When we think about our development at work, it is easy to focus on our specific legal skills, or perhaps a specific 'human skill' such as our communication skills or delegation skills.  All undoubtedly very important.  

What is often overlooked, is the role that understanding and leveraging our unique character strengths could be the key to not just surviving, but truly thriving in our profession.

 At The Thriving Lawyer Podcast, Carla Ferraz and I recently discussed the often underestimated influence of strengths-based practice in the legal field. This practice isn't about honing skills or expertise alone but tapping into the essence of our character traits to enhance both performance AND our wellbeing.

Beyond Performance: The Role of Character Strengths

Character strengths are different to our talents - for example good negotiation skills.  Instead, they are your unique combination of characteristics that make you uniquely you.  These strengths - such as a love of learning, appreciation of beauty and excellence, curiosity, love, fairness and perspective - are the parts of your personality that influence how you think, feel, and behave.

When we recognise our unique character strengths, we can look at our work - and lives - anew, and consider how we can better use those strengths to increase not just our performance, but our wellbeing.  

For example, when I gained awareness of my love of learning as my top strength, I was then able when faced with a mundane task, or an aspect of work that i did not enjoy, to reframe the experience and ask myself 'How can I approach this differently if I were to see it as a learning opportunity?'. 

Whilst many lawyers operate from a place of reliance on their unrecognised character strengths, identification and focus on character strengths allows us to be more deliberate in our practice.  

Moving from Awareness to Action

So how can you get started ?

To explore this, start with the VIA character strength survey—an accessible tool for identifying your inherent strengths. It is available here. The free survey is sufficient! 

Once aware, the challenge becomes integrating them into your law practice - and your broader life. 

Reflect on how these strengths currently play out in your daily work and personal life.

For instance, if appreciation of beauty and excellence is a top strength, consider how you might use it in an aspect of your work, such as recognition of the work of your team.  

Balancing Strengths: Avoiding the Overuse Trap

Awareness also means acknowledging when a strength becomes a liability. As Carla noted in our podcast episode, excessive reliance on strength can tip into negativity—perfectionism can be the overused side of a drive for excellence.

Practice self-coaching to adjust your strengths as life demands so they don't become burdens! 

Applying Character Strengths for Wellbeing

Ultimately, consistently leveraging your strengths positively affects your work outcomes and fuels a broader sense of wellbeing. By focusing on what's already strong within, lawyers can foster environments of sustainable success over burnout.

Taking the First Step

Once you have completed the survey reflect on your results. 

A simple way to take action is to pick one of your top strengths and write down three ways that you've used that strength in the past few days.

Then ask yourself, what is one new way I could use this strength in a different context? 

Join us at The Thriving Lawyer Podcast, where we delve deeper into these concepts, offering guidance and support for a thriving legal career. Subscribe and listen to our latest episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to discover more.