At our recent 'Unlocking Potential' breakfast event, esteemed tennis coach Judy Murray OBE shared how she used a strengths-based approach to unlock the potential of her sons, Andy and Jamie, in their ascent to become world-renowned tennis champions.
By focusing on what they are good at, Andy and Jamie have honed great strengths in displaying fantastic all-round ability, paired with unmatched resilience and tenacity.
Besides the sporting world, organisations worldwide are increasingly recognising the transformative power of focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses.
Recent research shows the positive impact of this approach:
However, in today’s volatile world, a more adaptive approach to strengths-based development is crucial to maximise this potential. This article explores how we can achieve that by understanding the dual nature of strengths and tapping into what we call Super-strengths.
Tapping into Superstrengths
According to research by Mindflick’s Dr. Kate Ludlam, to truly excel, we must go beyond simply managing our strengths and instead identify and amplify our Super-strengths — our unique combination of abilities that give us a competitive edge.
Consider Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history. Bolt’s Super-strengths lie with his confidence to perform under pressure and his height. At 6'5", Bolt’s long legs gave him an unparalleled advantage at maintaining top speed, even though his height made it harder for him to accelerate out of the starting blocks. Bolt understood that while his height created a weakness (poor starts), it also gave him an advantage once he reached top speed. Bolt became the world’s fastest man by focusing on his Super-strengths in the right moments, rather than obsessing over his starts.
Tapping into Superstrengths
According to research by Mindflick’s Dr. Kate Ludlam, to truly excel, we must go beyond simply managing our strengths and instead identify and amplify our Super-strengths — our unique combination of abilities that give us a competitive edge.
Consider Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history. Bolt’s Super-strengths lie with his confidence to perform under pressure and his height. At 6'5", Bolt’s long legs gave him an unparalleled advantage at maintaining top speed, even though his height made it harder for him to accelerate out of the starting blocks. Bolt understood that while his height created a weakness (poor starts), it also gave him an advantage once he reached top speed. Bolt became the world’s fastest man by focusing on his Super-strengths in the right moments, rather than obsessing over his starts.
