Strengths Finder

This is another work course. In this case, management decided to find and use employee strengths vs trying to put them into situations where we can explore and grow our weaknesses. It makes sense. Why hire someone to be a troubleshooter then force them into architect roles. It can be a frustrating experience for both parties.

Note: This is a work course.

Section I: Awareness

Responsibility

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights

What makes you stand out?

Instinctively, you may wish to have a broader range of control and accountability on the job or in your personal life. By nature, you often describe your life in favorable terms even though obligations force you to keep working until you reach your goal. Because of your strengths, you are motivated by your sense of obligation to finish what you start.* You fight the impulse to delegate and procrastinate. You remind yourself that you are the one who is personally accountable. It’s very likely that you feel life is best when you are truthful about your talents, skills, education, successes, experiences, or background. You are determined to dispel illusions you have about yourself and others have about you. This is likely to be one of your top priorities. As long as you do not pretend to be someone you are not, you are a happier and healthier human being. Chances are good that you might shoulder your obligations and duties with relative ease. You might be motivated to behave in ways that cause individuals to say you are dependable.

Questions

1. As you read your personalized strengths insights, what words, phrases, or lines stand out to you?
2. Out of all the talents in this insight, what would you like for others to see most in you?

Intellection

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights

What makes you stand out?

Instinctively, you acquire knowledge more easily when you can talk with others about ideas, concepts, or theories. Thoughts come alive for you when questions are posed and answers are proposed. You have a delightful time thinking out loud and listening to intelligent people express themselves. You naturally document or store in your mind bits and pieces of discussions. You want to refer back to these insights or facts whenever the opportunity presents itself. Because of your strengths, you probably are one of those people who reads the regulations first, especially when they apply to everyone in a group. Your need to commit these rules to memory is apt to be the way you prepare to play a game, assemble a device, use a computer program, or adhere to a standard process. Chances are good that you tend to feel content with yourself and life in general when you are encouraged to reflect on your experiences, examine intriguing ideas, or scrutinize new theories. Driven by your talents, you link your passion for reading to your work. Characteristically the printed materials and Internet sites you scan for information expand your knowledge base as a professional. Your definition of “recreational reading” probably differs from that of many people. By nature, you are quite comfortable having time to yourself to enjoy a favorite pastime: reading. Whether you are sitting on a quiet beach or in a crowded airport terminal, you create your own space with a book, magazine, newspaper, document, or correspondence. Gleaning information, inspiration, or insights from these sources can make your relaxation more pleasurable or your delays more tolerable.

Questions

1. As you read your personalized strengths insights, what words, phrases, or lines stand out to you?
2. Out of all the talents in this insight, what would you like for others to see most in you?

Input

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights

What makes you stand out?

Instinctively, you may add theoretical, intricate, technical, or difficult-to-understand words to your vocabulary. Perhaps this is an ongoing process. You might prefer to spend time with people who appreciate your mastery of language and the ease with which you use sophisticated terminology. Certain individuals feel comfortable asking you what a particular term or phrase means. Driven by your talents, you see yourself as a contributing member of the group. You enjoy partnering with intelligent people. You like to exchange information, share observations, or offer tips for doing things more easily, efficiently, or swiftly. You are happiest collaborating with individuals who are not stingy with what they know. You have an ability to figure out how everyone on the team can benefit from each other’s knowledge, skills, experiences, or wisdom. By nature, you feel rather good about life when people answer your questions and keep you well informed about topics that affect you personally or professionally. You prefer to be bombarded with facts, data, or explanations. Receiving only bits and pieces of information is likely to raise your level of anxiety, suspicion, or frustration. You are apt to become upset when individuals forget or refuse to tell you something you think you have a right or a need to know. It’s very likely that you are the ideal example of a person with an open and agile mind. Thinking consumes a great portion of your time. You like to exchange ideas with individuals who are as well-read as you are. Your passion for the written word fuels your thought processes and lays the groundwork for sophisticated conversations. When you are alone, you probably reflect upon the thoughts of brilliant writers or the findings of notable researchers. Chances are good that you usually are quiet during conversations, taking in everything that is said. You are particularly attentive when intelligent people toss about their ideas, theories, or concepts. Often you acquire more information and gain more insights than the speakers do. When you choose to expound on a topic that interests you or pose pertinent questions, many individuals listen carefully to every word you utter.

Questions

1. As you read your personalized strengths insights, what words, phrases, or lines stand out to you?
2. Out of all the talents in this insight, what would you like for others to see most in you?

Consistency

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world with consistency by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights

What makes you stand out?

Driven by your talents, you might be the person who causes specific individuals or groups to stop what they are doing and conduct a reality check. In a matter-of-fact and straightforward way, sometimes you help certain kinds of people consider what is really happening and what is the truth. Rather than leap to conclusions, you try to give equal attention to each idea or suggestion. Perhaps your evenhanded way of dealing with people and their issues produces a climate of mutual understanding or cooperation. Instinctively, you naturally gravitate to situations where a clear plan of action exists. Knowing that everyone involved agrees to follow the rules, the deadlines, the goals, or the expectations usually eases your worries. You tend to be more effective when recurring processes and procedures give you some control over how you perform a task. You carefully pace your use of time as well as your expenditure of mental and physical energy. Because of your strengths, you feel very comfortable with regulations or procedures when they are uniformly applied. You are much more enthusiastic about your studies, job, or life in general when everyone is given the same opportunities and faces the same limitations. It’s very likely that you often select contests or activities in which to participate. You likely concentrate on having a very good time. This is one reason why others describe you as laid-back — that is, relaxed. Being the champion probably is not your top priority. Instead, you are quite happy to give your best effort and performance. By nature, you commonly abide by regulations. You tend to operate within established budgets or time constraints. You are convinced that every person deserves to be dealt with in an evenhanded manner. You are apt to become frustrated when exceptions are made for one person or one group. Simply put: You contend that rules need to be consistently followed and uniformly enforced.

Questions

1. As you read your personalized strengths insights, what words, phrases, or lines stand out to you?
2. Out of all the talents in this insight, what would you like for others to see most in you?

Learner

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Your Personalized Strengths Insights

What makes you stand out?

Because of your strengths, you are motivated to continually acquire knowledge and skills. Discovering new ways to use your talents energizes you. You are likely to escape from situations and avoid people who want you to keep doing what you already know how to do well. Maintaining an intellectual status quo is unacceptable to you. Driven by your talents, you naturally latch onto opportunities to acquire knowledge. You carefully and methodically think through ideas you have garnered from reading, classes, seminars, or conversations. You probably have little patience with individuals whose emotions cloud their judgment. You are likely to distance yourself from people who refuse to expand their minds. Instinctively, you have little difficulty giving intense effort to projects, problems, or opportunities that capture and keep your attention. It’s very likely that you are a rational thinker. That is, you exhibit good judgment and exercise sound reasoning. These thought processes serve you well whenever you set out to acquire true knowledge and/or gain a skill. You school yourself by reading, investigating, examining, experiencing, or receiving instruction in a subject. By nature, you thirst for new ideas and knowledge. Often you lose yourself in a book. You pore over the ideas contained on its pages for long stretches of time. Why? You want to absorb as much information as you can.

Questions

1. As you read your personalized strengths insights, what words, phrases, or lines stand out to you?
2. Out of all the talents in this insight, what would you like for others to see most in you?

Questions

1. How does this information help you better understand your unique talents?
2. How can you use this understanding to add value to your role?
3. How can you apply this knowledge to add value to your team, workgroup, department, or division?
4. How will this understanding help you add value to your organization?
5. What will you do differently tomorrow as a result of this report?

Section II: Application

Responsibility

Ideas for Action:

• Emphasize your sense of responsibility when job hunting. During interviews, describe your desire to be held fully accountable for the success or failure of projects, your intense dislike of unfinished work, and your need to “make it right” if a commitment is not met.
• Keep volunteering for more responsibility than your experience seems to warrant. You thrive on responsibility, and you can deal with it very effectively.
• Align yourself with others who share your sense of responsibility. You will flourish when working with people who share your determination to get things done.
• Tell your manager that you work best when given the freedom to follow through on your commitments — that you don’t need to check in during a project, just at the end. You can be trusted to get it done.
• Push yourself to say no. Because you are instinctively responsible, it might sometimes be difficult to refuse opportunities. For this reason, you must be selective. Ask for more responsibility in only the areas that matter most to you.
• You naturally take ownership of every project you are involved in. Make sure that your capacity to own does not keep you from sharing responsibility. Allow others the opportunity to experience the challenges of ownership. In doing so, you will contribute to their growth and development.
• Learn to manage your Responsibility talents by considering whether you really are the person who should be handling a particular issue. Defer to your existing responsibilities and goals before undertaking additional burdens, as you may end up skimping on quality if you have too many tasks or competing demands.
• Partner with someone especially talented in Discipline or Focus. This person can help you stay on track and prevent you from becoming overloaded.
• Working with a like-minded, responsible colleague is satisfying for you. Be sure to clarify expectations and boundaries so that each person can feel ownership for his or her particular tasks — without stepping on each other’s toes.
• Responsible individuals like to know they have “delivered” on their commitments, so create metrics and goals to gauge how effectively you meet your obligations. Also, make sure you have explicit and concrete expectations so that there is no question regarding quality outcomes and so that you can hit the mark as promised.

Questions

Which of these action items speak to you? Highlight the actions that you are most likely to take.
How will you commit to taking action? Write your own personalized action item that you will take in the next 30 days.

Intellection

Ideas for Action:

• Consider beginning or continuing your studies in philosophy, literature, or psychology. You will always enjoy subjects that stimulate your thinking.
• List your ideas in a log or diary. These ideas will serve as grist for your mental mill, and they might yield valuable insights.
• Deliberately build relationships with people you consider to be “big thinkers.” Their example will inspire you to focus your own thinking.
• People may think you are aloof or disengaged when you close your door or spend time alone. Help them understand that this is simply a reflection of your thinking style, and that it results not from a disregard for relationships, but from a desire to bring the most you can to those relationships.
• You are at your best when you have the time to follow an intellectual trail and see where it leads. Get involved on the front end of projects and initiatives, rather than jumping in at the execution stage. If you join in the latter stages, you may derail what has already been decided, and your insights may come too late.
• Engaging people in intellectual and philosophical debate is one way that you make sense of things. This is not the case for everyone. Be sure to channel your provocative questions to those who similarly enjoy the give and take of debate.
• Schedule time for thinking; it can be energizing for you. Use these occasions to muse and reflect.
• Take time to write. Writing might be the best way for you to crystallize and integrate your thoughts.
• Find people who like to talk about the same issues you do. Organize a discussion group that addresses your subjects of interest.
• Encourage people around you to use their full intellectual capital by reframing questions for them and by engaging them in dialogue. At the same time, realize that there will be some who find this intimidating and who need time to reflect before being put on the spot.

Questions

1. Which of these action items speak to you? Highlight the actions that you are most likely to take.
2. How will you commit to taking action? Write your own personalized action item that you will take in the next 30 days.

Input

Ideas for Action:

• Look for jobs in which you are charged with acquiring new information each day, such as teaching, research, or journalism.
• Devise a system to store and easily locate information. This can be as simple as a file for all the articles you have clipped or as sophisticated as a computer database.
• Partner with someone with dominant Focus or Discipline talents. This person will help you stay on track when your inquisitiveness leads you down intriguing but distracting avenues.
• Your mind is open and absorbent. You naturally soak up information in the same way that a sponge soaks up water. But just as the primary purpose of the sponge is not to permanently contain what it absorbs, neither should your mind simply store information. Input without output can lead to stagnation. As you gather and absorb information, be aware of the individuals and groups that can most benefit from your knowledge, and be intentional about sharing with them.
• You might naturally be an exceptional repository of facts, data, and ideas. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to position yourself as an expert. By simply following your Input talents, you could become known as the authority in your field.
• Remember that you must be more than just a collector of information. At some point, you’ll need to leverage this knowledge and turn it into action. Make a point of identifying the facts and data that would be most valuable to others, and use this information to their advantage.
• Identify your areas of specialization, and actively seek more information about them. Schedule time to read books and articles that stimulate you.
• Deliberately increase your vocabulary. Collect new words, and learn the meaning of each of them.
• Identify situations in which you can share the information you have collected with other people. Also make sure to let your friends and colleagues know that you enjoy answering their questions.

Questions

1. Which of these action items speak to you? Highlight the actions that you are most likely to take.
2. How will you commit to taking action? Write your own personalized action item that you will take in the next 30 days.

Consistency

Ideas for Action:

• Make a list of the rules of consistency by which you can live. These rules might be based on certain values that you have or on certain policies that you consider “nonnegotiables.” Counterintuitively, the more clear you are about these rules, the more comfortable you will be with individuality within these boundaries.
• Seek roles in which you can be a force for leveling the playing field. At work or in your community, become a leader in helping provide disadvantaged people with the platform they need to show their true potential.
• Cultivate a reputation for pinpointing those who really deserve credit. Make sure that respect is always given to those who truly performed the work.
• You can become known as the conscience of your organization or group.
• Find a role in which you can enforce compliance to a set of standards. Always be ready to challenge people who break the rules or “grease the wheels” to earn an unfair advantage for themselves.
• Keep your focus on performance. Your Consistency talents might occasionally lead you to overemphasize how someone gets work done, and ignore what he or she gets done.
• Because you value equality, you find it hard to deal with individuals who bend the rules to fit their situation. Your Consistency talents can help you clarify rules, policies, and procedures in ways that will ensure that they are applied uniformly across the board. Consider drafting protocols to make sure that these rules are clearly stated.
• Partner with someone with powerful Maximizer or Individualization talents. This person can remind you when it is appropriate to accommodate individual differences.
• Always practice what you preach. This sets the tone for equality and encourages peaceful compliance.
• Others will appreciate your natural commitment to consistency between what you have promised and what you will deliver. Always stand up for what you believe, even in the face of strong resistance. You will reap long-lasting benefits.
• Leverage your Consistency talents when you have to communicate “not so pleasant” news. You can be naturally adept at helping others appreciate the rationale behind decisions, which will make the situation easier on them — and you.

Questions

1. Which of these action items speak to you? Highlight the actions that you are most likely to take.
2. How will you commit to taking action? Write your own personalized action item that you will take in the next 30 days.

Learner

Ideas for Action:

• Refine how you learn. For example, you might learn best by teaching; if so, seek out opportunities to present to others. You might learn best through quiet reflection; if so, find this quiet time.
• Develop ways to track the progress of your learning. If there are distinct levels or stages of learning within a discipline or skill, take a moment to celebrate your progression from one level to the next. If no such levels exist, create them for yourself (e.g., reading five books on the subject or making three presentations on the subject).
• Be a catalyst for change. Others might be intimidated by new rules, new skills, or new circumstances. Your willingness to soak up this newness can calm their fears and spur them to action. Take this responsibility seriously.
• Seek roles that require some form of technical competence. You will enjoy the process of acquiring and maintaining this expertise.
• As far as possible, shift your career toward a field with constantly changing technologies or regulations. You will be energized by the challenge of keeping up.
• Because you are not threatened by unfamiliar information, you might excel in a consulting role (either internal or external) in which you are paid to go into new situations and pick up new competencies or languages quickly.
• Research supports the link between learning and performance. When people have the opportunity to learn and grow, they are more productive and loyal. Look for ways to measure the degree to which you and others feel that your learning needs are being met, to create individualized learning milestones, and to reward achievements in learning.
• At work, take advantage of programs that subsidize your learning. Your organization may be willing to pay for part or all of your instructional coursework or for certifications. Ask your manager for information about scholarships and other educational opportunities.
• Honor your desire to learn. Take advantage of adult educational opportunities in your community. Discipline yourself to sign up for at least one new academic or adult learning course each year.
• Time disappears and your attention intensifies when you are immersed in studying or learning. Allow yourself to “follow the trail” by scheduling learning sessions during periods of time that will not be interrupted by pressing engagements.

Questions

1. Which of these action items speak to you? Highlight the actions that you are most likely to take.
2. How will you commit to taking action? Write your own personalized action item that you will take in the next 30 days.

Section III: Achievement

Look for signs of achievement as you read these real quotes from people who share your top five themes.

Responsibility sounds like this:

Nigel T., sales executive: “I used to think that there was a piece of metal in my hand and a magnet on the ceiling. I would just volunteer for everything. I have had to learn how to manage that because not only would I end up with too much on my plate, but I would also wind up thinking that everything was my fault. I realize now that I can’t be responsible for everything in the world — that’s God’s job.”

Kelly G., operations manager: “The country manager in Sweden called me in November and said, ‘Kelly, could you please not ship my inventory until January 1.’ I said, ‘Sure. Sounds like a good plan.’ I told my people about the plan and thought I had all the bases covered. On December 31, however, when I was checking my messages while on a ski slope, making sure everything was hunky-dory, I saw that his order had already been shipped and invoiced. I had to call immediately and tell him what happened. He’s a nice man, so he didn’t use any fourletter words, but he was very angry and very disappointed. I felt terrible. An apology wasn’t enough. I needed to fix it. I called our controller from the chalet, and that afternoon we figured out a way to put the value of his inventory back on our books and clean it off his. It took most of the weekend, but it was the right thing to do.”

Harry B., outplacement consultant: “I was just a young bank manager in one of the branches when the president of the company decided that he wanted to foreclose on a property. I said, ‘That’s fine, but we have a responsibility to give the people full value for their property.’ He didn’t see it that way. He wanted to sell the property to a friend of his for what was owed, and he said my problem was that I couldn’t separate my business ethics from my personal ethics. I told him that was correct. I couldn’t because I didn’t believe — and still don’t believe — that you can have two standards. So I quit the firm and went back to earning five dollars an hour working for the forestry service picking up trash. Since my wife and I were trying to support our two kids and make ends meet, it was a hard decision for me to make. But looking back, on one level, it really wasn’t hard at all. I simply couldn’t function in an organization with those kinds of ethics.”

Intellection sounds like this:

Lauren H., project manager: “I suppose that most people who meet me in passing presume that I am a flaming extrovert. I do not deny the fact that I love people, but they would be amazed to know how much time alone, how much solitude, I need in order to function in public. I really love my own company. I love solitude because it gives me a chance to allow my diffused focus to simmer with something else. That’s where my best ideas come from. My ideas need to simmer and ‘perk.’ I used this phrase even when I was younger: ‘I have put my ideas in, and now I have to wait for them to perk.’”

Michael P., marketing executive: “It’s strange, but I find that I need to have noise around me or I can’t concentrate. I need to have parts of my brain occupied; otherwise, it goes so fast in so many directions that I don’t get anything done. If I can occupy my brain with the TV or my kids running around, then I find I concentrate even better.”

Jorge H., factory manager and former political prisoner: “We used to get put into solitary confinement as a punishment, but I never hated it as much as the others did. You might think that you would get lonely, but I never did. I used the time to reflect on my life and sort out the kind of man I was and what was really important to me: my family, my values. In a weird way, solitary actually calmed me down and made me stronger.”

Input sounds like this:

Ellen K., writer: “Even as a child, I found myself wanting to know everything. I would make a game of my questions. ‘What is my question today?’ I would think up these outrageous questions, and then I would go looking for the books that would answer them. I often got in way over my head, deep into books that I didn’t have a clue about, but I read them because they had my answer someplace. My questions became my tool for leading me from one piece of information to another.”

John F., human resources executive: “I’m one of those people who thinks that the Internet is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I used to feel so frustrated, but now if I want to know what the stock market is doing in a certain area or the rules of a certain game or what the GNP of Spain is or other different things, I just go to the computer, start looking, and eventually find it.”

Kevin F., salesperson: “I am amazed at some of the garbage that collects in my mind, and I love playing Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit and anything like that. I don’t mind throwing things away as long as they’re material things, but I hate wasting knowledge or accumulated knowledge or not being able to read something fully if I enjoy it.”

Consistency sounds like this:

Simon H., hotel general manager: “I often remind my senior managers that they shouldn’t be abusing their parking privileges or using their position to take golf tee times when there are guests waiting. They hate my drawing attention to this, but I am just the kind of person who dislikes people abusing their perks. I also spend a great deal of time with our hourly employees. I have tremendous respect for them.”

Jamie K., magazine editor: “I am the person who always roots for the underdog. I hate it when people don’t get a fair shot because of some circumstance in their life that they couldn’t control. To put some teeth to this, I am going to set up a scholarship at my alma mater so that journalism students of limited means can do internships in the real world without having to keep paying for their college tuition. I was lucky. When I was an intern in New York at NBC, my family could afford it. Some families can’t, but those students should still get a fair shot.”

Ben F., operations manager: “Always give credit where credit is due; that’s my motto. If I am in a meeting and I bring up an idea that one of my staff actually came up with, I make sure to publicly attribute the idea to that person. Why? Because my bosses always did that with me, and now it seems like the only fair and proper thing to do.”

Learner sounds like this:

Annie M., managing editor: “I get antsy when I am not learning something. Last year, although I was enjoying my work, I didn’t feel as though I was learning enough. So I took up tap dancing. It sounds strange, doesn’t it? I know I am never going to perform or anything, but I enjoy focusing on the technical skill of tapping, getting a little better each week, and moving up from the beginners’ class to the intermediate class. That was a kick.”

Miles A., operations manager: “When I was seven years old, my teachers would tell my parents, ‘Miles isn’t the most intelligent boy in the school, but he’s a sponge for learning, and he’ll probably go really far because he will push himself and continually be grasping new things.’ Right now, I am just starting a course in business-travel Spanish. I know it is probably too ambitious to think I could learn conversational Spanish and become totally proficient in that language, but I at least want to be able to travel there and know the language.”

Tim S., coach for executives: “One of my clients is so inquisitive that it drives him crazy because he can’t do everything he wants to. I’m different. I am not curious in that broad sense. I prefer to go into greater depth with things so that I can become competent in them and then use them at work. For example, recently one of my clients wanted me to travel with him to Nice, France, for a business engagement. So I started reading up on the region, buying books, and checking the Internet. It was all interesting and I enjoyed the study, but I wouldn’t have done any of it if I wasn’t going to be traveling there for work.”

Questions

1. Talk to friends or coworkers to hear how they have used their talents to achieve.
2. How will you use your talents to achieve?