“I can’t do it. I don’t have the talent for it.” Let those who have ever thought such a thing come forward. But ask yourself – are you focusing more on what you are not good at or are you strengthening your strengths? And do you even know your talents?
“Something doesn’t work for you because you have a predisposition to do it in a different way. It’s natural for you,” explains Markéta Gabzdyl Tichá. As a certified coach of Gallup CliftonStrentghs methodology she supports people in developing strengths and helps them find ways to compensate for weaknesses. At the same time, she is the founder of the Cloud 9 Institute, where they focus on the well-being and development of employees.
Searching for solutions
Markéta likes to simplify complex things and find ways to solve something. In elementary school she wanted to be a teacher, later a humanitarian worker, and in college she became passionate about coaching. “I enjoyed talking to people, finding out how and what they think about, what they enjoy, what they would like to improve. I spend most of my coaching time in executive coaching. And a lot of clients come to me because I’m a very creative person who always comes up with some other ways we can look at the issue.”
She used to work in a corporation. “I was very satisfied at IBM. Nobody expected me to quit. I had a kind of inner tension, I wanted to devote myself fully to coaching. I became a freelancer. I founded the Cloud 9 Institute because I began to realize that I have no chance of covering all the topics that clients come to me with.”
Like on a cloud
If you are on “cloud number 9”, you feel extremely happy. The Cloud 9 Institute also strives for client satisfaction and well-being, whose team organizes workshops, development programs and Health Days for companies. “I feel that awareness of this topic is increasing. In the beginning, we were lucky to come across several enlightened people in various corporations, without whom we would not have been able to spread enlightenment there. There are more such people in companies today.” Well-being has recently been given more emphasis, but at the same time it is the first area to be cut in case of any changes in the budget. “For companies, it’s a nice to have, not a must have. At times when there is a need to cut back, for example during events such as covid, we feel it.”
Discover your strengths and believe in them
In 2021, Markéta became a Gallup certified coach for working with strengths and CliftonStrengths methodology included in the Cloud 9 Institute offer. Thanks for the CliftonStrentghs test you will clarify which talents you have and how strong they are (e.g. for Markéta, so-called Ideation comes first, so she is very imaginative). Based on what you are good at and what you know, you can develop further. This will make you more efficient and satisfied. “Using the methodology, we can read that someone is great at rules, principles, processes… Another person will hate it and it won’t work for him/her, but maybe it’s natural for him/her to go out into the field, talk to people, get information from them. But it will be difficult for him/her to record the information in a system. That’s why it’s great when such people complement each other. But it certainly does not mean that they should not learn something from each other. We look at what that person is likely to be inclined towards, what ways of doing, acting and deciding, and how they can do that as much as possible to use their strengths to the greatest possible extent.”
Empower the strong, look for partners for weaknesses
Thanks to the test, you will gain insight into yourself and also a lot of practical development tips, which, according to Markéta, will be enough for five years of development. “Definitely strengthen what you’re good at first. If you are passionate enough, you can try to develop yourself based on the test results. If you are not from the population of people who can work on themselves in this way, whether short-term or long-term, it is advisable to have someone who can read the result, go through it with you and point out some aspects of development.”
Methodology clearly names the weaknesses and helps to find a way to compensate for them to the extent that they do not hold a person back. Keep in mind that trying to move a given (in)ability up the spectrum can exhaust you unnecessarily. Rather, look for someone around you who can do the thing and delegate it to them. Or look at your talents and abilities to replace it.
Women of Impact
She is currently preparing the fourth series of the educational podcast O talentech s Markétou (About talents with Markéta). Cloud 9 Institute has opened registration for the next run of the NLC leadership program for women. As part of special activities for the institute’s tenth anniversary, they are preparing workshops for the spring with an American coach who worked directly for the Gallup company. “For me, the greatest gift during the company’s existence is that our team does not change much. According to Gallup research, one of the hallmarks of top teams is that they are a magnet for talent; people want to work on that team. And I think that’s us. When we ask someone if they would like to work with us, they are excited. Furthermore, it makes me very happy when clients tell us that we have changed their lives. It’s not a little.”
In Clubco almost every day
Markéta found her way to Clubco three years ago. “The meeting rooms here are suitable for us as a company that is in the field a lot, doing coaching and workshops. I decided to close the office we had before, it didn’t make sense for us.” She spends time at Clubco almost every day, meeting clients for personal coaching, or organizing a workshop or lecture. At Clubco, she values freedom, friendship, humanity and trustworthiness. “I also know the strengths of the team here because they did CliftonStrengths test,” she notes with a smile. Community is important to her. “How it is possible to build it in such places. The energy, ideas and thoughts of the different people we can meet here intersect. We have several clients here, not only in Clubco, but in the entire Vlněna complex. But many people probably don’t know about us, because here we only use the meeting rooms and we basically move in the basement. (laughs) That’s also why I want to start going more, for example, to networking events,” she says at the end.
