Discovering Strengths
One thing that would benefit us all is to discover what we’re good at and what we’re not. From there, we can find out what types of jobs fit us, what kind of team to surround ourselves with, and become more effective overall.
Too often, people see their weaknesses and spend their time developing them to the point of mediocrity. This is often done at the expense of our strengths. The truth is, it’s your strengths that have to most room for growth.
The StrengthsFinder assessment by the Gallup’s organization is a helpful tool that allows you to discover your strengths and show you where to focus your personal development.
I recently took the assessment and the results revealed my top 5 are Activator, Belief, Relator, Ideation, & Maximizer (descriptions below). They weren’t surprising and they reinforced what I’ve always known my sweet spot was.
Activator
People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
Driven by your talents, you may influence some of your friends to make things happen quickly. Sometimes you create enthusiasm in others by championing a particular project, rule, process, activity, or idea. Because of your strengths, you are comfortable telling others stories about your personal habits, qualities, experiences, or background. Your forthcoming nature probably enables others to share their thoughts and feelings with you. By nature, you now and then boost some people’s spirits by bringing up a key point they shared with you. Perhaps you sense that certain individuals feel a bit more special when you listen to them and spotlight something they said. It’s very likely that you generate enthusiasm so people become as eager as you are to transform an idea into something tangible. You are energized, not paralyzed, by opportunities and possibilities. Instinctively, you may show your approval of an individual by referring to some interesting points the person made during a conversation or presentation. Sometimes you convince people you value them by paying particularly close attention when they speak.
Belief
People who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.
Driven by your talents, you feel better about yourself when you are honest and forthright with people. Telling untruths and omitting important facts violates your personal code of ethics. By nature, you might place particular value on the purpose and meaning you draw from your core values. Perhaps you aim to provide for your family’s physical, educational, emotional, or social needs. This partially explains why you work hard to ensure that their quality of life is as good as it can be. Instinctively, you are naturally compelled to admit the truth. If someone asked you or told you to intentionally mislead someone, you would reply, “I cannot and I will not do that!” Because of your strengths, you want your life to really matter. You are determined to contribute to the well-being of individuals and the human family. You sense you can be an influence for good in the world. Chances are good that you are cheerful and upbeat when people accept the fact that you feel strongly about matters that could alter the quality of your life.
Relator
People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
Because of your strengths, you embrace life more fully when you are surrounded by people whose personal aims or professional ambitions are clearly defined. Instinctively, you might be particularly willing to accept all individuals regardless of their appearance, education, social class, native language, religious preference, or political persuasion. Perhaps this explains why your circle of friends or acquaintances is diverse and interesting. Maybe your openness encourages individuals to seek your counsel. By nature, you realize life is good after you have shared your knowledge and skills with novice players, students, teammates, or associates. You probably are most gratified by individuals who want to improve personally or professionally. Driven by your talents, you fill your mind with new ideas by asking questions, reading, studying, observing, or listening. Normally, you accumulate facts, data, stories, examples, or background information from the people you meet. Determining what they want to accomplish in the coming weeks, months, or years generally satisfies your curiosity. These insights also allow you to understand why individuals behave they way they do in different situations. It’s very likely that you sometimes congratulate yourself for being a good counselor. Certain people may keep coming back to you for words of wisdom. Others might seek your recommendations about how to handle problems or take advantage of opportunities.
Ideation
People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Chances are good that you may be delighted when you can generate new and innovative ideas for doing certain tasks or projects. Perhaps you lose enthusiasm or become bored when you are forced to follow standard operating procedures. Periodically you wonder if you are in the right job or course of study when your creativity is stifled. Maybe you are frustrated by people who conclude that your inventive suggestions are forms of criticism or insubordination — that is, refusal to submit to authority. It’s very likely that you contribute many innovative ideas to the group during brainstorming sessions. You tend to be highly imaginative when proposals are fully heard and any criticism is reserved for a later time. Driven by your talents, you enjoy being well-read. Not surprisingly, you can introduce more questions, suggestions, solutions, or innovative ideas into group conversations than most participants can. Instinctively, you bring new thoughts to most discussions and meetings. Your reputation for innovative thinking explains why you are recruited by groups. You derive satisfaction from mental activity. You recognize when you are especially creative. Because of your strengths, you probably consider yourself an idea person. Your job, studies, or life in general are more exciting when people ask you to generate novel assignments, activities, or campaigns.
Maximizer
People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
Instinctively, you might give yourself credit for being keenly aware of certain people’s moods, motives, thoughts, or behaviors. Because of your strengths, you may recognize your ability to involve different sorts of individuals in your life. Some people might recall that you were the first person to welcome them with open arms, an open heart, or an open mind. Chances are good that you frequently notice what makes each person unique or special. Armed with these insights, you probably inspire many individuals to move into action. You realize life is more fulfilling for people who choose tasks and are given assignments that closely match their talents. You often notice the different moods, need for information, or preferred forms of recognition for the people in your life. It’s very likely that you sometimes improve your results or add to your list of accomplishments by consciously using your talents. Perhaps you are more efficient or effective when you practice doing better what you naturally do well. By nature, you may choose to partner with individuals who recognize what you do well and acknowledge areas in which you excel. Perhaps you appreciate their willingness to provide you with opportunities to practice using your natural abilities. To some degree, you accept the need to build upon your raw talents to create true strengths.
Have you ever taken it the StrengthsFinder assessment?
If so, what were your top 5?
