Talent without skills stalls: you feel potential but can’t ship.
Skills without talent grind: you can perform, but it drains you.
Talent + skills = reliable strengths that produce results and energy.
Talents (innate): what comes easily to you and not to most (e.g., systems thinking, storytelling, reading people).
Skills (learned): what you built through effort (e.g., Excel modeling, slide design, facilitation, running long distances).
Grab a page. Make three columns: Talent, Skill, Strength-in-Action.
List your top 3 talents
Think back to recent wins and childhood clues. Write one verb for each (e.g., explain, organize, connect).
List 3 learned skills
What took hours to master? (e.g., Excel, video editing, copyediting, distance running, public speaking).
Combine into Strengths-in-Action
Match one talent with one skill and write a specific use-case you could do weekly:
Explain (talent) + Slide design (skill) → “Create 1-page decision briefs for leadership.”
Organize (talent) + Excel (skill) → “Turn messy processes into living dashboards.”
Connect (talent) + Facilitation (skill) → “Run 20-min alignment huddles that end with who/what/when.”
Circle two combos you’re excited to use this week.
Map where each strength belongs.
Solo blocks (deep work): Which tasks are best done alone? How long is your optimal focus sprint (25/45/90 min)?
Relational blocks (with others): Where do you shine—1:1s, small teams, larger rooms, async/online?
Cadence: How often should each strength appear (daily, weekly)? Put first reps on your calendar.
Tip: Treat this like job-crafting. You’re not changing your role overnight—you’re threading your strengths through tasks you already own.
Ship one artifact from a strength combo (e.g., a 1-page brief, a checklist, a mini-dashboard).
Schedule one conversation where your interpersonal strength helps (e.g., a 10-minute alignment huddle).
Automate or template one repeatable piece so the strength is easier to reuse next time.
Track a quick line after each: Energy = −2/−1/0/+1/+2. Keep what lifts you; tweak what drains you.
Systems talent + Analytics skill → “Before any project, sketch a 5-box flow and set two measurable checkpoints.”
Teaching talent + Writing skill → “End every meeting with a 4-step follow-up note people can act on.”
Visual talent + Video skill → “Storyboard three frames before I build a deck or reel.”
Interpersonal talent + Facilitation skill → “Host a 15-minute weekly ‘unblocker’—one topic, one decision.”
Which talent–skill pair produced the biggest after-glow this week?
Where can you place a recurring calendar block to use it?
What small proof (doc, link, clip) will you create so others start asking for this strength?
Your edge lives where what’s natural meets what’s trainable. Name the talent, attach the enabling skill, and practice in tiny, scheduled reps. That’s how you build strengths that feel like you—and move your work forward.
— Sandro Formica, PhD
Founder of Permanently Happy (questions at [email protected])
Keynote Speaker | Transforming Leaders & Organizations Through Positive Leadership & Personal Branding | Director, Chief Happiness Officer Certificate Program
Happiness Fundamentals | Needs | Values | Talents & Skills | Thoughts & Beliefs | Emotions | Empathetic Communication | Imagination | Life Purpose | Life Plan
