Strengths, Energy & Sustainable Work
Building the inner resources of leaders, founders, and teams.
When the way you’ve always worked no longer fits
You’re capable, experienced and used to finding a way through. People trust your judgement and rely on what you do well.
But as your responsibilities change, the same approach can start to ask more of you.
You might have stepped into leadership and found that being good at the work is different from leading it. You might be an experienced leader, still drawn into decisions and problems when you need more space to think. Or you might have built a business around what you do well, and now its progress depends on your involvement.
The strengths that got you here may need to be used differently to get you where you want to go.
Your strengths haven’t stopped being valuable. What they’re being asked to do has changed.
Specialist strengths support from someone who understands your world
I’m Sharon Quirk, founder of Optimising Strengths and an accredited Master Practitioner in Skills Discovery.
I’ve spent more than 25 years across social work, clinical practice, education and professional supervision, and for the past 11 years I’ve studied and applied strengths in greater depth. I’ve led, worked extensively within teams and run my own business, so I know carrying responsibility from the inside.
My aim is to help you see how your strengths are shaping the way you work, so you can make more informed choices about what to continue, what to approach differently and what may need to change.
Strengths don’t need to be maximised. They need to be understood.
Skills Discovery (formerly Strengths Profile) gives us a starting point for exploring what you do well, what gives you energy and how you’re using your strengths in your work. We look at what that means in the context of your responsibilities and what matters to you.
From there, we look at what might need to change. Sometimes it’s using a strength differently. Sometimes it’s changing how work is organised, how decisions are made or how responsibility is held. The focus is on small, practical changes you can try, learn from and adjust as you go.
“Sharon's support was deeply attuned to how I learn, think, and communicate, which made every interaction feel thoughtful, respectful, and genuinely supportive. What stood out most was her ability to understand me at a deep level as a person. Her mentorship never felt like being fixed or directed. It felt like being supported to understand myself more clearly, and to move forward with confidence, self-trust, and purpose.”
- Charlotte Blue, Social Work Practitioner
Find the pathway that fits
For Leaders
Explore strengths-informed supervision and coaching as leadership responsibilities grow and the way you work needs to evolve.
For Founders
Explore strengths-informed coaching and professional supervision as you navigate competing priorities, growing responsibility and the demands of running your own business.
For Organisations
Explore how strengths, responsibility and reliance shape leadership practice, team dynamics and the conditions that support more sustainable ways of working across your organisation.
Whichever pathway feels closest, let's talk about what's happening in your work and what might help.
UPCOMING PUBLIC WORKSHOP
Your strengths, used differently in the way you lead
Look at what your changing leadership responsibilities ask of your strengths, with practical reflection and small experiments to help you make informed choices about how you lead and work.
Next Adelaide two-day workshop · 23 February & 18 March 2027 · Places limited
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Not sure where to start?
You can get in touch in whatever way feels most comfortable. You might have a question, want more information, or be wondering which pathway would be most useful.
A complimentary 30-minute introductory conversation gives us a chance to talk through what you’re navigating, answer any questions, and work out the most useful starting point together.