Shownotes
Embrace Your Strengths: Transform Your Business at Any Age
In this episode of 'Seasoned Women, Serious Business,' host Isabel Alexander delves into the importance of focusing on individual strengths rather than weaknesses, inspired by the book 'StrengthsFinder 2.0' by Donald O. Clifton and Tom Rath. Isabel shares her personal experiences with the StrengthsFinder assessment, its impact on her eight-figure business, and how embracing one's strengths can lead to increased confidence, productivity, and fulfillment. The episode highlights the transformative power of knowing and leveraging strengths for seasoned women entrepreneurs. The episode is sponsored by Crossroads Clarity Solution, a program designed to help female entrepreneurs navigate critical business decisions.
00:00 Welcome to Seasoned Women, Serious Business
01:26 Weekly Recommendations and Strengths Finder 2.0
03:54 The Origin and Impact of StrengthsFinder
06:48 Personal Journey with StrengthsFinder
11:56 Applying StrengthsFinder in Business and Life
22:55 StrengthsFinder in Relationships and Family
25:48 Recap and Closing Thoughts
About the Host:
Isabel Alexander
Your Next Business Strategist and Transformation Catalyst
Isabel Alexander's journey from modest beginnings to global recognition epitomizes entrepreneurial resilience and innovation. With over five decades of experience spanning diverse industries, she has become a driving force in shaping economic landscapes worldwide. Noteworthy accomplishments include founding a multimillion-dollar global chemical wholesale business and earning accolades such as Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
As a mentor and advocate, Isabel empowers women entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Lift As You Climb Movement and podcasts, guiding them from startup to maturity. Serving as Chief Encore Officer of The Encore Catalyst, she dedicates herself to coaching and educating emerging entrepreneurs. Her involvement in organizations like RenegadesReinventing.com and Femme on Fire underscores her commitment to leadership and business development.
Additionally, Isabel's advisory roles with government bodies and trade associations, such as Chair of the Canadian Association of Importers & Exporters, highlight her influence in shaping trade policies and fostering international relations.
Driven by her mantra, "Lift As You Climb," Isabel embodies the ethos of mutual growth and empowerment. With dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, she values her extensive family and embraces global connections through travel and professional engagements. Isabel Alexander's narrative serves as a beacon of inspiration, illustrating how visionary leadership and strategic advising can drive global entrepreneurship and economic independence forward.
Founder:
The Encore Catalyst Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/TheEncoreCatalyst )
and
Chief Encore Officer, The Encore Catalyst (www.theencorecatalyst.com) – an accelerator for feminine wisdom, influence, and impact.
also
Author & Speaker ‘Who Am I Now? – Feminine Wisdom Unmasked Uncensored’ https://whoaminowbook.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelannalexander/
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Transcripts
Welcome to Seasoned Women, Serious Business, the podcast for entrepreneurs
Speaker:aged 45 to 75 and beyond who've changed lives, challenged status
Speaker:quo, who are wise enough to want more and gutsy enough to create it.
Speaker:Join me, your host, Isabel Alexander, a seasoned business owner, as
Speaker:I serve up knowledge and best.
Speaker:Practices for life and business, along with unfiltered wisdom from
Speaker:other women entrepreneurs and leaders.
Speaker:Whether you're looking to reignite your passion for your business,
Speaker:unlock new ones that build your legacy or simply shake your head at the
Speaker:folly of underestimating ourselves.
Speaker:You are in the right place.
Speaker:We're serious about business and we're serious about loving the life
Speaker:that we've worked hard to create.
Speaker:Stay tuned and be part of a community built on collaboration and collective
Speaker:wisdom that dismisses old paradigms and celebrates vibrant women just like you
Speaker:and our limitless potential at every age.
Isabel:Hello, all you spicy and seasoned women and serious business owners.
Isabel:Another great week here in the podcast world, and an opportunity for me to
Isabel:share one of my favorites with you.
Isabel:For those of you that follow me on social media, every week, I
Isabel:share a recommendation based on my favorite books, podcasts, or movies.
Isabel:And this week I shared a favorite book, and that is the Strengths Finder 2.0.
Isabel:Trying to zoom in here.
Isabel:For those of you that are listening to this on audio, you won't see
Isabel:that I am holding up the book.
Isabel:I've had many copies of this book because I have written in them,
Isabel:given them away, loaned them out, and then couldn't get them back
Isabel:from the person I've given them to.
Isabel:Because once you get hooked on this concept of looking at the world through
Isabel:the lens of strengths as opposed to weaknesses, you'll understand why.
Isabel:On Amazon, for those who are listening on audio, the book is white with
Isabel:red lettering and embellishment, and it is in the business category.
Isabel:It's also one of the top selling books in the business category of all time.
Isabel:Why is this my favorite?
Isabel:And one of my absolute, sincerely, all time, not only business,
Isabel:but personal favorite books?
Isabel:Well it goes back to when I was in public school.
Isabel:Now, even though I graduated from high school more than 50 years ago, I have some
Isabel:very vivid memories of, occasions during my education where I was, disapproved
Isabel:of, not good enough by somebody else's standards, and sometimes even
Isabel:punished for doing things differently.
Isabel:Back in that day, that was okay.
Isabel:Education's a little different now.
Isabel:But I still think today there is a lot more focus on weaknesses of
Isabel:individuals as opposed to strengths.
Isabel:and that's why sharing my passion and appreciation for this psychology, this
Isabel:way of thinking based on strengths.
Isabel:So let me explain, the origin of this concept of StrengthsFinder.
Isabel:It goes back to the founder, Donald O.
Isabel:Clifton, or Dr.
Isabel:Clifton, who did research for 40 years.
Isabel:it really was his life's work on what are the characteristics, what are the
Isabel:attributes of very successful people and through researching millions of successful
Isabel:people around the globe in different professions and locations, he came up with
Isabel:his list of 34 signature strengths that you could attribute to these individuals.
Isabel:And then he created an assessment for individuals like me, and perhaps
Isabel:you also to determine The order of your strengths and how they showed
Isabel:up in your most confident, most comfortable areas of strength.
Isabel:I was introduced to the Strengths Finder when I was in an executive
Isabel:coaching program back, in the very, very early 2000s.
Isabel:So, it must have been 2001 or 2 because, and I'll introduce him, Tom Rath, started
Isabel:writing the StrengthsFinder books, making this more available to the mainstream.
Isabel:The first one, I believe, was published in 2001,
Isabel:and I took the assessment as part of An executive coaching program
Isabel:at The Strategic Coach, which was founded by Dan Sullivan in Toronto.
Isabel:We will be right back after a brief message from our sponsors.
Isabel:This episode of Seasoned Women Serious Business is brought to you
Isabel:by Crossroads Clarity Solution.
Isabel:If you're feeling overwhelmed and unsure of your next steps, whether
Isabel:it's maintaining the status.
Isabel:Closing Down, Scaling Up, Selling, or Transforming Your
Isabel:Role as a Primary Shareholder.
Isabel:Crossroads Clarity Solution guides you to the right path.
Isabel:This program is uniquely designed to help female entrepreneurs navigate through
Isabel:critical decisions and align their business with their values and priorities.
Isabel:Find out why it works at CrossroadsClaritySolution.
Isabel:com, and don't waste another minute of your future.
Isabel:As promised, we are back with this episode because you are wise enough to want more.
Isabel:I was very fortunate to be on the ground floor of Strategic Coach clients.
Isabel:I attribute that experience, not only of being in the coaching program at The
Isabel:Strategic Coach, but being introduced to the StrengthsFinder to my going on
Isabel:and having an eight figure business.
Isabel:Honestly, I'm not sure that I would have attained that level of success if I hadn't
Isabel:become educated on what my strengths were.
Isabel:To continue setting this up and how this all evolved, Tom Rath, I recently
Isabel:discovered, was a grandson of Dr.
Isabel:Clifton, and he so admired his grandfather's work that he wanted
Isabel:to take this more mainstream, and he created this series of books.
Isabel:And of course, there was the first Strength Finder and then
Isabel:the next iteration and the 2.
Isabel:0 and they've gone on to create additional materials.
Isabel:Anchored very much in my thinking is a quote that Donald Clifton made that
Isabel:said "The key to human development is building on who you already are."
Isabel:And considering that I am the author of the book, "Who Am I Now?", there
Isabel:certainly is an intersection of being aware of our identity and loving
Isabel:who we are and building on that.
Isabel:My public school memories and my high school memories of teachers saying " No!
Isabel:That's wrong.
Isabel:That's stupid.
Isabel:That's not the right way to do that" there was no latitude at all for, being
Isabel:original or approaching a question and a problem from a different perspective.
Isabel:It was all very rote, and this is the way it must be done.
Isabel:Another memory that's very vibrant for me still to this day was, I
Isabel:think I was a very good student.
Isabel:academically, not only did I love school and the opportunity to be exposed to
Isabel:a lot more than my simple farm life, small community, experience allowed,
Isabel:but to be in a school system, which opened me up to literature and theater
Isabel:and sciences, et cetera, was so great.
Isabel:Even though I was a really good student.
Isabel:I recall going home with my report card.
Isabel:I don't know what grade, maybe three or four, and I was pretty excited
Isabel:with the caliber of my report card.
Isabel:the teachers seemed pleased with me, but when I presented it to my parents at
Isabel:the dinner table, hoping for approval, being absolutely devastated by the
Isabel:reaction of my father, who skimmed the report card and then zeroed in on the
Isabel:lowest grade and severely admonished me for not having done better.
Isabel:He didn't comment on the A grades, the A plus grades, he looked for something that
Isabel:was the lowest denominator on the report card and insisted that I should try harder
Isabel:and do better, that I should pay more attention to that grade and improve it.
Isabel:Now, as much as I am being very stern about my father's parenting skills,
Isabel:I wasn't alone and neither was he, because in many cases, that's still the case.
Isabel:Depending on what your ethnicity is and your parents heritage, the point is
Isabel:often to focus on what the weakness is, or what is perceived as a weakness, as
Isabel:opposed to focusing on what are the best grades, the strengths of the individual.
Isabel:That's the whole point of this thinking, this methodology or psychology that we
Isabel:as individuals all have different areas of strength, skill, the best of our
Isabel:abilities, and we are wasting so much time and energy if we're ignoring those, and
Isabel:we are focused on what our weaknesses are.
Isabel:Certainly I went through a lot of my life that way.
Isabel:I confess as a parent, I'm also guilty of having done that.
Isabel:Boy, did my attitude change when I became acquainted with the StrengthsFinder and
Isabel:took the assessment and realized, wow!
Isabel:What a difference that made to my confidence, my perspective, my abilities,
Isabel:not only as a business owner and as a leader, but as a parent, as a community
Isabel:leader, as a friend, when I stayed in my lane, focusing on who I am at my
Isabel:best and not wasting energy and time trying to figure out how to be better
Isabel:at algebra than I am as a communicator.
Isabel:I do remember the day getting the assessment back.
Isabel:It's one of those moments in your lifetime, that is so significant.
Isabel:When I got my results back, and saw clearly, Oh my God, that is me!
Isabel:That explains why I feel joyous, at my best, most confident, most
Isabel:resilient, when I'm applying those strengths to whatever I'm doing.
Isabel:My signature five top strengths out of the 34, according to my assessment,
Isabel:and these are lifetime, they have not changed, are Communication, Duh,
Isabel:how did I end up as a podcaster?
Isabel:Now you know!
Isabel:Woo wins others over.
Isabel:There isn't a stranger in the world to me.
Isabel:They're just friends I have not yet met.
Isabel:Activator, when I've got an idea, when somebody comes up
Isabel:with an idea, I'm all right.
Isabel:Okay, great.
Isabel:Now let's go.
Isabel:Let's activate it.
Isabel:Let's act on it.
Isabel:And Positivity.
Isabel:I think everybody who knows me would agree that is one of the most evident
Isabel:of my strengths A friend of mine used to say, Isabel, you will always
Isabel:find the pony in the pile of horseshit.
Isabel:Number five for me is Maximizer.
Isabel:I have a unique ability.
Isabel:I have a strength at looking at something.
Isabel:and seeing how to make it better, which is.
Isabel:Ideally suited to my work in helping women entrepreneurs
Isabel:transform their businesses and their relationships with their businesses.
Isabel:That's why I feel so energized when I'm working with other women entrepreneurs,
Isabel:I have strengths that enable me to see things differently, and communicate how
Isabel:that might work into their life's plan.
Isabel:So as you can see, I get pretty pumped up just talking about strengths
Isabel:because why wouldn't we, right?
Isabel:Why be talking about what you don't do well according to societal standards?
Isabel:Instead, shift the focus to what is known to be true by you by just how you feel
Isabel:about what's happening, what your success is, how easy it is for you when you're
Isabel:operating within your own strengths.
Isabel:I wanted to bring this back for conversation.
Isabel:This isn't the first time I've talked about the StrengthsFinder, but now I'm,
Isabel:coming up on 20 plus years of seeing different ways it supports the best
Isabel:possible outcomes in my life and business.
Isabel:But in particular, I wanted to talk about how this applies to you as a seasoned
Isabel:woman, and as a seasoned woman with a serious business, we know this time
Isabel:of our life is constantly presenting us with challenges to our confidence,
Isabel:our clarity, our sense of who we are because everything is changing around us.
Isabel:The world is changing, our bodies are changing, our markets are changing,
Isabel:business models, competition, technology, even our desires and priorities.
Isabel:And that is why I say we are wise enough to want more and even
Isabel:wiser, if we recognize, Hell Yes!
Isabel:We deserve more!
Isabel:Figuring out what we want that to be is sometimes a little bit more complicated.
Isabel:But that is another thing that I've found, I developed models for that
Isabel:myself because I didn't easily find them when I retired, the first time, when I
Isabel:sold my first big business, it was, how do you reinvent, in your fifties and
Isabel:sixties and figure out who are you now?
Isabel:That was the birth of the Encore Catalyst and the Encore Methodology,
Isabel:anchored firmly in my strengths, that allowed me to figure that out, know
Isabel:that I wanted to change, what the options were for what was perceived as
Isabel:retirement time and retirement options and how to create something new and
Isabel:communicate that with other people.
Isabel:At any stage or age of our life or business, I always say, go back to
Isabel:your Strength Finder and look at the situation through those lenses.
Isabel:Knowing your strengths immediately, it's like an inoculation to your confidence.
Isabel:Really a boost to confidence and self awareness.
Isabel:If things aren't feeling "right", if you're just in a bit of a funk or a
Isabel:fog, then it's probably because what you are doing is not aligned with
Isabel:your highest and best self; that certainly includes your strengths.
Isabel:When you are operating in your strengths it's like an energy creation machine.
Isabel:You've got increased productivity, increased fulfillment, which means
Isabel:probability of success just shot way up, which is a renewable resource.
Isabel:When you are operating from your strengths, not scrambling to catch
Isabel:up from behind in an area that someone might describe as a weakness,
Isabel:I'd just say it is an area that is not my skill set, nor my interest.
Isabel:But the good news is there are other people out there in the world that
Isabel:possess those skills and strengths, and I can attract them to me.
Isabel:The other reason I strongly recommend that all seasoned women know their strengths
Isabel:is that it makes us better at making decisions and it makes us better leaders.
Isabel:Leading ourself, of course, but leading our organization, because we're
Isabel:operating from our highest and best self and strengths, and then we look
Isabel:to build our teams, attract to us the people that have the other strengths
Isabel:and skills that can fulfill the vision that we have for our business.
Isabel:A key part of what I do when I'm working with a client is to shift her vision of
Isabel:leadership from hands on, controlling manager, to stepping back and operating
Isabel:from the viewpoint of chief investor, chief shareholder of the organization
Isabel:and cultivating the strengths of other people around her, whether they're
Isabel:staff, whether they are contractors.
Isabel:And guess what?
Isabel:This also works for clients.
Isabel:and suppliers.
Isabel:And I'd love to talk to you more about how I employed that with my
Isabel:clients and suppliers another time.
Isabel:Can you start to sense now why knowing your strengths, embracing them and
Isabel:loving those strengths, also helps you build better relationships and increase
Isabel:your opportunities and effectiveness as a collaborator with others.
Isabel:Collaboration comes from these opportunities to find your match,
Isabel:the magnet to your strengths, to build something together.
Isabel:Which is then, as they say, the sum of the parts is greater.
Isabel:That's why a catalyst is the perfect definition for me, because adding me to
Isabel:something else creates a bigger effect.
Isabel:It doesn't diminish me, doesn't change me, and that's why I've found this great
Isabel:combination of my strengths really helped me to be aware my best role in life is
Isabel:a catalyst, a transformation catalyst.
Isabel:I would love for you to identify that moniker, label, brand, put
Isabel:it on your t shirt of what your strengths make you perfectly.
Isabel:The other aspect that I think is perfect for us as seasoned women with the
Isabel:Strengths Finder as our fuel, is that it gives us resilience and adaptability.
Isabel:I can bounce back very quickly from a " Damn!
Isabel:It didn't work out the way I wanted it to.", if I step back from a moment and
Isabel:go oh yeah because there I was trying to jam that square peg into the round
Isabel:hole because it's not my strength.
Isabel:It is not my right area of approach and therefore the outcome was frustrating,
Isabel:and then at the same time, I can go, "All right, Isabel, you've proved
Isabel:yet again that you should stay in primarily your area of strengths!"
Isabel:I've also found throughout my life that understanding and implementing the
Isabel:psychology of strengths versus weaknesses has really improved my relationships.
Isabel:I have bought probably a hundred copies of this book.
Isabel:I not only give these to my clients or require that they buy them, read
Isabel:them, and then encourage them to buy them and circulate them to their staff.
Isabel:I also share my success as a small business owner who struggled to hire
Isabel:the right people, and had to let go people that were not a right fit.
Isabel:I required every potential candidate to do a strength finder.
Isabel:I had an opportunity to look at maybe some aspect of their strengths
Isabel:that I hadn't even considered as a bonus, a benefit to our team, but
Isabel:also to be able to coach them and develop them based on those strengths.
Isabel:It's not that I would not hire somebody, a candidate for whatever their strength
Isabel:finder said, providing they had the other characteristics, attributes,
Isabel:and skills that I was looking for, but when I knew their strengths
Isabel:and I had those affirmed by their assessment, then I was a better manager.
Isabel:I was a better leader in developing them to be part of the team.
Isabel:I also use this in my personal relationships.
Isabel:Understanding the people that you are with and being aware of a strength that you
Isabel:didn't immediately see because you were up too close or you had developed, some
Isabel:familiarity, over time is another aspect.
Isabel:And I have used that in many personal relationships and friendships, to great
Isabel:joy and mutual benefit for both of us.
Isabel:One other way that I have found the Strength Finder is so great, as a
Isabel:grandmother, to be able to sit with my grandchild, who perhaps was struggling a
Isabel:bit through, a growth stage of their life, challenges in their own relationships and
Isabel:figuring out their identity, to be able to have them have the Strength Finder.
Isabel:I still feel the joy of, as a grandmother, witnessing them stand
Isabel:a little taller, smile a little wider, feel a lot more confident
Isabel:in who they are and their value in their relationships, in their life.
Isabel:The Strength Finder, I could go on much longer, but for now, I'm guessing
Isabel:that you probably already got the link up on Amazon, or you're going to
Isabel:rush out to your favorite bookstore, but let me just recap very quickly.
Isabel:I I have lots of evidence in my own life, in my businesses, in my
Isabel:personal relationships, in my clients businesses, that knowing the strength
Isabel:finder of each individual and valuing them from that criteria just leads
Isabel:to exponential growth and joy.
Isabel:That includes confidence and self awareness.
Isabel:It includes productivity, fulfillment, sense of purpose.
Isabel:It includes definitely better decision making because it's based in a place
Isabel:of strength and better leadership, stronger relationships and collaboration
Isabel:because you can see the opportunities for you to be united as a greater
Isabel:result than the sum of the parts.
Isabel:A closing quote for you, and this comes from Tom Rath, the grandfather of Donald
Isabel:Clifton, who I thank for this every day;
Isabel:"You cannot be anything you want to be, but you can be a lot
Isabel:more of who you already are."
Isabel:Saying goodbye for now, letting you know the Strength Finder is one
Isabel:of my favorite books and sharing these Pearls of Wisdom, these life
Isabel:experiences with you on this podcast is one of my favorite things to do!
Isabel:Have a great week.
Isabel:Thank you for spending your time with us today on Seasoned Women, Serious Business.
Isabel:We really value you and are thrilled to be part of your journey.
Isabel:If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe to the channel and then share it
Isabel:with other women who would receive value.
Isabel:Thanks to our sponsors, all episodes are available in audio, video, and
Isabel:transcribed format on all major platforms.
Isabel:Now, if you'd like to share your wisdom or become a co host or a
Isabel:show sponsor, please reach out to me at hello at theencorecatalyst.
Isabel:com or visit our website, seasonedwomenseriousbusiness.
Isabel:com.
Isabel:Also, I'd appreciate it if you submit questions and suggestions for future
Isabel:topics and guest experts to interview.
Isabel:Let's lift as we climb, magnify our impact, and create more
Isabel:for ourselves and others.
Isabel:Until next time, keep thriving, keep vibing, and keep living your legacy.
