You’re amazing at things.
Teachers do so much in so little time when in other careers it would be shocking to do the same thing.
Before I became a teacher, I worked for a media planning agency. We would have time to prepare for a pitch or meeting. It would feel pressured, but there would be discussion, collaboration, and eventual agreement with refinements.
As a teacher, I’ve gone into meetings with minimal preparation and produced PowerPoint presentations to pitch, inspire, and persuade.
Also known as: planning lessons in less than half-an-hour.
Developing awareness of and taking ownership for my strengths allows me to do this.
Here is a step-by-step set of questions you can use to identify your talents.
It’s not formal, it’s not research-based, and it’s not data-driven.
It’s based on my (nearly twenty years) experience as a teacher, and being certified coach.
And it is easy to do.
If you bring some intentional effort to this, it will be valuable.
The process is designed to stimulate your thinking rather than provide definitive answers…
Before reading any more…
First – I invite you to get a pen and paper/ open a blank document or whatever you use to get your thoughts down. It will enhance your reading of this.
The temptation will be to read this and then do it later…but life has a way of interrupting our best set intentions.
Second – as you write – go with whatever comes to mind. Don’t over-think or censor yourself. There are no wrong answers.
And third – have fun. This is an exploration so it’s impossible to get wrong.
…so here we go.
1_Think of a time when you were at work and lost track of time
You know those times when you’re so into something you can’t believe how quickly time goes? I get that when I’m planning lessons…or bouncing around ideas for lessons with 2-3 great colleagues. Trust the one or two instances that come to mind.
2_Write down what was happening in 3-5 bullet points/ a short paragraph
Don’t get too detailed or spend too much time on this, but be as real as you can. Write down where you were, what you did – so that someone else reading it has a clear picture. For example, it was first thing in the morning, no-one else was around, it was quiet and I had a coffee next to me. I was linking ideas from two websites and a YouTube channel to plan my psychology lesson about approaches.
3_Identify personal qualities shown in your points
Re-reading what you’ve written, think about the kind of person you’re being. It can sometimes help to imagine you were being observed and speculate how someone else would describe you.
Think in terms of characteristics like: creative, focused, disciplined, productive…remember there are no right answers – it’s you describing you…
In my example I would pick: ideas-driven, productive, and expressive.
4_Keeping these qualities in mind, identify one action you could take that develops or expresses it
Make it as small and specific as you can. This way, it’ll be easy to do when you’re at school.
From my example, my action could be take my laptop and plan one lesson in a room with no-one else around – preferably in the morning.
Use this process to connect with how you good you are at what you do.
There are times in my job where I get concerned about my own ability. In speaking with colleagues, it does feel as if ‘impostor syndrome‘ is common – with experienced teachers as well as those newer to the profession.
Thinking in terms of WWWs and EBIs is very different from taking ownership of our talents. Doing more of what we’re good at can not only enhance our effectiveness in our day-to-day it can also contribute to our sense of wellbeing. (I wrote before about this kind of reframing here where I suggest that improving weaknesses is a waste of energy.)
You can also update point 1 above by replacing the ‘lost track of time’ part with some other ideas as follows:
1_Think of a time when you were at work and…
- …felt totally satisfied with something you did
- …received thanks and felt amazing
- …were drawn to a particular area/ task/ project
You could probably think of more – ensure that you start each one with a verb to encourage action.
As you read and engage with this post, consider it a reminder that you:
- …contribute more than you know,
- …have more strength than you realise, and
- …receive thanks in more ways than you currently consider.
Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash
James D'Souza 