn off your computer at the end of the day).

• The routine - The 10-minute behavior you are introducing (ex: reviewing your top strength and identifying one way to use it in tomorrow's meetings, reflecting on how you used your strengths that day)

• The reward - The positive outcome or feeling that reinforces the habit, making your brain want to repeat it (ex: feeling more aligned with your leadership style, increased confidence in your contributions)

The more you repeat the cue-routine-reward loop, the stronger the habit becomes. This approach helps you develop better awareness of your strengths and know how to incorporate them into your day-to-day work naturally.

2. Get an accountability partner

When you're trying to be more intentional about your strengths, having an accountability partner can make all the difference. Consider Melissa, a Senior HR Business Partner in luxury retail who wanted to become a Head of HR. Her team felt her communication skills were too aggressive. Melissa stepped out of her comfort zone and asked two members of her team to be her accountability partners. Their role was to give Melissa feedback every time she was acting too aggressively in a team meeting or conversation. Although the feedback was difficult to hear, it helped Melissa stay on track with her goal of becoming a better communicator. She increased her self-awareness and could observe how others reacted to her behavior in real-time.

Your accountability partner can be anyone - your boss, a colleague, a mentor, your coach, or a friend. The key is being specific about what you need from them, how long you need their support, and what you're trying to change. For HR leaders, it’s often useful to have an accountability partner who works closely with you, but is part of another department, such as Finance, Legal or IT. They can provide an “outside in” perspective that is often missing from within your own HR team.

Remember that it's easier to let yourself down than to let someone else down, which is why accountability partnerships are so powerful for recognizing and leveraging your strengths.

Remember that it's easier to let yourself down than to let someone else down, which is why accountability partnerships are so powerful.

3. Start with why - and get specific about alignment

Some of my clients feel a disconnect between their strengths assessment results and what they're actually doing in their role. This misalignment often leads HR leaders to question whether HR is really the right place for them. I've had many clients transition into more revenue-generating roles (like Sales for an HR tech company), business-aligned roles (like COO or Chief of Staff), or move from generalist/HRBP roles into Centers of Excellence.

If you have a sneaking suspicion that you're in the wrong role, it's worth exploring. You don't have to hire a coach to start. Begin by watching Simon Sinek's famous TED Talk, "Start with Why," and think about how his "Golden Circle" framework applies to your situation.

Then ask yourself these specific questions:

• Your Why: What impact do I want to have on people and organizations? What drives me beyond a paycheck?

• Your How: What are my unique strengths and approaches? How do I prefer to work and lead?

• Your What: Does my current role allow me to live out my why and leverage my how? If not, what changes could bridge that gap?

This reflection can help you determine whether you need to reshape your current role, move to a different function within HR, or consider a career pivot entirely.

4. Find a strategic partner for balance

The reality is that you won't be strong in everything, and that's perfectly fine. Recognizing this and finding someone who can balance you out in your weaker areas is crucial for your success and sanity.

For example, although I'm analytical, I'm not numerical. I can analyze a problem thoroughly but struggle with crunching data to support my insights. When I was an HRBP, I partnered with someone who was brilliant at number crunching but less confident at presenting those insights to business stakeholders. We balanced each other out and helped each other grow.

Look at your current challenges and identify where a strategic partnership could amplify your strengths while compensating for your development areas. This approach allows you to focus on what energizes you while ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

5. Build a brag file

A brag file is an ongoing record of all the positive feedback you receive and achievements you accomplish. I keep mine in a OneNote folder, and anytime I receive positive feedback from a client (via email or feedback survey), I copy and paste it there. You can also save links to projects you're particularly proud of, photos from events, social media posts that went viral, or metrics you exceeded.

As an HR leader, your brag file might include those company-wide initiatives you successfully rolled out, the difficult employee relations case you navigated, or data showing reduced turnover after your mentorship program launched. Perhaps it's that email from the CEO thanking you for your strategic input during a difficult reorganization. When I have challenging days, I can pull up my brag file and remind myself that setbacks are temporary.

There are other practical benefits too. During year-end performance reviews, you often forget all that you've achieved and the informal feedback you've received throughout the year. If you keep track, it makes writing your self-review much easier and gives you concrete examples when advocating for a promotion.

Although bragging tends to have negative connotations, research shows that we get a dopamine hit when we share information about ourselves. The Cambridge dictionary defines bragging as "to speak too proudly about what you have done or what you own." Underlying this definition is pride, which relates to feelings of self-respect and personal worth. I say, if we don't own our accomplishments and share our stories, who will do it for us?

I say, if we don't own our accomplishments and share our stories, who will do it for us?

6. Keep a gratitude journal

Gratitude journaling involves writing down three things at the end of every day that you're grateful for. This practice asks you to be more intentional and reflect on what really made a difference that day. It has its roots in positive psychology - the scientific study of happiness.

Gratitude Journal

Perhaps it was your team member who stayed late to support an employee in crisis, or your executive sponsor who championed your latest initiative. Maybe it's something personal, like your partner making breakfast or your child getting dressed independently.

For senior HR leaders, gratitude entries might include appreciation for your team's resilience during organizational change, recognition of a colleague who collaborated seamlessly on a complex project, or acknowledgment of your own growth in handling a challenging situation.

Intentionally writing down three things each day helps us realize there are many things to be grateful for (likely many more than three!).

I currently use the 6-Minute Journal and love it! The medium doesn't matter - it can be a physical notebook, electronic file, or even a voice recording on your phone each evening. What matters is the ritual, the act, and the intention.

Ready to transform how you show up as an HR leader? These strategies have helped countless senior HR professionals move from feeling stuck to thriving in roles that energize them. Pick one strategy that resonates most and commit to trying it for the next two weeks.

Which approach will you start with?

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I work with female senior leaders in Human Resources who feel stuck to help them love their work or find work they love. I write about:

👂 Executive & career coaching

📄 Career development and career transition

🎯 Job search strategy

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