If your child was getting a B minus in her English and History classes and As in her science and math classes, which subjects should she give the most attention to?  Well, if you were like 77% of other Americans (myself included), you would say her English and History classes are where attention should be focused.

But the folks at Gallup have an interesting counter-argument.  Based on their decades of research, they have found that “each person has greater potential for success in specific areas, and the key to human development is building on who you already are.”  So, they would counter, build on her Science and Math skills.

Does that mean that we should let kids off the hook to master subjects in which they struggle?  Of course not.  A basic education is needed.   It is interesting, however, to think about in terms of the amount of energy we spend in trying to correct kids (and adults) deficiencies as opposed to celebrating and building on their strengths.

Tom Rath, author of Strengthsfinder 2.0, a book based on the Gallup research and that comes with an online test where that one can take to discover their strengths, writes, “people have several times more potential for growth when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead of correcting their deficiencies.”

For instance, Gallup studies show that “people who have the opportunity to focus on their strengths at work are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.”

Furthermore, as it relates to our own resolutions for the New Year, I wonder if we wouldn’t be better served in framing some of our goals for 2012 by building on our strengths instead of trying to correct our weaknesses.  What if the key to self-improvement is building on who we already are?  What if focusing on our strengths while managing around our weaknesses was the better approach to our resolutions to improve?

Something to think about as many of us set objectives and plan goals for 2012.

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