HAPPY FRIDAY: Practice is over-rated. Here's an even better idea:

Growing up, we get told to practice. Practice your alphabet, practice your timetables, practice your sports drills. But what if you're practicing the wrong things? What if you're not focusing on the things you're good at? Do you even know what your strengths are? Maybe you don't even realise how good you are at certain things, because they come so naturally. But unlocking these strengths. Unlocks a superpower. A superpower that has massive benefits for your career.

In this episode, I'm not only going to share the benefits, but what if I told you there's a secret to making those strengths even stronger? And that secret isn't practice. In this happiness episode, you're going to find out.

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Topics:

Escape the 9 to 5 

Escape the 9-5 

Career Coach 

Career Advice 

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Career Transition 

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Next Step Careers Limited

Auckland Wellington Christchurch New Zealand

Episode Transcript

Shure MV7 (00:00):
Growing up, we get told to practice.
Practice your alphabet, practice yourtimetables, practice your sports drills.
But what if you'repracticing the wrong things?
What if you're not focusingon the things you're good at?
Like, do you even knowwhat your strengths are?

(00:22):
Maybe you don't even realise howgood you are at certain things,
because they come so naturally.
But unlocking these strengths.
Unlocks a superpower.
A superpower that has massivebenefits for your career.
In this episode, I'm not only goingto share the benefits, but what

(00:43):
if I told you there's a secret tomaking those strengths even stronger?
And that secret is in practice.
In this happiness episode,you're going to find out.
You're a working professionalstuck in a 9 to 5 job.
You know you have strengths.

(01:05):
You have things you're naturally goodat, but are you actually using them?
Are you growing them?
Can you even label what they are?
Or how you even use them at work?
Or are you letting themjust sit there, untapped?
Like a superpower younever learned to control.

(01:26):
I'm career coach Dr.
Steve Oehle, host andcreator of Escape the 9 to 5.
I help other working professionalslike you unlock their super strengths
and design a career where you'reactually being your best self at work.
Happy Friday.
Earlier this week, we talked abouthow to unlock your strengths.

(01:48):
and if you don't know what they are,either listen to earlier episodes
from this week or visit my websitefor a free strengths assessment.
But what are the benefits toworking to your strengths?
Specifically, how does working to yourstrengths make you happier at work?
In 2024, scientists at HarvardUniversity conducted a study on job

(02:13):
satisfaction and well being amongst U.
S.
employees.
They found individuals who activelyapplied their personal strengths at
work experienced higher job satisfactionand performed better at work.
2023, scholars at the University ofValencia conducted a meta analysis

(02:34):
examining the effects of strengths basedinterventions on workplace outcomes.
Their research showed that employees whoparticipated in strengths based programs
experienced greater job satisfaction.
In 2012, researchers at the Universityof Zurich investigated the link between

(03:00):
using strengths and workplace happiness.
They found that employees whoimplied their strengths at work
reported more positive workplaceexperiences and a stronger sense
of purpose in their careers.
These studies highlight The profoundimpact of working to one's strengths.

(03:21):
Demonstrating clear benefits injob satisfaction, motivation,
and workplace performance.
In fact, people working to their strengthsare six times more likely to be engaged
at work, and three times more likely toreport having a good quality of life.
Great.

(03:41):
Work to my strengths andI'll be happy at work.
But what if there's a way to makethose strengths even stronger?
It's all well and good knowingthat you have strengths, but
how can you amplify them?
Introducing the Protege Effect.
Research shows, on average, oldersiblings tend to have higher

(04:03):
IQs than their younger siblings.
For decades, researchers believed this wasdue to factors like parental expectations
or first born children receiving moreattention than their younger siblings.
2009, researchers from theStanford School of Education ran

(04:23):
a study that challenged this idea.
They wanted to understand why somepeople seem to absorb and retain
knowledge better than others.
They took 62 8th grade studentsand divided them into two groups.
One group was told to study a set of newmaterial for themselves, just as they

(04:45):
normally would do in a classroom setting.
The other group, they weretold they'd have to teach
the material to someone else.
Here's where it gets interesting.
The students who studied just forthemselves performed reasonably well.
But the students who thoughtthey'd have to teach?

(05:07):
They significantlyoutperformed the first group.
Why?
Because when we teach something, wedon't just passively absorb information.
We engage with it on a deeper level.
We have to process theinformation more deeply.
Thinking about it from multiple angles.

(05:28):
Identify gaps in our own understanding.
If we can't explain it, we probablydon't understand it well enough.
Simplify complex ideas.
Teaching forces us to break thingsdown into clear, digestible parts.
Recall information more easily.
The act of teaching makesthe information stick.

(05:51):
This is called the protege effect,a phenomenon where teaching others
improves the teacher's understandingand retention of knowledge.
It turns out, this is exactlywhy older siblings tend to score
slightly higher on IQ tests.
It's not because they're inherentlysmarter, but because they spend

(06:12):
their early years explainingthings to their younger siblings.
Helping with homework.
Showing them how to tie their shoes.
Or even teaching them howto play a new video game.
But here's the real question.
How can you use this effectto supercharge your career?

(06:33):
Teach others.
Be the protege.
Most people believe that if theywant to get better at something,
they should practice more.
Which is true to a point, assumingyou're practicing your strengths.
But there's an even fasterway to accelerate your growth.
Start teaching what you already know.

(06:54):
Even if you don't feel like an expert.
Even if you feel like you stillhave a lot to learn yourself.
Here's why it works.
1.
Teaching forces you tomaster the fundamentals.
Think about a time where you had toexplain something complicated to someone
who didn't have your background knowledge.

(07:15):
Maybe you had to traina new employee at work.
Maybe you had to teach a youngersibling how to ride a bike.
Maybe you've had to explain a complexidea in a simple way to a client.
In every case, teaching forcedyou to get back to the basics.
Here to make sure you actually understoodwhat you were talking about, because the

(07:36):
moment you try to explain it, any gaps inyour knowledge would be painfully obvious.
This is exactly why universityprofessors often say they learn more
about their subject from teachingthan they ever did as students.
Two.
Teaching builds confidencein your abilities.

(07:59):
One of the biggest reasons peoplefeel stuck in their careers is because
they underestimate what they know.
They assume they don'thave enough experience.
They assume they aren'treally an expert in anything.
But teaching changes that.
The more you share what you know, the moreyou start to recognise your own strengths.

(08:19):
You realise just how muchvaluable knowledge you've
accumulated over the years.
And that's a game changerfor your confidence.
This is why mentors and coaches often saythat teaching is the best way to learn.
Because in the process of helpingothers, you reaffirm your own
knowledge and develop a strongerbelief in your abilities.

(08:43):
Three.
Teaching opens doors to career growth.
When you become the go to personfor knowledge, people notice.
You become someone that colleaguesand managers seek out for advice.
You become someone who stands out.
Not just for what you know, for yourwillingness to share what you know.

(09:07):
And here's the thing.
In today's world, knowledgesharing is a currency.
Whether you start mentoring a junioremployee at work, lead a training
session, write LinkedIn posts about yourexpertise, or even starting a podcast.
See what I did there?
Teaching establishes youas a leader in your field.

(09:31):
And leaders are the ones who get promoted.
They're the ones who get opportunities.
They're the ones who grow.
How to apply the prodigyeffect to your own career?
Now that you know how powerful the ProdigyEffect is, how can you start using it?
Here are three easy ways toapply it in your own career.

(09:55):
As I mentioned before, youcan teach a junior colleague.
When someone new joins yourteam, offer to mentor them.
Help get them up to speed.
In doing so, you'llsharpen your own skills.
Secondly, you can writeabout what you know.
If you're good at something, startsharing your insights online.

(10:16):
Post on LinkedIn, or write a blog.
You don't have to be an expert, justshare what you've learnt, in the medium
that feels the most comfortable to you.
finally, you could starta lunch and learn at work.
Offer to run a casual session where youshare something useful with your team.
It could be anything from aproductivity hack to industry insights.

(10:39):
The more you teach, the more you learn.
And the more you learn, the more you grow.
If you want to unlock your superstrengths, don't just use them.
Teach them.
Help others.
Share your knowledge.
And in doing so Make yourself even better.

(11:01):
Have a good Friday.